Reports made the rounds last week that a swarm of biting, flying insects had descended on the arid planes of Black Rock Desert, Nevada, where Burning Man begins this weekend—but guess what? Even a plague-style swarm of coriander-scented winged beetles with a taste for human blood couldn t dampen the spirits of the dedicated Burners setting up camp. And why would it? Burning Man is glorious! Burning Man is hot passion! Burning Man is a place to let go! Burning Man is a Mad Max–style dune of scrap-metal bricolage-built caravans, concertgoers who hold umbrellas when it’s not even raining, and people who wear bizarre costumes—or people who don’t wear anything at all. It’s a sand-strewn, welcoming oasis for self-expression through art, music, and events like “Polesaw jousting” and endless EDM-centered events lit only by the blur of Day-Glo body paint.
Don’t think you’ve got the guts to be a Burner, to break out of your 9-to-5, shake off that back-to-school stress for one last hurrah, and wear your bandana as underwear? Please, anyone does! Maybe there are finance Burners who can’t get their thrills from watching the Dow rise, and instead opt for scaling a wooden statue in a soda can–crafted skirt! Or those tightly wound Preppy Burners who skip the Sunday rowing club for a shwaggy lesson in Laughter Yoga? Burning Man is a hot plexus of oddities, a breeding ground for flesh-revealing openness and boiling hormones. You should embrace it—maybe even hug it.
So what to wear to the badlands of bizarre? Let your skin breathe—and be comfortable in it. No one really cares what you look like at Burning Man: You could literally be wearing one pastie—anywhere—and that would be okay. So dress for you, and try to break out of your comfort zone. Think about that knit bikini with matching knit sandals that you were too scared to wear in the Hamptons: Hell, accessorize it with a mask! Haven’t found an occasion to wear that bodysuit? Go bare on the bottom and slap on some sky-high heels. Save the covering up for the flight back home. Until then, burn on, you crazy diamond.
