Most of the spread for the weekend. What worked and what didn’t? Read on below.

This past weekend, I had the amazing and incredibly fun opportunity to go to San Francisco for the Outside Lands music festival. Of course, I had an absolutely awesome time! Particularly because I had a great travel companion, my beautiful girlfriend Liz. The festival atmosphere was incredible, the music rocked (getting the chance to see Local Natives, Haim, and Death Cab for Cutie, back-to-back-to-back, on one stage!) and the food at the festival was equally delicious. Heading across the country was also a great chance to put my packing skills to the test. Going into the festival, I knew the weather would be chiller than New York City (in the ’60’s), yet also with the potential for some rain and wind. While not rainy (with the exception of some Saturday sprinkles), the weather ended up cloudy to partly cloudy, with some chiller-than-expected temperatures. With that in mind, check out the outfits I wore below (and for more on my daily wardrobe picks, follow @beauiswearing):

Friday

Chambray shirt by J. Crew. Jeans by Uniqlo. Boots by Steve Madden. Watch by Stuhrling. Glasses by Burberry.

Saturday

Popover shirt by J. Crew. Charcoal cardigan by Frank & Oak. Jeans by American Apparel. Boots by Steve Madden. Ready to see Local Natives and Haim.

Sunday

Using the versatile chambray shirt-and-cardigan combo to stay warm at the Golden Gate Bridge.

As you can see, there were definitely certain items I returned to across the weekend (hopefully one of the signs of a versatile packing job?). I found that for both the flight there and concerts on Friday (including a fantastic show by Bleachers), my chambray shirt and dark denim more than got the job done in terms of being comfortable for the plane ride and wearable to the festival itself, although it did get slightly chilly on Friday night sans cardigan or jacket.

The tank top stayed in the bag, and the popover needed to be paired with a cardigan this past weekend.

Throughout the rest of the weekend, I was caught off-guard by how chilly it really did feel, which led me to layer my cardigan over my popover on Saturday, and again over that same chambray shirt on Sunday; however, an unexpected final-day temperature spike led to the cardigan being a bit too much. And while I hadn’t previously worn the combination, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked pairing my black jeans with my trusty brown Steve Madden boots. In fact, given the hilly terrain of Golden Gate Park and the requisite dust from trampled grass, I consistently reached for my boots again, not my white Tretorn sneakers. The chilly weather (with the exception of Sunday afternoon) also meant that my khaki shorts and blue-striped tank top stayed in my bag. But reaching for my desert boots meant that I got good wear out of the pairs of patterned socks I brought, including a red paisley pair from American Eagle (not available online). On the accessories front, I consistently wore my brown braided leather belt and brown Stuhrling watch, which I found was polished enough for both the festival and dinner afterwards. And while it was a good option to bring, the only time I wore my black Timex Weekender was on the flight home (paired with a short-sleeve gray henley, black jeans and my white Tretorn sneakers). Lastly, as a light jacket, my black Harrington jacket definitely worked as a nice extra layer for the plane.

Were I to pack for a similar climate in the future, I would change a few things up. Namely, I would bring one more long-sleeve collared shirt (probably a blue OCBD) and one additional pair of slim jeans in a slightly different wash for variety (something like this). Additionally, I would leave the tank top at home and add in another pocket T-shirt in a neutral color. I would definitely grab my cardigan and jacket again, and absolutely keep my chukka boots, brown leather watch and brown belt handy. Packing for this trip was a great exercise in putting fundamentals like versatility and function to the test, and I can’t wait to do it again.

Any experience packing for trips or festivals that you’d like to share? What to bring and wear (or what NOT to bring or wear)? Leave it below!