Alas, the last of the major summer festivals are coming to a lipstick smearing, Strongbow swigging, glitter smothered climax with Bestival this weekend. As always we're looking back at the festival season as more of a conglomeration of hedonistic weekends; daft dancing, socially acceptable daytime alcohol consumption plus food utterly inconducive to our pre-Fashion Week starvation-diets. Not the stuff of style. 

Sure there's been some meh street style at this years summer offerings (Lovebox and Field Day's one day charms didn't fail to delight us) But for the most part colourful faux Raybans and tiresome Jessie J/Rihanna/insert-starlet-here slagfits seemed to insidiously creep into the bracket of 'festival chic'. Damn Kate Moss for leaving the style-genre unattended in 2009.

So as TRR packed up and headed to Dorset's Larmer Tree Gardens for the End of the Road festival, our expectations of any refreshing aesthetic were slim-to-none. Oh shame on us for tarring it with the same brush. As we stroll around the grade 2 listed gardens, greeted by vivid macaws and parrots fluttering their serious plumage in the skies above, we start to think this crowd is hella up our street. With an emphasis on the finer things in life (like art and music) as opposed to the norm: aka extreme intoxication, End of the Road's style is precisely the festi-chic tonic we're looking for.

The gardens host windy areas to relax, play games, see comedy and of course music. With a very low idiot ratio - almost unheard of now at English festivals - the premise of End of the Road is pretty folky. This is echoed in the set up and atmospheric ambience with several good vintage stalls being rummaged through by hipsters enjoying the late summer sun. The music was joyously eclectic, with Mogwai giving us a big dose of epic, Joanna Newsom twinkling the harp, Laura Marling, Kurt Vile and Willy Mason (new weird crush?) 

Too many fun things to mention, without the need for the obligatory self-imposed quarantine couple of days trying to forget what you've put yourself through. A new TRR end of summer favourite, and not a slogan tee in sight.

Photos by Ro Cemm

Early bird tickets for 'End of the Road 2012' are on sale now

Posted on September 07, 2011 at 9:19:18 by Alice Nyong