\n
James Laver<\/center><\/p>\n
At the risk of seeming trite, we shall now delve into the superficial
\nworld of hippy fashions. Please bear with me as you will see it leads us
\nto some very interesting places. <\/p>\n
Today, the fashion world has once again discovered the wonderful styles
\nfrom the ’60s. We’ve come full circle and clothes are not the only part
\nof hippiedom to resurface for the new millennium. It’s a symbol of the
\nresurgence of hippie values in our culture.<\/p>\n
In the ’60s, without warning, hippies turned fashion upside down and
\ninside out. They brought a tsunami of new styles and colors into fashion
\nlike never before. From the Haight-Ashbury to London to Katmandu, the hippies
\ntook fashion on an eye-popping psychedelic journey. <\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
Jimi Hendrix
\nBuy This Poster At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
The fashion rule in the ’60s was that there were no rules. Anything
\nwent as long as it wasn’t based on the drab, conservative styles of the
\nearly ’60s. I doubt if fashion designers were able to keep up unless they
\ndropped acid. The only thing they seemed to be able to influence was the
\nminiskirt. This is because many of the hippie fashions were based on traditional
\ndesigns from India, Nepal, Central America, Bali and Morocco.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
Hippie John
\nBuy This Photo At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
Many new fashions emanated from San Francisco and London to some extent.
\nThe fashion leaders were the icons of our day. Rock ‘n roll stars like
\nJimi Hendrix and The Beatles appeared in public and on record albums in
\nall sorts of colorful costumes..<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
The Beatles
\nBuy This Magnet At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
Of course your average hippie couldn’t afford to shop like a rock star.
\nOur stores were less like Harrod’s and more like the Salvation Army. Nevertheless
\nwe were able to piece together something from bits of cloth. It was easy
\nto take an old pair of blue jeans, holes and all, and just put some bright
\npatches over the holes. If they didn’t fit, you could open the seams and
\ninsert a triangle of something else, thus giving you flared bellbottoms.
\nA cheap bandanna, an old vest, some beads and you were the height of fashion.<\/p>\n
The elements that went into the hippy wardrobe were only limited by
\nour psychedelic imaginations. Bellbottoms ruled the day, from striped,
\nto blue jeans to patchwork, to hip huggers, even leather pants were popular.
\nTops ran the gamut from Nehru shirts, to brightly colored African dashikis
\nand Middle Eastern caftans, to halter tops, tie dyes, and frilly, silky
\nshirts for men! Women wore saris from India and sarongs from Bali and Java.
\nVelvet, leather, batik, denim, Indian cotton and silk were all popular
\nfabrics. Op art, paisleys and psychedelic designs appeared on clothes,
\noccasionally making us dizzy! Footwear ranged from the basic sandal and
\nBirkenstocks to zippered boots, platforms and bright patent leather shoes.
\nPeasant dresses, long skirts and layering were also very popular. <\/p>\n
Then there’s that symbol of women’s sexual freedom (or slavery), the
\nmini-skirt! It was designed by Mary Quant in 1965, and was responsible
\nfor the huge surge in pantyhose sales. Along with see-through blouses and
\nbraless breasts, it’s no wonder there was a sexual revolution. <\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
The Grateful Dead – 710 Ashbury
\nBuy This Poster At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
Accessories included love beads, bandannas, leather vests, jackets with
\nfrills, and granny glasses. Jewelry, especially if made of silver from
\nMexico, India or Morocco was essential. Bangles, rings, earrings, nose
\nrings, and ankle bracelets were worn, especially for parties or concerts.
