How to Dress for Coachella Without Making a Criminal Fashion Mistake

This week, hordes of concert-goers—and even Kim Kardashian—will trek out to Palm Springs for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, taking to the desert for three days of Instagramming to the soundtrack of Kacey Musgraves, Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and even a DJ set by Idris Elba. (Not to mention Ariana Grande, who’ll do her best to live up to Beyoncé’s documentary-worthy headlining performance last year.) Of course, Coachella wouldn’t be Coachella if it didn’t come with its annual slew of fashion clichés: jean shorts, bohemian maxi-dresses, and—gulp—the dreaded flower crown. But just because you’re heading to the desert with thousands others doesn’t mean you have to commit the same criminal fashion mistakes. Instead, why not stand out from the crowd by using the opportunity to try out some of the latest runway trends? After all, quite a few designers had escapism on their mind for this spring—a theme that anyone with even a few prints in their wardrobe can easily channel. Here, we dig into W‘s archives for some serious Coachella style inspiration—even for those who insist on wearing jorts.
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Jean Campbell photographed by Ryan McGinley for Vbeal, December 2017.
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Photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for Vbeal, August 2016.
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Photographed by Benjamin Vnuk for Vbeal, February 2017.
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Photographed by Emma Summerton for Vbeal, August 2015.
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Photograph by Tim Walker for Vbeal, September 2010.
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Jessica Chastain photographed by Steven Klein for Vbeal, November 2015.
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Photograph by Alasdair McLellan for Vbeal, October 2017.
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Gisele Bündchen photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for Vbeal, August 2008.
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Christina Ricci photographed by Carter Smith for Vbeal, July 2000.
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Photograph by Ryan McGinley for Vbeal, April 2016.
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Miley Cyrus photographed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott for Vbeal, September 2015.
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Photograph by Ward Ivan Rafik for Vbeal, March 2015.
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Photographed by Ryan McGinely for Vbeal, April 2016.
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Photograph by Mario Sorrenti for Vbeal, February 2010.
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Elle Fanning photographed by Mario Sorrenti for Vbeal, October 2016.
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Photographed by Steven Klein for Vbeal, May 2016.
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Stephanie Seymour photographed by Wayne Maser for Vbeal, May 1994.
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Selena Gomez photographed by Steven Klein for Vbeal, March 2016.
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Photographed by Richard Burbridge for Vbeal, November 2014.
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Photograph by Glen Luchford for Vbeal, March 2017.
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Photograph by Juergen Teller for Vbeal, June 2005.
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Amanda Seyfried photographed by Craig McDean for Vbeal, March 2014.
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Photograph by Glen Luchford for Vbeal, March 2017.
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Photographed by Venetia Scott for Vbeal, May 2017.
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Photograph by Juergen Teller for Vbeal, March 2009.
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Photograph by Venetia Scott for Vbeal, June/July 2016.
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Photographed by Ed Singleton for Vbeal, December 2015.
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Luka Sabbat photographed by Matthew Priestley for Vbeal, November 2015.
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Photograph of Grace Hartzel by Mario Sorrenti for Vbeal, April 2015.
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Photograph by Ivan Ward Rafik for Vbeal, March 2015.
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Photograph by Glen Luchford for Vbeal, March 2017.