Authentic Homemade Hippie Costumes - What Hippies REALLY Wore!
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I was a hippie back in the sixties and want to tell you about what hippies really wore in the Haight-Ashbury back in the day....
I've seen a lot of sites that sell bogus hippie costumes. They're absolutely ridiculous. I was a hippie in the sixties in the San Francisco Bay Area and want to tell you what we really wore so if you choose to be a hippie for Halloween you'll at least look authentic instead of silly.
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A Hippie Girl in 1967
You can buy this photographic print at AllPosters.com
The lady above is a great example of how real hippies dressed. She's wearing a rather conventional sixties shirt/sweater on top, along with a long flowered skirt. Over the skirt she's draped what looks like a flimsy lace curtain or tablecloth. Next she's got a theatrical white cape - hard to tell what it is made of but it could be velvet. This photo looks like it was taken at Woodstock so she probably dressed up for the occasion. There are multiple flowers in her hair and a campy set of beads and sandals finish her look for the day.
The skirt and cape were probably homemade. It looks like she's got a sheer white scarf dangling from the side of her cape. As you can see there's nothing symmetrical about this image. It looks tossed together and artist-inspired.
My blog: Hippie Blog
Hippie hair issues
...your hippie Halloween costume doesn't need to include long hair.
Again, referring to the photo above....
Note also the young men in the photo. Do you see any long hair? I don't. FYI there were thousands of hippie-guys that didn't have the long hair. Many of them had to work for a living and were not total bums, while at the same time embracing hippie idealism and enjoying the hippie scene in their spare time. Not having long hair was not an issue for the hippies. The whole movement was about 'doing your own thing' and 'accepting everyone's preferences and quirks' and 'being who you are without having to be self-conscious about it.' How about that?
I'm just saying this to let you know that if you don't have long hair you really don't have to put on a wig to pass as a hippie.
Skirts and shawls for the ladies
...look for authentic hippie wear, not silly costumes. (please?)
Patchwork long silk blend sari wrap skirt by Jedzebel PW121
Amazon Price: $44.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Absolutely gorgeous! This really looks like something a creative Haight-Ashbury clothing artist might piece together. A lot of us made our own clothes... and long skirts were worn most of the time, rather than short skirts.
Hippies usually wore practical clothing
...nothing silly like the commercial hippie costumes you see these days.
Hippie wear for guys
...to mix and match an authentic hippie costume look.
BGSD Men's Wool Blend Pea Coat - Black Small
Amazon Price: (as of 06/01/2012)
Forget Nero shirts, bell bottoms, and ribbon-lined vests. Those things don't say 'hippie' like these suggested items do. Sure they were popular in the sixties - for people with money to buy them - but the hippies - the real hippies you'd meet in the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco - weren't into wearing 'sixties hippie gear' or a modern designer's idea of what guys in the sixties should wear. Real hippies were much more practical.
Navy pea coats and Army coats were practical, and worn often not only because they were easily obtained from fathers and uncles that had served in the armed forces in the 40's, but also because they were wool and warm. I wore them too, so they are just fine for both men and women.
Jeans were usually faded and old - because people couldn't afford to buy new jeans.
Tie-dye... okay, if you want to. Original tie-dye started with pouring bleach in the washing machine while washing jeans. A big mistake that caught on and became popular.
Make your own hippie tie dye for your Halloween costume
...instructions not needed. Do you think WE had tie dye instruction books back in those days?
Blank Apparel Plain Combed Cotton T-Shirt Large
Amazon Price: $11.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Start here - with a plain white t-shirt. Use rubber bands or twine to tie the shirt in a big crumpled ball. Dip in dye. Untie, rinse, repeat with a different color. Serendipity! Also, kind of fun.
Examples of the silly hippie costumes I'm not fond of...
...I'd really much rather see the real thing!
Learn the hippie lingo and attitude of love
...don't just look the part... ACT the part too!
Hippie Dictionary: A Cultural Encyclopedia of the 1960s and 1970s
Amazon Price: $10.10 (as of 06/01/2012)
If you want to look like an authentic hippie for Halloween, why not follow through by acting and talking like one too? Remember to be AUTHENTIC not SILLY. This isn't a joke; hippies were all about being NATURAL and REAL. Remember to say 'far out' and 'out'a sight' regularly, and be totally loving and cool.
I mean, be REALLY loving. You might get some clues from this lens: Love, a Work-Force Energy Booster or this one: Messenger from the Summer of Love.
How hippie are you?
