Every year, it astounds me just how many Londoners have yet to attend Notting Hill Carnival. Even people who have lived in the city their entire life somehow manage to bypass the event, which is one of the world’s largest street parties.
For those new to carnival, some guidance on what to wear, pack and prepare for is key. The best thing you can possibly do is ask regular attendees and — even better — members of the British Caribbean community, who started the Notting Hill event and have kept the vibe alive since 1966.
If in doubt, opt for comfort, convenience, and celebration, and importantly — not appropriation. Here are some of the top tips for what to wear at Notting Hill Carnival 2025.
1. Wear something comfortable
Anyone who has ever attended Notting Hill Carnival knows these simple facts: it is busy (busier than perhaps any crowd you have ever been in), it is hot (compounded by the amount of people you’ll be chest-to-chest with all day) and it can get messy.
As regular Notting Hill attendee Soleil told the Standard: “Do not wear any nice clothes because you’re going to end up feeling uncomfortable with the sweat, the heat, the body heat around.
“There is paint, there is chocolate. Drinks are going to get spilled. If someone’s rum punch lands on my T-shirt, I’m not really gonna get vexed, ‘cos I’m probably gonna end up throwing it [out].”
2. Make sure your outfit is easy to change out of
If there’s one thing that becomes immediately apparent the moment you touch down at Carnival, it's the lack of toilets. That’s the nature of a street party, but luckily the residents of Notting Hill and the surrounding areas are well prepared for that: you can pay to use toilets in residents' homes, and it usually costs somewhere between £1 to a fiver.
Being able to pee quickly is key: you will face long toilet queues, so try and wear something that allows for easy access.
3. Be colourful — but don’t appropriate
It’s Notting Hill, you have to dress up. Notting Hill is an explosion of colour, so even if your outfit is comfortable, you can at least make it colourful.
That being said, no one needs to see a thousand white people in Jamaican flag colours when they have absolutely no connection to the country, so be mindful of appropriating something that isn’t yours. The same goes for hairstyles: you do not want to find yourself in an Adele bantu knots situation.
4. Bring a bag that can fit drinks, cash, and a portable charger
Unlike music festivals, Notting Hill is entirely BYOB, and no one’s going to stop you if you try and bring a bunch of cans in. However, Red Stripe prices reach a premium the closer you get to the epicentre of Notting Hill, so you’re better off stocking up early (and further away), then carting the cans around with you in a bag.
Even better: bring an attachable soft water bottle or a CamelBak filled with booze, so you’re not annoying anyone off with a great big backpack full of tinnies.
Plus: do not forget cash (signal is terrible, card machines stop working, you will regret it) and a portable charger (your phone will die at the exact time you are trying to navigate the way home, trust me, it always does.)
5. Wear comfortable shoes!
This is not the time to break in those new boots. You are going to be doing 30,000 steps, standing in queues, jostling through crowds, and dancing, dancing, dancing.
It’s very much a trainer situation. Don’t wear your best white trainers, though, because they’ll get scuffed. Just whip out some of your coolest and comfiest second-in-command trainers instead.
