Accessories

A rave accessory is anything that finishes the outfit once the top and the bottom are decided. Pasties, jewelry, face jewels and glitter, leg wear, harnesses and bags. On paper it sounds like the afterthought. In practice it is the part people remember, because a plain set with the right accessories photographs better than an expensive outfit with none.

It is also the part that has to survive the day with you. Everything in this category gets worn in heat, in a crowd, for ten or twelve hours, usually with your arms over your head for a good part of it. That is what separates a festival accessory from a going-out one: nothing delicate, nothing you have to hold, and nothing you would be upset to lose in a field.

The thing people learn the hard way is adhesive. Pasties, face jewels and body gems all stick to skin that is going to sweat, so the adhesive is the real buying decision, not the shape or the color. Skin has to be clean and dry with no lotion or oil on it, and reusable silicone backings hold through a long day better than single-use paper ones. Carry spares. Leg wear is the other piece that gets underestimated. Fishnets, sheer stockings and knee-highs add a whole layer to a look without adding any real heat, which is why they turn up at summer events when nothing else extra does.

Grouped by what the piece does, with the rest of each one next door.

• Pasties and nipple covers: what makes a sheer top, an open top or no top work at all. The deepest group in the category, in glitter, crystal, sequin, edible and adhesive-free styles.
• Body jewelry and necklaces: chains, chokers, body and belly chains, and engraved slogan pendants. The slogan pieces move year round, and plenty of them are bought as gifts rather than for a festival.
• Face jewels, gems and glitter: stick-on rhinestone sets and body glitter. The fastest way to change a look and the cheapest way to test one.
• Stockings and fishnets: fishnet, sheer and patterned, worn under shorts or on their own under a skirt. A full layer on the leg that costs nothing in airflow.
• Socks and leg warmers: knee-high, thigh-high and fluffy. The piece that makes boots read as part of the outfit rather than as footwear.
• Harnesses: straps worn over a top or over bare skin, and the fastest way to add structure to a plain set. Also what most wings attach to.
• Wings: the accessory people plan a whole outfit around, and the one that photographs hardest. Check what a pair attaches to before you buy.
• Festival hair and jumbo braids: color without commitment, and the answer to heat, dust and a multi-day event where washing your hair is not happening.
• Sunglasses: a day event is a full day in the sun. Picked for shape more than for optics.
• Gloves and arm wear: fingerless, mesh and sequin. Reads in photographs taken with your hands in the air, which is most of them.
• Bags and stash jars: somewhere for a phone, ID and cash that does not need holding. Wearable is the only kind that survives a crowd.
• Festival and rave: the tops, bottoms, dresses and bodysuits these get worn with, if the outfit itself is still open.