How To Dress Your Best (or Not) for Your First Burn (Burning Man)
Practical, unfussy style tips from a long-time Burner
I suppose you’re expecting me to start this article by saying that first impressions are everything, and people will judge you if you look like you wandered into Burning Man from an H&M clearance sale.
Well, as with the world in general, people are paying way less attention to your clothing than you think, and at Burning Man, this is even more so the case.
Burning Man is the least judgmental place I’ve ever encountered. I’ve been to 8 Burns and 10+ regional BM-adjacent events, and I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to dress a certain way to avoid the scorn of veteran Burners.
I went to my first two Burns wearing 90% items from , and no one made me feel bad about it. Hey, don’t judge, I had an employee discount!
In 2023, 36% of participants were second-timers, and 20% were third-timers or more.¹ So most people have been accumulating costumes for a while, so you shouldn’t measure yourself against them.
During the 2017 Burn, I saw this couple walking around Center Camp in Neo-Classical Elder Tourist style:
They did not look like “regular Burners,” but did I judge them negatively? Ha, no. I thought it was costume shtick at first! Then I went and talked to them about their style choices.
After that conversation, what was my final style judgment?
Adorable.
They had that sort of sanguine, effortless cool that only comes with decades of partnership and life experience. When I pointed out their matching color palettes, they looked at each other surprised, shrugged, and chuckled, saying something about being implicitly in tune with each other after all these years. They were cute as hell on many levels.
Their outfits were better than any costume because they were confident and at ease with who they were. Moreover, they approached Burning Man with openness and respect for everyone around them.
I think the traits that invite the most negative judgment are being judgmental, close-minded, or entitled. If you give off these vibes, it won’t matter what you wear. People may comment on your clothes, but they’re actually responding to how you carry yourself.
But I WANT to Dress Up for Burning Man!
Okay, okay, all that said, maybe you still feel anxious about fitting in. Or perhaps you want to sparkle. Burning Man is where many people channel sexier, edgier, shinier versions of themselves. Or maybe you just love dressing up! All good reasons.
Most of the photos in this article come from veteran Burner friends and are used with their permission. They show authentic, everyday outfits — not the curated, Instagram-perfect styles you might see elsewhere.
Have you wondered why photos of Burning Man have people wearing metal cups on their belts? Or why veteran Burners walk around with headlamps as neckpieces? And why the heck are there so many fashionistas on Instagram wearing chic, high-tech ski goggles in the desert?
As with fashion anywhere, Burning Man is influenced by its place: a playa/desert terrain of alkaline dust, with hot, dry days and very cold, dark nights. Numerous intense dust storms swirl around this chemically caustic dust, which gives rise to the ski goggle trend.
The event only provides porta-johns, and there’s no water or trash service. Thus, you need to carry your own water and trash as you wander the event.
(This is why you must carry a cup, as providing cups is a logistical burden for camps gifting beverage service.)
More about these practical limitations can be found in the official .
Your most important piece: a backpack (or other gear solution)
Few things earn more contempt from the community than coming to the Burn unprepared.²
If I saw you walking around, clearly far from your camp, with no backpack (or other way to carry your gear), I would wonder: where is your water? Did you pack sunscreen? And most importantly, will you be a burden on others?
Having a “go bag” on your person or attached to your bicycle is essential to carry all your survival items, especially water.
While it might be tempting to keep your backpack with your bicycle to make your outfit cuter, you’ll often have to park your bike to head into a large dance area, gigantic art sculpture, or meditation workshop, etc. Account for any anxiety from having essential gear and supplies far from you.
If you’re averse to backpacks, other people use a combination of utility belts, utility vests, fanny packs, shoulder holster rigs, and the like. Figuring out how to carry your gear can affect how the rest of your outfit gets pulled together.
Other practicalities
Divide your outfits between “day mode” (sun protection, lighter clothes) and “night mode” (heavier clothes, lighting solution).
Speaking of night mode, it’s important to note that the event provides minimal lighting. Therefore, at night, it’s essential to light yourself for safety so you don’t get hit by frenetic bicyclists, inattentive art car drivers, or tipsy pedestrians.
Have at least enough lighting so that people can see you from all angles. Minimally, it could be a headlamp in red-light mode hung around your neck (you see why this is a fashion accessory now?) and a small light on your backpack or the back of your jacket or hat. Obviously, more elaborate is more fun, but also more work and more prone to wardrobe mishaps. Calibrate according to your fashion ambitions and crafting abilities.
Avoid small, dangly things below knee level, as they can get caught on bicycle gears, especially when it’s windy.
In summary, when it comes to the practical elements of your style, think of dressing yourself less for a party and more for a costume-y hiking trip in the desert with minimal infrastructure, where you get to party and experience art at different points along the way.
Things You Must Not Wear (i.e., MOOP-y Clothes)
Generally speaking, you can wear whatever you want. For example, you can wear t-shirts with writings that are politically provocative, patently offensive, or just plain mean. (That said, you won’t win any friends and may even inspire well-deserved, shall we say, spontaneous counter-art performance pieces in response.)³
Weirdly, what is actually and explicitly against the rules is glitter.⁴ Yes, even biodegradable glitter.
