Dillo Day is just a few days away, but Northwestern students are still scrambling to find their outfits. While many look forward to Dillo for the music, the annual event is a fashion show for others. Some start to plan their outfits months in advance, curating every detail from shoes to jewelry.
This year’s theme, Carnival Dillo, is proving to be difficult for some students compared to previous Dillo themes such as 2024’s “Camp Dillo” or 2023’s “Planet Dillo.” There are many ways one can interpret a carnival: This freedom results in a myriad of possible ways to dress.
Weinberg freshman Ella Yun said she started planning her Dillo outfit minutes after the theme was announced Feb. 17.
“I didn’t want to go too costumey, but I didn’t want to go too ‘this isn’t a carnival’ outfit,” Yun said. “I’m feeling good about (my outfit) right now. I’m happy everything fit, and it looked good together.”
Yun opted for patterns and bright colors for her outfit: a striped dress and cowboy boots that have electric blue accents.
Yun is not the only one taking a patterned route. Director of Marketing and Public Relations at NU fashion magazine STITCH, Weinberg junior Jeremy Lee, provided advice for students who still don’t know what to wear this weekend.
He recommended sticking to patterns if one is lost with the theme. He advocated for going to a thrift store or using already-owned pieces instead of turning to Amazon for last minute outfits.
“The carnival theme is a little challenging depending on the clothes that you have in your wardrobe, but that doesn’t mean it’s an inaccessible thing for people that don’t want to go out and buy a lot of things,” Lee said. “Go for red, white, black, multi-colored, dimensions or patterns.”
Mayfest Productions will host Mayflea on Tuesday at the Foster-Walker Complex Lawn, giving students the opportunity to thrift outfits before Saturday’s event.
All students who have not yet decided on a Dillo outfit are encouraged to attend, as the secondhand shopping of clothes at Mayflea serves as a more sustainable option for outfit sourcing.
Weinberg freshman Theo Strelecky said he and his friends have continued to hold off on deciding their outfits.
“We have to pull the trigger on something, and it’s a little stressful because we’re running out of time,” Strelecky said. “I will definitely not use anything I already have, because none of it is carnival-esque at all.”
Strelecky said he plans to turn to Amazon and most likely order a pair of red overalls.
For additional outfit inspiration, Mayfest and STITCH collaborated and created a Dillo Instagram lookbook featuring animal print, gingham and polka dots. The inspiration outfits included fewer elaborate costumes and focused more on combining everyday pieces.
Lee said the lookbook reiterates that it is unnecessary to buy a whole new outfit exclusively for Dillo Day and students can work with pieces they already have. Lee plans on wearing a combination of pieces from second hand stores and items from his closet to curate his Dillo look.
“Carnival can be a lot of different things,” Lee said. “So look for fun patterns, fun colors. Carnival is about loud expressionist clothing, so, there’s a lot of ways you can go about it.”
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