What does it mean to be a hippie?
Straight from the United States during the 1960s, the goal of the movement is to fight peacefully against the Vietnam War. It stands out particularly for the refusal to conform to the rules established by consumer society. One single motto, live a bohemian life and never again be a slave to a job or a boss. Freedom is the only motto and love is the only way of thinking and perceiving the world. This will lead to their famous cult phrase that defines the entire movement: "Peace and love"
What is the lifestyle of a hippie?
Being a hippie is not just a way of dressing; it is also a way of thinking, a way of seeing the world and interpreting it, the only importance is to enjoy an indefinite and barrier-free freedom. Freedom, such is the word that defines the movement, seeks to be interpreted in multiple ways, whether in behavior or in the way of dressing. For example, let's take a hippie's hair, always long and always in the wind; the goal is once again to symbolize freedom and mark the difference between the Western world and the world of peace and love.
It is therefore not uncommon for hippies to seek to materialize "freedom"; for this, they resort to multiple drugs such as cannabis, which will allow them to soar and thus break the chains of society to fly into a better world without suffering and without hate.
Although the hippie world is implicitly based on imagination and dreams, it still had a huge impact on the world by allowing to stop the end of the Vietnam War. Moreover, thanks to the hippie movement, we find the creation of multiple causes defended. To name just a few, we have: the fight against minorities, whether ethnic or religious, the fight against gender inequalities, and finally the liberation of women's bodies.
Woodstock: Birth of a legend and a unique music festival.
The advent of hippie style gives birth to a whole new style of music. Indeed, it is for the first time in history that we will hear pop rock sounds sprinkled with an extremely rebellious message.
Festivals are embraced by all hippies who consider it a place of worship; people come here to recharge and find themselves, becoming more than just a simple movement; the hippie style becomes a true religion.
The most famous festival is none other than Woodstock. What is Woodstock, you might ask? Woodstock is currently the largest gathering of hippies that has ever occurred in the history of humanity. Indeed, this festival, held in the Catskill Mountains not far from New York City in 1969, was supposed to gather 50,000 people; ultimately, the festival gathered no less than 500,000 people and took place over 2 days.
For this concert of great names, artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Joe Cocker, and Joan Baez were present.
It was not uncommon to witness 3 deaths during the entire festival, two from crack and heroin overdoses, and another after being run over by a tractor at night.
You must be asking yourself the question, "Why have I never heard of this festival? " The answer is simple, bohemian, because there was only one festival. In reality, the festival was not profitable, as out of the 500,000 people, a huge number did not pay their ticket, which was $6. Moreover, there were no less than 75 overdoses, which caused enormous hospital costs for the festival managers. To cover all their debts, the festival directors had no choice but to sell the rights to Warner to eliminate all their debts.
Discover now the hippie clothing style!
The movement, also called "Flower power," often featured extremely floral dresses for women. Often barefoot to be in total harmony with the earth, it is also not uncommon to see small leather sandals 👠 for women. For men, the wide cargo pants are at their peak, also called bell-bottom pants 👖 ; for the top, we find big blazers. The centerpiece of the entire movement is none other than the long dress 👗 !
The hair of the hippie style was a real mark of opposition to the army. Indeed, long hair was forbidden in the army; everyone had shaved heads. Thus, to mark their opposition to the Vietnam War, hippies wore long hair. In terms of accessories, we can see that women loved to wear crossbody bags; despite this small decorative element, hippies remained wanderers and opted more for barely-there outfits than sophisticated ones.
The hippie outfit became more elaborate and chic with the arrival of disco, ultimately becoming extremely close to bohemian outfits. The bohemian fashion taken up by city dwellers is very far from the strong message emitted by an entire population to protest against the rulers of their time. The bohemian style then sees the light of day, much more classy and chic; there are still some hippie inspirations in the way of dressing, but with moderation. These pieces are much easier to wear regardless of the season and body type.