Plus, what to wear to look like you want a job (but not someone else’s job); and how to wear a leather biker jacket without looking like Danny Zuko from Grease.

We’re moving slowly towards festival season, which means, if dancing in a dusty field for three days and sleeping on the ground appeals to you, you’ll need to invest in some appropriate garms. Below, we suggest the perfect outfit for such pursuits, which will also, happily, double up as a strong weekend look in the real world. Elsewhere, our readers asked us how to dress for work in a junior position (clue: it’s all about learning from your work mates) and how to wear a leather jacket without looking like Danny Zuko.

If you have your own Style Question, email asky@mrporter.com or post it on our social media channels. Thanks.

I’m packing for a music festival and want to get some pieces that are fun and stand out, but aren’t so crazy that I couldn’t pull them off on a typical weekend when not brazenly dancing around in a dusty concert field. Help?

From teenytinytiger via Instagram

Dressing in clothes that will look good at a festival and basically anywhere that is not a festival sounds like a challenge, but as long as you avoid the fluoro morph suits and problematic appropriation of Native American head dresses, it needn’t be. Having fun at a festival definitely demands some sartorial sacrifices, so take a pair of sneakers you’re not too worried about ruining, and surrender them to the grass- and mud-stained void. That said, there are plenty of other opportunities in the rest of your outfit that mean you can invest in a few great bits of kit that will take you beyond your dusty/muddy concert field into the summer(s) beyond.

First of all, it’s worth investing in a couple of good camp-collar shirts. They’re the shirt style of the moment, and MR PORTER is currently packed with versatile printed ones that will definitely get you noticed at a festival, but that you can still take out to the pub on a summer weekend. A printed option will be best for standing out; don’t be afraid to go for a bright colour either. Try this red one from LA brand Rhude – it’s perfect for a festival, but we accept no responsibility if the inspired print has people approaching and asking you for a cigarette. Hey, it’s an ice breaker. If it’s warm enough, wear it unbuttoned to look rakishly festival-ready without going completely topless.

For your bottom half, try some good-quality swim shorts – these are ideal festival garb because they’re usually made of durable shell fabric, and it won’t matter if they get a bit dirty. And if you’re not using them in water, they will look like, well, shorts. This sporty pair from Ermenegildo Zegna have just the right dose of summertime sportiness, which will look great at a festival as well as in the park.

Pull everything together with some good accessories – sunglasses are non-negotiable. These gold ones from Gucci were practically made to evoke that 1970s festival vibe. If they’re a little too groovy, however, and you’d like something more subtle, try a beaded bracelet from Peyote Bird.

How does one overcome Danny Zuko in Grease and/or 1990s vampire costume overtones when wearing a black leather jacket with a T-shirt?

From @tommylenk via Instagram

Thanks for writing in, Mr Lenk, and may we say what a splendid Instagram profile you have. It feels a little strange to be offering style advice to a man capable of rustling up a passable imitation of a Miu Miu coat using only a cardboard box, but here goes.

Leather jackets are one of those items of clothing that, if you’re not careful, can end up wearing you. If we’ve understood your question correctly, the particular style you’re referring to is known as the “Perfecto”. Originally designed by Schott NYC in the 1920s, it became a by-word for teen rebellion after Mr Marlon Brando wore one as the outlaw biker Johnny Strabler in 1953’s The Wild One. It passed from there into working-class “greaser” culture, which is where we find the connection with 1978’s Grease. Enter stage left Mr John Travolta and T-Birds gang member, Danny Zuko. As for the 1990s vampire costume reference, we assume you’re talking about The Lost Boys. (Late 1980s rather than 1990s, but we’ll let you off.) The heavily distressed, hand-painted and embellished Perfecto jackets worn in the movie by Mr Kiefer Sutherland’s vampire gang owe as much to the world of punk as they do to biker fashion.

What’s the point of this history lesson? It’s merely to illustrate the fact that when you pull on a Perfecto, you’re wearing a piece of cultural history. Whether you intend to or not, you’ll be channelling Mr Brando, greaser culture, punk rock, and – yes – high-school musicals such as Grease. To your question, then: how to wear one without letting these associations stifle your own sense of style? There are a few things to avoid. Wear a leather jacket with a white T-shirt and with your hair greased into a pompadour, and people will assume you’re going to a fancy dress party as Danny Zuko. Wear one with drainpipe jeans and a vintage band T-shirt, and you’re going to be confused for a member of a Ramones tribute act. These things should be pretty obvious. So, what to do? Try a grey marl T-shirt instead of a white one. Try switching out the T-shirt altogether and wearing it with a patterned shirt from Saint Laurent. Try a jacket with a different shape entirely, such as a “café racer” from Belstaff  or a suede bomber from Rick Owens.

Style advice can only take you so far, though. The real secret to making a leather jacket your own is to wear it. Wear it, wear it again and wear it again. Wear it until it becomes worn, until it feels like it truly belongs to you. Once you’ve overcome that psychological barrier, you won’t think twice about wearing it with a white T-shirt for fear of being mistaken for Danny Zuko.

How to dress when you are a trainee in the communication department?

From @danirete12 via Instagram

Dear Daniel (sorry, we grabbed your name off Insta),

This is a sensible and wise question to ask. Why? Let us break down your question as if it were a KitKat, if we may. Usually, in this instance, people will drag out that hoary old cliché that you ought to, “dress not for the job you have, but the one you want”. And it isn’t bad advice, as advice goes. But you have, quite rightly, pointed out that you are a trainee, which is to say you are starting from the bottom rung. Quite naturally you don’t want to stay at the bottom rung, you are aiming high! But if you go in dressed like the chief executive, eyebrows will go skywards – in your ardour to make a good impression, you will have done quite the reverse.

So, read the office. Think back to when you were interviewed. Perhaps you have toured the office? Consider what people were wearing. If they are all rollnecks and chinos, go for something similar (check this one by Mr P. and these by Incotex ). If they are in suits, follow their lead (Boglioli is a good go-to brand here). You will have plenty of time in a long career to assert your personality, at the moment, it is important to get on with people, learn as much as you can – your clothes should help you in that.

Best of luck,

Asky