Now that we made it to the month of June, we want to acknowledge that we also made it to Pride month! As we all know many Pride festivals and Pride-related events take place all over the nation. Like a festival or music concert, Pride serves as a happy and positive environment where people can express themselves all while enjoying their time with friends and friends they make along the way. At these events, people absolutely kill it with the outfits they wear. Knowing you can still slay in a simple way hopefully encourages you to explore how you can transform basic items into the perfect Pride outfit.
Keep reading for 12 outfit ideas that will make you look fabulous and fresh.
1. Starting off with your head
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Headwear can make a whole outfit come to life. You can choose from things like bucket hats, visors, crowns (because you are a #QUEEN), bandanas and more. Think colors. Think neon. Think rainbows. It can usually help if you start with knowing an element of your outfit that NEEDS to find a way into your outfit such as what to put on your head. Once you establish your statement piece, then you can move on to the rest of the outfit, matching everything around the color scheme of your headwear. Another way you can take on your headwear can be to make it the least worn color. Let’s say we choose a rainbow outfit, but you didn’t really add too much blue in the outfit, you can let your headwear be blue to complete the entire look.
2. Strutting HOT outfits for a hot day
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Pride month falls in June and for the most part, those hot summer days begin to make their entrance. So, you still want to look hot without being too hot, if you know what I mean. Luckily, a summer Pride outfit doesn’t need to involve elaborate pieces to still make a statement. “My go-to outfit would def be a tube top and shorts!” said University of South Florida junior Mitzani Juárez. “Since Pride month is in June, I like to stay cool and also get an even tan while I’m out there!” A simple colorful tube top with another color shorts can make an easy yet colorful outfit. Also, if you wanted to make the top and the shorts the same color, monochrome outfits follow the trends and you can try adding some accessories to complete the whole look. If you choose to go with an outfit similar to this, white shoes or any solid shoe color look best.
3. Staying Comfy in Your Favorite Pride Sweatshirt
Maybe you live in a town that actually stays moderately cool throughout the year. If that’s your case, your favorite Pride sweatshirt can go great with a few options. Biker shorts, definitely a trend right now, can look great with your sweatshirt. You can wear these with some white shoes or even some Doc Martins. Throw on your accessories and head out to Pride. Additionally, a pair of mom jeans or loose-fitting jeans also go well with a sweater. Throw on the same pair of shoes, and again, add in accessories for a more minimalistic look.
4. Focusing on the top half
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The biggest stressor in an outfit involves choosing which top makes the perfect top. An abundance of styles, lengths, colors, patterns and materials all linger in your head as you try to compile what to wear. So, what makes a perfect top for Pride? “A sports bra, crop top or bathing suit top can be a go-to,” said University of Central Florida sophomore Emily Seggio. Get creative with it. Oftentimes, bathing suit tops and sports bras easily pass for music festivals, dance concerts and Pride events. You could even make your own crop top if you wanted to. Take a plain t-shirt, throw some tie-die in there and maybe cut a few strands — just like that you created a brand-new top. Bonus, most times any sort of bottoms can accompany this.
5. Styling the bottom half
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Let’s say you got your top half all settled, but you want to wear more than just a plain bottom. How do you elevate that look? For example, you could put fishnets underneath a pair of shorts to give them an intricate, thought-out look. Instead of wearing plain denim, wear distressed denim or even a different shade of denim. Painting your jeans makes a fun activity for you and your friends before Pride comes rolling around. You could add rainbow handprints, paint splats of all colors or just completely paint them a different color. Another route to take involves going plain on top and all out below the waist. Wear that rainbow print skirt or strut those neon booty shorts you have stored in a drawer. Just make it fun, play with it a little and make it festive!
6. Owning Your Favorite Graphic Tee
If simple is more your speed, a simple t-shirt and bottoms will serve the look just as well as any other outfit. If your t-shirt fits a bit oversized, you can learn a variety of ways to tie it up. An abundance of tutorials on YouTube offers different ways you can tie your shirt. If you choose to tie it up, a pair of jeans or shorts will work just fine to complete the look. Similar to the sweatshirt look, you can let the shirt hang oversized and pair it with some biker shorts. Any plain shoes or Docs again can complete this look. Throw on a bucket hat and maybe a few chains to add some finishing touches to your outfit.