...on a scale of 1 to 10?
Where did hippies get their clothes?
...free clothing bins, of course!
On Haight Street in San Francisco, and in some other locations, there were free clothing bins. People donated clothing and the bins were usually over-flowing. A lot of the clothing was old and campy looking by sixties standards.
Old black orthopedic shoes worn by our grandmothers were very popular in those days. Old bowler hats and 1930's style suit coats were worn too. Red bandana headbands were seen on both men and women. For women, scarves on the head and around the neck were fine. Shawls were seen often - usually homemade crochet shawls.
I'm sure a lot of hippies got things out of second hand stores, as I did. Not only was old clothing used to create the authentic hippie style, but antique jewelery was popular too.
Hats and hippie head gear
...use your imagination like the hippies did!
Bowler Derby Hat Black
Amazon Price: $3.50 (as of 06/01/2012)
Hippie leggings and footwear
...be authentic, not silly.
Drew Shoes Women's Lora Mary-Jane Flat,Black,11 M US
Amazon Price: (as of 06/01/2012)
Okay, this is a pretty nice looking pair of shoes similar to what hippie girls wore. Not exactly what I was looking for - but this will do.
Fish net stockings
...yes, we wore them!
Adult Seamless Fishnet Tights / Panty Hose Black one size
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 06/01/2012)
Lots of women wore solid or fish net tights like these back in the sixties - but they were all colors, not just black.
Hippie jewelery
...notice the bells! I wore bells. I still have one I occasionally wear!
Hippie jewelery
...you need the beads!
Not all hippies wore love beads, but a lot of us did. I constantly made love beads for my own use and to give to my friends. Other danglies were nice too, including dangle-type-earrings, or hoops.
Love beads
...get the right supplies.
Seed Beads 11/0 Colorful Glass Seed Bead Mix
Amazon Price: $3.89 (as of 06/01/2012)
These seed beads are what we made love beads out of.
Your comments are welcome
...speak now or forever hold your peace!
What do you think of my hippie costumes lens?
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joanferrer
May 25, 2012 @ 11:24 am | delete
- I love the real original style.. thanks for sharing.. the real thing still is incredibly cool in my opinion.
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Hennalady Hippie chick, Kim
May 15, 2012 @ 7:23 pm | delete
- Far out Man. I still wear the faded jeans, never buy new ones!, Have the Pea coat and it is my favorite coat,, tie dye, beaded jewelry, hoop and dangly earrings (Which I make), Hemp, flip flops, shawls, long skirts, lace, and combat boots are most favorite winter shoes, only because I dont have any moccasins LOL... And a peace sign on my key ring. I do believe I still fit into my polyester striped hip huggers. Hmmmm Groovy Baby :)
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burntchestnut
Apr 5, 2012 @ 7:18 pm | delete
- I was in high school in the early 70s and lived in a small town. I didn't get to participate in any hippie activities, but I wore a peace necklace, love beads, striped pants, fringed vest, go-go boots and had hair down to my waist (I'm a female). I thought the clothes were fun and of course, watched all the cool TV shows.
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JennyH
Feb 29, 2012 @ 10:45 pm | delete
- Good grief. I dress like an authentic hippie. I had no idea. Terrific lens! I have finally found a fashion site I can relate to. :)
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Words-of-Encouragement
Feb 28, 2012 @ 2:58 pm | delete
- Yep, crochet shawls, love beads, army jackets; I think you covered it pretty good! The outlandish stuff was on tv!
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VeseliDan
Feb 22, 2012 @ 7:35 am | delete
- I love this lens! Nice job!
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RecordLady
Feb 7, 2012 @ 6:27 pm | delete
- Trip down memory lane. Great lens. Thank you.
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fullofshoes
Feb 7, 2012 @ 4:33 pm | delete
- Ahhhhh my hippie days revisited in your lens. Thanks for the nostalgia; great lens!
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OhMe Jan 25, 2012 @ 7:17 am | delete
- This was fun! I remember wearing the hip hugger, bell bottom jeans that were so worn that they hung on by a thread.
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jadehorseshoe
Jan 17, 2012 @ 9:12 pm | delete
- Outstanding Lens.
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About Me
Hippies on Squidoo
...there are several.
Yes, we may look like grandmas and grandpas now, but we're still hippies at heart. Anyone else with a Squidoo hippie memoir of the sixties, please let me know! (See my contact link on my bio page.
by LindaJM
"Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened." -Dr. Seuss
My blog: Linda Jo Martin
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