Hippie Era - Music and Cloths

The Hippie Era - The Music and Clothing Were Like None Other

Text: By Jayli Soladay:

The Hippie era in the 60's and 70's was characterized by many things. Communes where groups of people banded together to live in one large household or farm, working together were all over the United States (a few small hold-outs are still active today).

Other nations had the same movement going on as well. The anti-Vietnam-war movement was another, with the young people promoting peace, love, open-mindedness and sharing.

The music and clothing were like none other before, sometimes the wilder, the better, but most of it was characterized by individualism, natural fibers and many accessories that were either hand-made or hand embellished to suit the owner.

Tie-dye was popular and showed up in everything from t-shirts to jeans, skirts to shirts, scarves, bandannas and bags. Any clothing that was reworked to fit someone was worked on by the owner, and maybe some friends, rather than a formal tailor shop.



The style was usually loose fitting, flowing and comfortable. Bright colors and flower designs were everywhere, from applique patches and fabric paint on clothing to painted on their vehicles. Peace symbols were just as predominant.

They were rebelling against the staid, 'normal' aspects of society, challenging it to grow and open up to new ideas. Many of the young people became vegetarians as a way of life and to protest the killing of other creatures for food. Hair was worn long in order to be different in yet another way from the generation before.

It was a time of almost an entire nation of young people on the move, looking to 'find themselves', a time of discovery to learn not only who they were, but also who they could be, a time not only of seeing the world around them, but appreciating it and trying to learn ways to preserve it.