7. Taking on an ‘easy on the eyes’ look
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If laid back and comfortable represents your style more, get creative with how you can still make your outfit unique. “A go-to look is some nice pants, usually joggers or baggy jeans, doc marten boots, a button-up loose COLORFUL top, and a colored bralette,” said University of Central Florida senior Kayla Millman. Most of these items you can wear on the daily, but by adding some color into the outfit, you can still experience the comfort of your everyday outfit and elevate to something that can be worn for such a happy event like Pride.
8. Killing the One-piece look
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Get festive with your look and go all out! Wear that rainbow bodysuit–Or maybe, make it neon? Regardless, make a statement with it. You could wear the bodysuit with fishnets or shorts OR you could just wear it as it is. Pair it with some sneakers or some boots and strut down the streets looking bomb AF. A dress, too, can make a great one-piece option. You could either wear a colorful maxi dress with a pair of white sneakers or for a fresh and flirty look, you could choose to wear a shorter colorful dress. If you feel like taking a risk, maybe pair the shorter dress with some knee-high boots and head out to the festivities! You could also choose to wear your rainbow romper. For all genders, a rainbow romper not only makes a colorful statement, but it just makes it so much easier all around (except maybe using the restroom–we all know how awkward that feels). You barely need planning put into this outfit. Throw one some sunglasses, sneakers and your romper before heading out to all the fun!
9. Topping it off with the makeup look
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You can go about this part of the process in many ways. One, you can go all out. I’m talking rainbow eyeshadow, glitter, lipstick and more — do full-on GLAM. Option two leans toward a more subtle look. Maybe you just want one color for your eyeshadow for a more natural look. Maybe a subtle lip as well. The important part stands as making sure glitter somehow ends up on your face. YouTube tutorials and Pinterest make great sources for inspiration on makeup looks. At the end of the day, the look lies in your hands, so explore your creativity a little bit.
10. Representing YOU in an outfit
Encourage yourself to show your true colors in your outfit! Whatever Pride means to you, display it in your outfit. Be bold about it and know that at any of these events, you get the full capacity to be yourself. “The energy and vibes are so uplifting, every pride event I’ve attended has felt like a music festival!” Millman said. “All are welcome, accepted and encouraged.” If you planned your outfit all year or wanted to wear something your whole life, make this a place where you can do it. Pride events exemplify fun and acceptance. Be proud of you and make a statement about it!
11. Styling the Essential Accessories
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You can take a simple outfit to the next level with just a few simple rainbow accessories. Fanny packs, bucket hats, beads, sunglasses and jewelry make up just a few of the essential add-ons. “Chains are a must, and if you’re attending a pride festival, glitter!” Millman said. Chains clearly show you got the drip and glitter helps you shine a little brighter throughout the day. With all of these, one thing still needs to be added to this list. You need to make sure you pick an accessory that really radiates and stands out–that smile of yours. The positive attitude will radiate onto other people which in turn gives you the perfect opportunity to meet some new faces along the way. “It’s super fun meeting new people, the atmosphere is always so joyous and free,” Juárez said. When you look good, you feel good, and you now made the perfect pride outfit, you can go about your day feeling good.
12. Packing your Bag
Along with your outfit, you need to pack your bag with things that can enhance your experience even more. You want to make sure you capture the happiest moments with the happiest people. “Never forget your camera and reusable water bottle!” Juárez said. “My favorite thing is definitely meeting up with friends and taking our annual pride pic!!” Along with that maybe pack some snacks, extra accessories to switch it up throughout the day, your pride flags and extra glitter of course!
Overall, Pride events represent something greater than just the outfits. “Let’s not forget that Pride started off as a protest! We would not have pride today if it wasn’t for a trans woman of color at the forefront of our queer liberation!” Juárez said. Knowing what and who you stand for makes the experience 100 times more incredible. “There are all different kinds of people at Pride with all different kinds of backgrounds and everyone is so friendly and open to having a conversation,” Seggio said. “It’s a reminder that despite how lonely you may feel sometimes, you never really are.” Head out to Pride not only killing your looks with your friends but also enjoying the experience and standing happily united with all the new friends you make along the way.
Pride celebrates a revolution. Pride was made possible by the actions of the Black and Brown queer and gender non-conforming community. For Pride Month 2020, we are donating 100% of net proceeds from our Pride Collection to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund, who work tirelessly to post bail for the tens of thousands of LGBTQI+ people held in jail or immigration detention every day.
Respect Pride’s history and fight mass incarceration. Get active. Support the communities that sparked the change. Happy Pride.
Learn more or donate directly to the LGBTQ Freedom Fund here.
