Jo Whiley on dressing for Glastonbury at 57 (and why she packs eye drops)
There’s nothing Jo Whiley doesn’t know about Glastonbury: she’s been going since 1982. “I went to my very first Glastonbury aged 17, with some school friends,” smiles the DJ, broadcaster and television presenter. “Back then, there was only one stage – the Pyramid – and a cider bus. Van Morrison was playing, it rained the whole time and our tents slid down the mud and disappeared.”
None of which put her off going again. “It made me want to go back for more. Wet and soggy as we were, it was all so exciting. I loved being with people who loved music, and that first time began the addiction.” Although she says she can’t remember what she wore: “I honestly have no idea – probably DMs, because I wore them a lot in those days.”
Much has changed in the intervening 40 years – not least that Whiley now fronts the BBC’s Glastonbury coverage, a role she’s had since 1997 – but some things remain the same. Such as her choice of footwear: this year, Whiley reckons she’ll resurrect her trusty Doctor Martens. “I have a pair of glossy patent DMs that I love. I’m really hoping I won’t have to wear wellies, but if I do, I’d be faithful to my Hunters.” Although she does have some welly-related fashion regrets: “I once wore white ones, which made me look like a surgeon/dairy farmer. I think the days of coloured wellies might be over.”
Given that she’s been attending the festival for decades, it’s reassuring to know that even Whiley suffers from the same wardrobe dilemmas as the rest of us. “Hell, yes!” she laughs. “I’ve been worrying about what to pack for a month or so already. I just got off the phone to India, my elder daughter. She and her sister, Coco, are both stressing about what they’re going to be wearing, too. But it’s all part of the buildup, isn’t it?”
She admits that she overpacks “every single year”, although she can be forgiven, what with the additional scrutiny that comes with being beamed into the nation’s living rooms. “There are so many things to consider. You want to wear something eye-catching, so it looks good on TV. You start doing the coverage in the afternoon, when it’s warm, but by 2am, you’ll still be on air and I can guarantee it’ll be absolutely freezing. Even if I’ve got a really skimpy dress on, I’ll also have a hot-water bottle and a thermal vest.”
Her advice for the festival’s 210,000 other attendees is similar to what she gives herself. “Don’t take too much, but do take enough to keep you warm and dry for all eventualities. Pack lots of layers – vests and long-sleeved tops. Take a mac that you can fit into the palm of your hand, and a bag that you can carry easily. Try to get everything into one rucksack: Glastonbury is humongous, so there’s a lot of walking. Wear your boots to save carrying them.” Her own packing essentials? “Eye drops, because it’s dusty. Lip balm – Sisley is my favourite. Moisturiser – I’ve just discovered Balance Me, which smells fantastic. Oversized sunglasses – I don’t look amazing in them, but if you’ve had a late night, they ensure that no one can see the hurt.”
If tired eyes are a consideration, so too is tired hair. Whiley stays in a hotel (“I have to shower when I’m doing the TV,” she says), but advises that dry shampoo is a must for anyone who won’t see hot water until they step through their front door again. “My daughters will pack Batiste dry shampoo, and I love Lazy Girl by Sam McKnight. It smells so good that it doubles as a perfume.” She also counsels taking plenty of hair bobbles, so that when your hair goes past the point of no return, “you can always plait it or put it in a topknot”.
Of all the music festivals, Glastonbury is the one that’s least about fashion. It doesn’t work with fashion brands, and the only clothes for sale within the 900-acre site come courtesy of Oxfam, the charity with which Glastonbury has been partnered over 30 years, and which runs a secondhand-clothing stall. Over the years, however, fashion has increasingly taken centre stage as the festival’s popularity and profile has grown. “I look back at old footage of myself and John Peel, and there was no styling, no make-up,” laughs Whiley. “We didn’t think about it. Even though we were on TV, we were completely oblivious that we should wear something special. I’d have a big cagoule on, with some camouflage trousers and boots.”
She thinks a sea change occurred in the mid-1990s, during the Britpop era. “Britpop exploded about 1994/95, and suddenly people thought it was trendy to go [to Glastonbury]. They started wearing designer wellies and caring about their look. Kate Moss obviously played a big part.” She also namechecks Lily Allen, an early and oft-overlooked pioneer of the much-loved dress-and-trainer formula. “Lily did it first. If you don’t feel like a girly girl, wearing trainers or boots with a dress is a means of interpreting glamour in your own way,” is how she explains the look’s enduring popularity. “It’s also really practical.”
With its “anything goes” dress code, she firmly believes that Glastonbury is a great opportunity to be more daring than you might usually be. “You can wear some pretty extreme stuff. There’s no reason why you can’t take an outrageous dress and wear it with wellies or DMs and a big jumper. Last year, I wore a Stella McCartney dress that was off the scale. I had to give it back afterwards, but it was great to wear something so outrageously glamorous – the festival version of going to the Met Gala.”
This year, Whiley says she’s thinking of packing a few bits from favourite boutiques Diverse and K j’s Laundry (both in London), and 32 The Guild (in her native Northampton), an old Cure T-shirt she’s had “forever and a day”, some throwback Maharishi trousers and a favourite Chloé dress. “It’s a pale teal colour, the most exquisite thing. Although it depends how I’m feeling about my body.” She’s also a big fan of shorts: “I can’t endorse them enough.” Although she says her legs aren’t quite what they used to be. “I was having a conversation with Zoe [Ball] – we’re similar in the way we look, and we were both laughing about lizard legs. I cannot make my legs look like they did, no matter how much I exfoliate and moisturise.”
She says she admires the body confidence of the younger generation. “They just don’t care [about judgment] and it’s beautiful to see. My younger daughter, Coco, is 14 and really happy in her own skin. She’ll wear what she likes. There’s so much to respect and learn from.”
Now 57, she’s a firm believer that everyone should wear what they like, whatever their age. “I still feel the same inside as when I was 17. You don’t suddenly become an old person in your head: you’re always that 17-year-old.” And while ageing might bring lizard legs, it also brings confidence. “It’s the confidence you add to your outfit that will make everybody go ‘wow’. So just rock it. Wear what you want to wear, with a smile on your face. That’s the most important accessory.” That, and some loo roll.
Jo Whiley will be broadcasting from Glastonbury as part of the BBC’s coverage of the festival on BBC TV, radio, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, Wednesday 21-Sunday 25 June
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