How Does Your Beyond Wonderland Costume Make You Feel?
The sartorial creativity was off the charts at Beyond Wonderland, which went down this past weekend at the Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA. Fifty-thousand headliners turned out for the two-day festival dressed as unicorns, superheroes and generally fantastical (and sometimes scantily clad) characters. Many attendees told us that sporting such costumes all weekend made them feel more like themselves than they do in their daily, non-costumed lives.
We spoke to some folks and asked them…
How do you feel when you put on this costume?
Name: Brian | Age: 40 | From: Antioch, CA
“Free. I can’t do this anywhere else. I’m forty years old.”
Name: Yum Yum Fae | Age: Fairies never tell | From: Washington State, now San Jose, CA
“Wearing this costume makes me feel like a whole other person—and very happy, which is the most important thing. It’s like cosplay. Yum Yum is a persona that I developed four years ago and has been fine-tuned over the years. This is me being myself and true to who I am. As long as you’re confident in who you are as a person, people are going to accept you.”
Name: Rossio | Age: 22 | From: Hayworth, CA
“I feel like here nobody judges you—no matter what you wear, no matter what you look like. I’m not a size two, of course, but here I don’t care because everyone just loves my outfit.”
Name: Terry, “but my rave name is Lollipop” | Age: 25 | From: Santa Cruz, CA
“I can’t even begin to explain the way I feel; it’s the most amazing, uninhibited feeling ever in the world. This is my life. I always say that house music, techno, whatever you’re into, it’s not just music—it’s a lifestyle. I live PLUR, and when I come here, I feel that I’m home. Nobody judges me. I try to keep peace and sort of consider that if people act rude or whatever, they’re probably going through hardship. That’s what this culture gives to me.”
Name: Raymond | Age: 24 | From: Napa, CA
“I feel fabulous. I feel amazing. Yes.”
Name: Nathan | Age: 20 | From: San Francisco, CA
“I feel so accepted by this community and so powerful. I feel really great in this environment because it’s so accepting, which allows me to be creative and expressive. I just love it so much.”
Name: Juanita | Age: 31 | From: Sacramento, CA
“I feel free. I love it.”
Name: Sisi | Age: 33 | From: The East Bay
“I feel alive. It’s great to dress up. I ordered this dress online. When I found out we were coming to Beyond, I wanted to find the perfect outfit, and the Queen of Hearts is it.”
Name: Reymar | Age: 23 | From: Hayword, CA
“I feel like I’m a rabbit.”
Name: Harry | Age: 26 | From: Los Angeles, CA
“Like myself. I feel so accepted by everybody, no matter what.”
Name: John | Age: 23 | From: Sacramento, CA
“Invisible. Or like, normal.”
Name: Bobby, “aka Repulsive” | Age: 24 | From: San Bernardino, CA
“I feel beautiful, like a creature of the night.”
Name: Aaron | Age: 43 | From: Sunnyvale, CA
“I feel normal.”
Name: Brendan | Age: Unknown | From: San Francisco, CA
“It makes me feel happy and makes me feel like I’m up for anything. I work at Humphry Slocombe, and I would wear this at work if I had the chance, but I can’t.”
Name: Jonathan | Age: 27 | From: Cupertino, CA
“I feel like I should charge people money because everyone wants pictures with Jack in the Box. It’s so much fun. Oh my god.”
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