\nNecklaces were adorned with peace symbols, raised fists, yin-yang symbols,
\nand other eastern esoterica. Hats ran the gamut from tall Jamiroquai numbers
\n(John Phillips liked ’em) to small head hugging Islamic numbers (Richie
\nHavens). Fedora type hats were usually decorated with feathers, beads or
\nother colorful objects (Hendrix & Dylan liked these).<\/p>\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
Jimi Hendrix – Are You Experienced
\nBuy This Poster At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center> <\/p>\n
It’s amazing how many of these things have come back into fashion over
\nthe years. At the moment we are witnessing a complete resurgence thanks
\nto so many movies like ‘Austin Powers’ and ‘The ’60s’.<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n<\/a>
\n
Jimi Hendrix
\nBuy This Poster At AllPosters.com<\/a><\/font><\/center><\/p>\n
Let’s not forget how we let our Free Flag fly! Men’s long hair was symbolic
\nof our disdain for convention. Most hippies just let it grow, perhaps trimming
\nit once in a great while. Blacks, both male and female wore Afros, using
\nAfro piks (combs) to tease their hair out to the max. Men grew long side
\nburns, mustaches and beards. Women stopped shaving their legs and underarms
\n(gasp!). Bras became a symbol of oppression and were considered too symptomatic
\nof how the power structure sought to control women’s sexuality for any
\nliberated hippie gal to wear.<\/p>\n
It must be added that no self-respecting hippie ever wore a logo of
\nsome corporation. This was heretical to the hippy movement. It’s no wonder
\nso many kids today, sick of having to conform to corporate ideals of fashion
\nhave instead sought out the Hippy Brand\u00ae of non-conformist, anti-establishment,
\nrevolutionary, laid back sportswear! No logos, no commercials with sports
\nfigures, no multi-million dollar endorsements, no hype. Just cheap, comfortable,
\neasily repaired, second-hand clothes to give you the look.<\/p>\n
There was fashion for the nose as well. Scents filled the air wherever
\nhippies gathered, and it wasn’t just marijuana. Incense and perfume were
\nstandard accouterments of the day. The flower children had to smell like
\nflowers, with lavender, rose, gardenia, and other floral scents. Patchouli
\nwas perhaps the most popular since it helped mask the smell of pot. Sandalwood
\nand musk were popular scents for men.<\/p>\n
At home, on college campuses, in crash pads, and on communes hippies
\ndecorated their living space with every sort of poster imaginable. These
\nwere large cheap and colorful and would cover much of the wall space. Concert
\nposters from the Fillmore, publicity posters or album covers were the most
\npopular. But some posters also made a statement about the residents’ political
\nviews. These included peace and love posters, antiwar, black power, feminism,
\nand posters that protested just about everything. A lot of the posters
\nwere just art from other periods, Beardsley and Maxfield Parrish were two
\nvery popular artists. Tibetan mandalas and yantras were used for decoration
\nas well as meditation. <\/p>\n
Most furnishings were imported and hippies fueled the huge boom in imported
\ngoods. These included beaded curtains, large floor pillows, bean bag chairs,
\nwicker tables and chairs, brass from India, statues of Indian gods like
\nShiva, Ganesha, or Buddha, Moroccan carpets and kilims. Headshops and import
\nstores like Pier One succeeded thanks to hippies.<\/p>\n
Prior to the hippies, most homes had maybe one dusty plant in a corner.
\nWith the back to nature movement, hippies filled their homes with life.
\nSometimes there were more plants inside than outside, creating a sort of
\njungle, often with ferns, vines, and other lush foliage dominating rooms.
\nHippies loved to paint their rooms in bright colors and often added rainbows,
\nstars, even murals on the walls.<\/p>\n
An essential part of any hippy household was the stereo. Hippies bought
\nthe best sound systems they could afford. That is because the music of
\nthe era was so important to us. We got stoned to it, we danced, we partied,
\nwe meditated, we had sex, we even tripped to the music. <\/p>\n
In the early sixties music went from monaural (mono) to stereo which
\nin itself was a psychedelic effect that everyone could appreciate. Then
\nthere was quadrophonic (4 channel) sound. Things went as far as quintophonic
\n(5 discrete channels) which was popular in movie theaters. I remember seeing
\nthe premiere of the rock opera ‘Tommy’ by the Who in a new theater that
\nhyped it’s state-of-the-art quintophonic sound system. It was a mind blower.
\nToday it’s close to the Dolby and DBX systems.<\/p>\n
The typical hippy vehicle was a VW bus or van or bug. Small campers
\nand even schoolbuses were converted into living space for one to a dozen
\npeople. These were often painted (they usually needed a paint job badly)
\nin bright colors and psychedelic patterns, which sometimes included flowers,
\npeace signs, mystical symbols, even landscape paintings.
\n
The act of putting into your mouth what the earth has grown <\/b>
\n
is perhaps your most direct interaction with the earth.<\/b>
\n
Frances Moore Lapp\u00e9<\/center><\/p>\n
Food is an important part of every culture. Hippies developed their
\nown cuisine, a mishmash of Indian, American, middle Eastern, Mexican, Italian
\nand Asian with an emphasis on vegetarian. Cheap meals are the rule with
\nsoups, fresh salads, a hearty main course (with lots of vegetables) and
\na dessert. Organic produce, especially from one’s own garden is always
\npreferred. Fresh fruit juices and smoothies (usually with yogurt and fresh
\nfruit – similar to Indian Lassies, but improved upon by hippies) are great
\ntasting, healthy treats. <\/p>\n
Hippies helped popularize Indian food, especially curries and chapatis,
\ndahl and basmati rice. Asian foods like tofu, soybeans, tamari, rice crackers,
\nmiso and tempeh are now part of many healthy American diets. We buy bulk
\nfoods like flour, grains, beans and nuts, sold by the pound, not prepackaged
\nand left on supermarket shelves for years. Whole grain bakeries all over
\nthe country now offer a variety of multigrain breads which are far tastier
\nand healthier than the traditional American white bread. Yogurt, kefir,
\ngoat milk, soy milk are all non-traditional dairy products popularized
\nby hippies. You can thank us for all of these wonderful products being
\non the shelves.<\/p>\n
Health food stores and cooperatives exist now in almost every decent
\nsized town and city in the U.S. This is directly a result of the Hippy
\nfondness for health, quality and freshness. Hippies helped promulgate the
\nlaws that regulate organic produce found in many states (California &
\nOregon are good examples). Organic farming is now accepted as a regular
\npractice across the country. Ironic isn’t it, since we’ve had to educate
\nthe brainwashed farmers of America about the dangers of herbicides, pesticides
\nand chemical fertilizers and teach them how to grow organically, the way
\nit was done by their grandfathers. People think hippies are unhealthy,
\nyet we were responsible for the health craze that swept the country in
\nthe ’70s and ’80s.<\/p>\n
Holistic medicine, with origins in Asia, Africa, India, and native cultures
\naround the world are studied, taught and practiced by hippies. Some of
\nthese include herbalogy, homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, reflexology,
\nshiatsu, and ayurvedic medicine. Other things hippies do to stay healthy
\non their own include hiking, Tai Chi, Yoga, meditation, fasting, sweat
\nlodges, hot springs and Sufi dancing.
