Coachella outfits are expensive. But a Chapman designer has a solution

Sophomore graphic design major Mira Thekdi shows off a custom Kappa Alpha Theta jacket designed and crafted by Chapman junior Sally Park. Photo courtesy of Sally Park

Passes to the Coachella Valley Music and Art Festival start at $429. The festival is 100 miles away from Chapman, but can be further and more expensive if a flight is necessary to get there. And outfits for the festival, which takes place in April, can range from $40 to $500.

But self-taught stylist, fashion entrepreneur and Chapman junior Sally Park might have a solution, if only for the expensive outfits.

“I’m really excited to offer festival clothing for the first time,” said Park, a business administration major who founded clothing company Oh She’s That Bored. “What I make is affordable, can’t be easily duplicated and is a tailored process with the customer.” 

The high price tags associated with the cost of attending Coachella and finding clothing to wear to the music festival is something that some students don’t want to spend.

“It’s a huge appeal to anyone to have something be one-of-a kind. I wanted a few statement pieces and it was so much more appealing to go to Sally than some store,” said Rebekah Halvorsen, a senior peace studies major who wanted customized festival outfits for Coachella and the Ultra Music Festival. “Other companies charge upwards of $500 to $700 for a custom jacket.”

Park, who is working on a festival collection, intends to offer a more high-end collection and offers payment plans for her clothes. Her current merchandise ranges from $15 for simple tops to $250 for a customized jacket, depending on what customers want and what materials they choose to use.

“Clothing like this should be fun, not a financial burden,” Park said. “It will be very different from a lot of festival clothing. I’m going to keep my theme of using a lot of industrial materials and harsher accessories with softer fabrics.”

Creating a festival line isn’t what Park is used to — as she describes her fashion as an intersection between oversized vintage and street-style clothing. Within the past month of her business being open for custom orders, Park has received and delivered various orders that include tops, custom sorority letters and soon, trendy festival outfits. 

“The variations I can throw into it is why it’s so fun to make my own clothing in that style,” she said.

And with small, individualized businesses like Park’s, customers are able to closely work out the design to get what they paid for. 

“I loved that I knew where my clothing was coming from and that it was handmade,” said Mira Thekdi, a sophomore graphic design major who received a personalized sorority letter jacket. “Sally made it easy to get good quality, personalized clothing.” 

Park started the business in February after not being able to buy a top that was sold out from brand AllSaints, realizing she could make it herself. Customers place orders for existing pieces or customized outfits through Park’s Instagram page and meet with her to discuss ideas and delivery dates. 

Despite having no experience in fashion design, Park taught herself how to make custom outfits during the school year. While her work is inspired by the women in her life, it’s a one-person business. 

“I got my first sewing machine, made friends with all the workers at Jo-Ann Fabrics, watched more YouTube tutorials than you will ever know and re-worked those traditional techniques into my own,” she said.

With the much anticipated Coachella and Stagecoach festivals, Park hopes to keep busy. More than 127,000 people attended the Coachella festival last year, according to USA Today.

“I am keeping most details of the festival collection hidden as a surprise, but expect a lot of sparkle and a lot of confusing hardware,” Park said.