MEMORIES:
Stratoman remembers...Some bad things certainly came out about the hippies over the years. But most of them weren't just draft dodgers, ... More »
Posted on 02/14/09
PHOTOS:
There were really two groups of hippies that first split from the mod scene. The first were the psychedelics, whose focus was on the drug culture drawn from the psychedelia of the mods. They wore tie-dye, a pattern which mirrored the drug-induced hallucinations they experienced while dropping acid and listening to artists such as Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
When America entered the Vietnam War, the two groups of hippies came together to address a major social change in the U.S. Together, during the summer of 1967, the psychedelics and the folkies marched together as one group – the hippies. They all dressed with the themes of freedom and returning to nature, letting go of traditional styles and values. All people were considered equal regardless of social class.
Their style also reflected their newfound interest in Eastern and Native American spiritualism. They wore ethnic styles from all over the world, combining antique Victorian gowns with Native American turquoise and sliver jewelry, alongside bright Indian silk scarves. Men grew beards and everyone let their hair grow long and unkempt. They embraced nudity, painting their bare skin with peace signs and flowers. If not walking around in bare feet, they wore leather sandals, elf boots, or sturdy earth shoes. The look was inexpensive and open minded, and everyone who wanted to dress like a hippie had the means to do so.
The center of the hippie movement was the Haight-Ashbury district in San Francisco, especially during that infamous 1967 summer of love. But the look was popular around the world for its revolutionary social and sexual politics. The hippies were the beginning of a very different world.
