What to Wear/What to Bring for Coachella Virgins

Anyone who's attending Coachella has already begun their countdown during this final week. At the unpredictable desert festival, it's necessary to be well equipped and never have to ruin the excitement with the "if only I had brought...." Feeling. In the last two years I have developed a list of things that help my trip be as fun and relaxed as possible.

Fanny Pack: they are no longer for tacky overweight tourists at Disneyland. Ladies, or guys possibly, I strongly recommend a fanny pack. You can constantly see it, so you don't have to worry about people digging through your stuff, and you remain hands free. In the crows a purse will just slow you down and make it hard to push you way to the front.

A lightweight long sleeve button up to put over your outfit, or a light weight cardigan. I know it sounds ridiculous but the desert gets really cold at night and your lame' bikini will not seem like as great of an idea once 10:00 comes around.

Enough cash. ATMs at the festival can have pricy withdrawal fees, generally over 5 dollars so withdraw cash from an ATM from your bank somewhere around town

Water bottle: If they are unopened and you don't mind carrying them around, the festival allows you to bring bottled water inside. I've seen this go either way, sometimes it's a huge hassle to carry around especially if you try to get the largest one possible. But for the extra thrift attendees, it can save them a few dollars refilling their bottle. If this sounds like a hassle to you though, water is only $2 at the festival.

Do not wear sandals. Its just an overall bad idea. When walking from the parking lot your feet will be lost in a cloud of dust, and in the crowds people will step on them. I'd strongly recommend against it.

Phone Charger: If you have a phone with an uncommon charger, bring it. There are phone charging stations at the festival and they have chargers for Blackberry, Iphone, etc, but if your phone is more obscure, and you're the type to run the battery dry during the festival, bring your charger and they can charge it for you while you're running around and you can pick it up later.

A schedule/pen: Iphone has an app for it, but the festival also hands out mini booklets with the schedule and information on artists. Bring a pen so you can circle the artists you want to see and write yourself a little plan of where to be at what time because in the heat of the moment things can definitely get hectic and you wouldn't want to miss one of the artists you came specifically to see, especially when two of your favorites are overlapping.