Burning Man happens on protected Federal land, and the government has strict rules about leaving anything on the playa that does not belong.
We call it Matter Out of Place, or MOOP. Even organic, perfectly biodegradable substances are considered MOOP. If it didn’t originate from the playa, then it doesn’t get to stay there.
Federal officials conduct extensive MOOP inspections after every Burn, affecting whether this event can happen in future years. The community takes this seriously, and you should, too.
Accordingly, anything that sheds small bits that are hard to clean up is banned. In addition to glitter, sequins are a no-no, as are any cheaply attached small items such as rhinestones, fur, or feathers.
Organic plant matter: hard no. My sources who have volunteered at Gate tell me that you may be denied entry into the event. So, forget about that costume idea involving real flowers and tree twigs.
Okay, But, Like, What Do I Actually Wear??
If you want to play things conservatively while generally fitting in, a decent baseline for women is “festival wear”; for men, maybe Google “men’s bohemian fashion.”
Important cautionary note: Most Burners do not dress as perfectly as seen online when searching “Burning Man fashion” or “festival wear.” As you can see from the above photos of my friends, the styles are all over the place. Furthermore, many outfits don’t account for our MOOP rules and the practical gear you must haul around.
Like I said earlier, I wore clothes from The Gap and a plain REI backpack, and things were fine. If you’re financially constrained or don’t have the time to focus on style, then keep things simple the first time and take mental notes for the next time.
Alternative lifestyle outfits
I have Goth friends who dress, well, Goth. When I see them at Burning Man, they basically look like Goths on a stylish desert hiking safari. Same for hippies, kinksters, Ren Faire enthusiasts, and so on.
Given BM’s counterculture roots, you can reuse many of the same pieces from your alternative lifestyles and simply adjust for the practical considerations previously mentioned. Like, skip the stiletto-heel boots for more sensible shoes, etc.
Being on theme
Each year, Burning Man has an art theme, which can be found on the . For example, the had Alice in Wonderland elements.
Most people at BM are not on theme. That said, people will notice and appreciate outfits that fit artistically with the overall theme, so if you’re an overachiever or already have some congruent pieces, then go for it!
Only use Halloween-y costumes for an artistic purpose
You’ll find that few people dress in a “Halloween-y” way unless it’s for an artistic purpose. People more often dress to express alter egos or alternative lifestyles or just for the weather.
An example of an “artistic purpose” could be acquiring pirate pieces from the Halloween store because you volunteered to bartend at your camp’s “Pirate Cove Bar.”
Or maybe you want to do a comedy shtick involving your partner dressed as a trash bin and you as a raccoon. You could build/sew your own costumes, but you may find it more economical and efficient to buy cheap items on Amazon. All fine choices.
Costuming in the name of art is totally fine, as long as it’s not MOOP-y, as mentioned earlier.
Loungewear in camp
Internet photos tend to focus on the party and not the camping part, even though you will spend inordinate amounts of time at your camp — more even than you think you would.
Having clothes for the sole purpose of lounging around camp is essential. For example, I like shoes that are easy to slip on/off as I enter/exit my tent, plain work clothes for cooking, and so on.
Conclusion
If you love, love, love dressing up, then you should lean hard into this. Having elaborate costumes is itself an artistic contribution to the event, and everyone will appreciate your efforts.
That said, if you walk around acting entitled or arrogant, I’d rather you weren’t there, no matter how fabulous your outfit is.
You could stroll through the event wearing a normy pair of blue jeans, white t-shirt/blouse, Jansport backpack, and holding a can of Bud Light, and I wouldn’t judge you negatively as long as you followed community norms, were open-minded, and participated in the art experiences.
Hilariously, if you carry yourself with enough quiet confidence and maybe add a toolbelt to the above outfit, I might believe that you belong to that special volunteer category we call “Artists and Builders.”
Anyway, when it comes to your clothing style, you don’t need to force it, especially your first time. What’s more important is your behavior and your vibes.
If you want to do the bare minimum costume or none at all, that’s fine. There are lots of other ways of doing Burning Man, and what’s more important is how you behave.
I hope this guide helps you calibrate your style at Burning Man!
Welcome home!⁵
And fuck your Burn!⁶
Official Burning Man resources:
¹ Black Rock City Census 2023 Population Report. (2024, March 1). Sociodemographics. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from
² Black Rock City Census 2023 Population Report. (2024, March 1). Perspectives: Section 4.1.2. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from .
³ To be more technical, you could be evicted from the event if your art severely harms community bonds and trust. ()
⁴ Burning Man Survival Guide. (2024, July 10). What to pack and what to leave at home. Retrieved March 7, 2025, from
⁵ “Welcome home” is a common greeting at Burning Man.
⁶ From the , “Fuck your Burn” is “An irreverent greeting, both a way to say hello and goodbye, popular among event attendees.”
