Fashion Festies: Skin's what was in for most of the fest

Fashion almost took a backseat to celebrating full-on physical beauty at this year's Austin City Limits Music Festival. Causal styles, including hipster chic and American Indian-inspired, were accessorized by pretty faces and six-pack abs (and more).

Perhaps the overall toned-down and almost too-casual fashion choices had something to do with out-of-towners hearing about the wildfires and extreme heat that stymied Central Texas and deciding it was best to leave their party clothes at home.

I wandered Zilker Park for three days hoping to spot fashion trends, and I did. Here and on Austin360.com are our Fashion Festie winners, the annual fashion awards doled out to the most fashionable — or strangely fashionable — people attending ACL Fest.

The colors that stood out at the festival were bright neon colors and various oranges and coral shades. Other standouts: 1960s-style headbands and accessories, flapper-style accessories and American Indian-inspired selections.

My top Festie winners are Austin residents Nayeli Cutler and Spencer Beemiller, who wore the types of costume I wanted to see more of at the festival.

Cutler wore an American Indian headdress and cutoff top and denim shorts. Cutler's beau showed off his abs while wearing an "Aladdin"-style genie hat and pants.

Speaking of seeing skin, crocheted and knitted garments, lace ones, sheer and see-through sections were one of the sexiest trends at ACL Fest.

And boy, did I see a number of bare or nearly bare bottoms under various sheer skirts, shirts and pants. I'm not quite sure whether going sheer is festival chic, but I know it's not what to wear to the office.

On Friday, I met Daniela Kelley of Washington, D.C., who was celebrating her birthday. She wore a sheer black romper with a strategically placed day bag and a flapper-style red feather headband. Despite being a fashion standout, she didn't want to chat about clothes.

"Sunscreen is important," she said, stopping for a photo.

From the looks of things at Zilker Park, her words were underscored by plenty of exposed skin and bright colors, all part of ACL Fest's fashionable allure.

mharper@statesman.com; 445-3974