A $2,000 bridal get-up, $100 of body glitter, and $30 thrift store discoveries: We asked 11 people how much their Coachella outfits cost, and here’s what they told us

Courtesy of GoldenVoice

• The Coachella Music & Arts Festival takes place over two weekends in April at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
• While Coachella is a music festival, it has long held a reputation as a place that social media influencers, celebrities, and regular attendees go to dress up in fashionable, colorful, or outrageous outfits.
• We went to Coachella for the first time this year and decided to ask some well-dressed attendees how much their outfit cost. Surprisingly, even the best-dressed seemed to spend around $200-400 on their outfit.
• Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

The Coachella Music & Arts Festival is a music festival in Indio, California, but it’s arguably more famous for what happens off-stage.

There are the glitzy daytime pool parties and exclusive afterparties that double as entertainment-industry parties, the oh-so Instagrammable art pieces that dot the landscape, and the hordes of Orange County teenagers skipping school to drink.

Read more: I got a last-minute ticket to Coachella, the festival as famous for its flashy outfits and Instagram-heavy attractions as its music. Here’s what it’s really like to attend.

For years, the festival has become known as a scene so distinct that The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern described it as a "celebration of music [that] has degenerated into a weird marriage of fashion and commerce." The weekend is such an event for social-media influencers, models, and celebrities that some have dubbed it the "Influencer Olympics."

Those elements were certainly present when I headed to the festival for the first time earlier this month, but it was hardly an overwhelming part of my experience. 

One thing I did notice: the colorful and, occasionally, wildly creative outfits that attendees wear each day. On Sunday of this year’s festival, we walked around to find the best outfits and asked how much attendees spent to get them.

The answers were pretty surprising. Here’s what we found:

TJ Sonnier, a 26-year-old artist from Los Angeles, handmade his outfit from rainbow fringe fabric and lanyards. He helped Russell Thomas, a 21-year-old student, put together his outfit from $30 thrift store finds and a piece of his from Di$count Universe, an Australian fashion brand. "Why would you come here and buy a shirt? It should be your own vibe," Sonnier said.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Source: Discount Universe

Kate Price, a 24-year-old from Manchester, England who works for Sky TV, spent $330 on her outfit. The dress, from ASOS’s A Star Is Born collection, cost $325 of that. The headscarf and other accessories cost only a few bucks, she said. Of the fashion at Coachella, Price said, "There’s a lot of denim shorts and vest tank tops this year. I’m not into that."

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

Source: ASOS

Josh Brown, a 26-year-old graduate student from Huntington Beach, spent around $200 on his outfit between his colorful jacket from ASOS and his Calvin Klein bottoms.

Harrison Jacobs/Business Insider

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• I got a last-minute ticket to Coachella, the festival as famous for its flashy outfits and Instagram-heavy attractions as its music. Here’s what it’s really like to attend.
• Inside the Neon Carnival, Coachella’s exclusive, star-studded after-party where money doesn’t score an invite
• Tickets to Coachella cost $429, but one photo I took at the festival shows why it’s worth the money if you love the headlining acts

SEE ALSO: I spent a weekend at Coachella, and my favorite part of the festival is a rule most people over 21 would probably hate

DON’T MISS: I got a free, last-minute ticket to Coachella, and it still cost $2,000 to go. Here’s exactly what I spent for a weekend at the notoriously expensive festival.

Source: Business Insider – hjacobs@businessinsider.com (Harrison Jacobs)