All Y’All Look Good: The Best of ACL Fashion in Photos

So you’re saying your ideal concert is several competing shows happening simultaneously along the perimeter of a large, dusty field with limited shade coverage? Happy festival weekend, y’all!

With highs in the nineties and not a single cloud to pray to, thousands bravely gathered at Zilker Park for the Austin City Limits Music Festival last weekend with plans to get scolded by Chappell Roan, witness Dua Lipa’s improved choreography firsthand, and, of course, show off their own three-day lineups of festival looks. 

Before we even made it to the park this year, we reminisced about the styles of ACLs past, nostalgic for a time when “festival fashion” carried no SEO weight and a simple halter top and baseball cap did an outfit make. But while ACL’s 2024 fashion draws inspiration from the trends of twenty years ago, we spotted things this weekend we simply can’t attribute to the Y2K resurgence. 

“I think the story is butts,” a friend told me as we tramped across the park. Whether their rear ends were peeking out from under a pair of frilly gingham bloomers or on full display in a glittery thong leotard, festgoers looked notably cheekier this year. When it came to shorts in general, there was a lot of playfulness with length: denim microshorts, the longest pair of jorts you’ve ever seen, and plenty in between—including of the boxer shorts variety. We also saw athletic shorts pointedly paired with nonathletic tops and shoes. 

Some of the Texas festival staples we’ve come to know made their expected returns. Western touches—by way of cowboy hats, bolo ties, and shiny new boots (RIP, the backs of your ankles)—still dominated, and we can’t seem to deny the ease of a matching set, whether it be crocheted or animal-printed. Newer to the scene were the bubble skirts and dresses floating across the field and the unfortunate insistence on business casual chic, as evidenced by vest tops and tailored button-downs.

Headed to the second ACL weekend and not sure what to make of all this? Consider this: festival fashion is fun because, like the festival itself, it’s a little absurd. So opt for whatever makes you feel both most comfortable and absolutely insane. Yes, I mean glitter freckles.