\n
Being naked approaches being revolutionary; going barefoot is mere
\npopulism.<\/b>
\n
John Updike<\/center><\/p>\n
The Broadway musical Hair! was noted not only for it’s wonderful music,
\nbut for the big nude scene. Going naked is one of the great freedoms that
\nhippies discovered. Feeling the air and water on your exposed skin is both
\nthrilling and invigorating. Puritan values and modesty be damned! Hippies
\nweren’t about to compromise. Nude beaches, nude sunbathing and swimming,
\nnudist colonies, all proliferated thanks to hippies. Nudism puts us closer
\nto nature. It erases our sexual hang-ups and fears, by dissolving the psychological
\nlink between nakedness and sex, thus letting us relax and enjoy the beauty
\nof the human body.
\n
I know in the shod state of mind I often feel paranoid, bitter, resentful
\nand vengeful. The world seems like a dog eat dog kind of a place. By going
\nbarefoot the most profound change takes place. I find it impossible to
\nhold the aforementioned negative emotions and instead become friendly,
\ngenerous, humble, part of things – at peace with myself and generally glad
\nto be who I am. I start to express myself instead of hiding away.<\/b>
\n
Jon, The Barefoot Pilgrim (wotnoshoes@bigfoot.com)<\/center><\/p>\n
Just the act of going barefoot is revolutionary for most people. Shoes
\nconfine more than just our feet. Walking barefoot puts you in direct touch
\nwith the world around you. You’re more sensitive and aware. Your more vulnerable
\n(watch out), but more open.<\/p>\n
Hippies, ever concerned about ecology, were the first to promote biodegradable
\nproducts, and the use of natural ingredients in everything from fabrics
\nto shampoo. We made sure that every product ingested by Americans has a
\nlabel indicating all its ingredients. We boycotted those companies: whose
\nproducts polluted the environment; used animals for testing; were prowar
\nor very reactionary; or manufactured dangerous chemicals or weapons.
\n
Fashion flourishes on surplus, when someone buys more than he or
\nshe needs.<\/b>
\n
Stephen Bayley<\/center><\/p>\n
It must be said that in general most hippies were anti-fashion. That
\nis they rejected the corporate nature of the fashion industry as well as
\nthe power of individuals to dictate the way others should dress or conform
\nto a set standard. The fashion industry was seen as part of the Capitalist
\npropaganda machine that kept us slaving to consume the latest fashions.
\nThis is more true today than ever. <\/p>\n
If it’s not clothes, it’s cars, toys, even our lifestyles that are marketed
\nto us by demographics. And with Internet shopping they can track our every
\nmove. Many hail this as a great innovation, and the ultimate direct marketing
\ntool. But isn’t it just a more efficient way to keep us imprisoned in a
\nconsumer nightmare? Like a glutton, we are fed more and more tasty morsels
\nuntil we are so fat with consumption that our lives serve no other purpose.<\/p>\n
The hippies’ rejection of prevailing fashion led us to explore other
\ncultures and in doing so we learned and adopted many concepts and practices
\nalien to Western society. Much of what we pioneered is now an important
\npart of popular culture and thinking. Hippies influenced not only clothes
\nbut a wide range of ideas and attitudes thus changing society in the process.<\/p>\n
Of course another part of hippy fashion is the language of the subculture.
\nEnglish exploded with many new words in the ’60s. See the Glossary for
\na long list. And of course our music turned America and the world on its
\near. See Part II for the exceptional music we enjoyed.<\/p>\n
Posted by: skip
\nViews: 257539
\nTopic:3\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The same costume will be \u2026amusing 30 years after its time. James Laver At the risk of seeming trite, we shall now delve into the superficial world of hippy fashions. Please bear with me as you will see it leads us to some very interesting places. Today, the fashion world has once again discovered the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-175","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hippie-havens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hipplanet.com\/hip\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}