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Back in 1991, Perry Farrell (of Jane’s Addiction fame) created a festival in hopes that “10,000 weirdos” would show up. Well, his wish came true this past weekend with the 20th anniversary of Lollapalooza, ushering in more than 90,000 weirdos daily. The lineup was killer, often forcing us to run from one end of Grant Park to the other to catch overlapping shows. The Kills provided a perfect soundtrack to a sweltering Friday afternoon; Chris Martin of Coldplay mesmerized us with his energy, lightshow and fireworks on Friday night; We camped out for Local Natives and Atmosphere (McLovin—aka actor Christopher Mintz-Plasse of Superbad—was standing right next to me) before braving the crowd for Eminem where Bruno Mars and Skylar Grey aided Slim Shady on stage. But it was the Foo Fighters who brought it home Sunday night, in the torrential rain. Against the backdrop of Chicago, with those bands providing the soundtrack, the people (and wardrobe) watching was phenomenal. Like any music festival nowadays, what you wear to such events is nearly as important as the music. Here, a few highlights.
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There is something about this look that is so reminiscent of Lauren Bacall. Maybe it’s the hat or the sports bottle of Estancia wine. While these shorts are from a few years back, we have seen similar at Anthropology this season.
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The heat brought out many gobs of girls in lace (and other sheer) varieties like this young lady seeking the shade of a set of trees behind the Sony stage. See her scarf? Topshop was on hand passing them out to promote its Michigan Avenue store opening in September.
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The crowd for Local Natives (my favorite band) was enormous, spurring lead singer Taylor Rice to proclaim it the largest crowd “by far” they have ever played to.
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A refreshing change of pace from the Lolla issued bandanas and fedoras.
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Face paint, body paint. Paint. Was. Everywhere.
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Mix and match patterns and textures were everywhere.
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Minneapolis hip-hop royalty Atmosphere took the crowd by storm, getting us all pumped up for Eminem’s upcoming set.
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“Amer-I-Can wear this to Lollapalooza” Patriotism at its best!
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Over three days we counted 15 of these suits. Later these two were easily spotted mud wrestling near the Bud Light stage before Damian Marley took the stage with Nas.
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This duo broke it down at Ryan Bingham’s set on Sunday.
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An obvious thread at Lollapalooza 2011—differentiating yourself as much as possible to be both attention grabbing and able to find your friends amongst the thousands. This guy, while a hot mess, was definitely hard to miss.
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Festival footwear is a tough choice, comfort is often key but not the sole decision: Classic Vans and TOMS reigned supreme for many fest goers, but a few risked potential ruin with amazing boots and shoes. We all crushed hard on these leather shorties donning a simple tribal print. She walked away before I could ask who they were by.
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After the first full on downpour, the fields turned into a Woodstock-esque mud pit, encouraging many to ditch their clothes and play in the mud.
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Shin deep puddles of city mud didn’t keep concertgoers at bay. It was clear many were trying to get as muddy as possible.
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Sunday night’s crowd was there for the Foo Fighters and didn’t let a pounding rainstorm stop 'em. About 45 minutes into the set, the sky opened up, timed perfectly to the band’s anthem “Hero.” Front man Dave Grohl put it perfectly, “This is really —ing fun!”
Photo by Fresh and Clean Media/ C3 Presents