Hippie Fashion

The Hippie Fashion Statement
By Robert Fulle

The Hippie counterculture that started out in the 1960’s was more than just a movement advocating peace and freedom. What started out as a peaceful protest against the established societal norms and political arena that was in place, became an entire lifestyle that the hippies lived out from waking to sleeping, and from head to toe.

A lot of people followed the hippie movement. Some were motivated to become hippies themselves, while some found their views and how they expressed them quite interesting. Even if some were not exactly that passionate about what the hippies lived for, the hippie trend still managed to catch on. From long-haired men, to vegetarians, and to odd clothes, a lot of people soon had a bit of a hippie fashion in them.

Although the hippie statement about breaking free from society and pursuing liberation and peace was the movement’s main theme, it became easy for people to know hippies more popularly because of their odd way of dressing and conducting themselves. Because of their rather eccentric clothes, they stood out quite starkly from the crowd. This is why the term “hippie” would often bring to mind a long-haired person, clad in sandals or sometimes even barefoot, wearing colorful tie-dyed shirts, a vest, bell-bottom pants, and several other accessories. For the ladies, the picture may also consist of colorful peasant blouses and long, full skirts.

These fashion threads have now been modernized and are accepted by the fashion world. Bell-bottom pants are now a worldwide hit. What used to be trendy back in the past, and went out of the trend for a long time, is now the “it” pair of jeans nowadays. The long, full skirts of the hippie women are now an option for any woman who wants to go feminine. The skirts are now designed in new and creative ways, using different fabrics, and come in various designs and colors. The peasant blouses are also a worldwide success. The blouses are even extended to become peasant dresses by maintaining its basic design. The blouses now come in many different varieties, colors, designs, just as long as it does not lose the basic peasant look. The tie dye trend is also now used in a variety of garments. T-shirts, tank tops, skirts, dresses, sundresses, hats, and even underwear are now tie-dyed. The mix of bright colors has made tie-dyed garments popular especially during the summer season.

Due to the wide fashion arena that accepts almost everything as a fashion statement, no matter how weird a piece of clothing may look at first, fashion can make it seem trendy and beautiful in the long run. As the hippie fashion threads caught on, people begun to look at them as strong fashion statements – eccentric and unique clothes that stood out from the crowd and was closely associated with freedom of expression. A lot of people, especially those who wanted to be unique, embraced the trend fully.

Up to the present, some modern-day hippies still wear the same odd clothes. But they’re not so odd anymore, because they’ve become part of the fashion mainstream. Some who wear the getup are possibly not true-blue hippies at all. We also see a lot of movie roles who sport the hippie getup. It has also somehow become a stereotype, because of the popularity it obtained.

However, no matter how commercialized the hippie fashion statement may get, in truth, it is still closely linked with hippie values. After all, when a hippie getup is seen, it is still known as “the hippie getup”. And it still epitomizes what the hippies stood for. Freedom from restrictions and of self-expression, in that they sported long, unkempt-looking hair without caring what other people may think. Liberation and opposition of the corporate pillars in place, in that they often made their own clothes and went barefoot. Peace and love, in that they use cheerful, bright colors that show off a peaceful, positive outlook in a beautifully free life.