The Hippie Culture

2101 Words5 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Fashion trends and their impact on society

Culture, a concept created by Anthropologist, relates to the way human beings are taught to behave, feel, and think from the time they are born. (Eicher, Evenson & Lutz, 2008) Anthropologists suggest that large societies are composed of smaller groups, called subcultures. The people in each of these groups do not always agree with members of other groups about values, meaning and cultural forms. (Eicher, Evenson & Lutz, 2008)

In society people dress themselves for varied reasons, including protection of the body, extension of the body’s abilities, beautification and nonverbal communication. (Eicher, Evenson & Lutz, 2008) Dressing is a process that involves actions undertaken to modify and supplement the body in order to address physical needs and to meet social and cultural expectations about how individuals should look. The process includes all five senses; seeing, touching, hearing, smelling, and tasting. This process exists regardless of the society and culture into which the individual was born. (Eicher, Evenson & Lutz, 2008)

In the late 1960’s, a subculture was created that rejected the formalities of mainstream American society. It originated on college campuses in the United States, while eventually spreading to Canada and Great Britain. (Roskind, 2002) This subculture felt alienated from middle-class society, who they saw as dominated by materialism and repression, thus developing their own distinctive lifestyle. The subculture named themselves, Hippies, derived from “hip” a term used by the Beats, a group of American post-World War II writers, of the 1950s. (Roskind, 2002)

In order to study the products and processes of dress within a specific culture, without bringing cultural bias, a classification system of cultu...

... middle of paper ...

...1960's, presenting a myriad of hemlines, trouser types, color blends, clothing shapes and the mini skirt.
The 2014 Spring Couture Fashion Shows showcased a wealth of Hippie inspired designs. Some of the esthetics included tie-dye; paisley prints, bright colors, as well as, geometric patterns. The 2014 Couture Spring Collections also embraced bra less pieces, sheer fabrics and an abundance of floral designs.
It must be said that in general most hippies were anti-fashion. Hippies influenced more relaxed attitudes toward sex, in the new concern for the environment and in a widespread lessening of formality. This subculture challenged the tolerance, values, and agenda of the United States, forcing the re-evaluation of a country’s philosophy. They were trailblazer’s not only for clothing but also a wide range of ideas and attitudes thus changing society in the process.

Show More
Related

  • The Impact of the Hippie on American Society

    2364 Words  | 5 Pages

    American society and culture experienced an awakening during the 1960s as a result of the diverse civil rights, economic, and political issues it was faced with. At the center of this revolution was the American hippie, the most peculiar and highly influential figure of the time period. Hippies were vital to the American counterculture, fueling a movement to expand awareness and stretch accepted values. The hippies’ solutions to the problems of institutionalized American society were to either participate in mass protests with their alternative lifestyles and radical beliefs or drop out of society completely.

    Read More

  • The Hippie Movement of the 1960's

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement beginning in the United States around the early 1960s and consisted of a group of people who opposed political and social orthodoxy, choosing an ideology that favored peace, love, and personal freedom. The hippies rejected established institutions, criticized middle class values, opposed nuclear weapons and the Vietnam War, were usually eco-friendly and vegetarians, and promoted the use of psychedelic drugs. They created their own communities, listened to psychedelic rock, embraced the sexual revolution, and used drugs to explore alternative states of consciousness. They strived to liberate themselves from societal restrictions, choose their own way, and find new meaning in life.

    Read More

  • Anatomy of a Hipster

    845 Words  | 2 Pages

    The typical hipster is obsessed with trends before they were trendy- they wore American Apparel v-necks1 before Mitchell Davis2 came around, Vans before Warped Tour even existed, and skinny jeans long before Tripp jeans3 went out of style. Whether or not they are truly original is hardly the point- hipsters all confidently vocalize how they pioneered certain trends. However, the irony in this is that hipsters all claim to dissociate themselves with trends and conformity, making their “moment of self aggrandizing glory4” if not presumptuous, hypocritical. The hipster style is often compared to that of the Indie Kid. However, hipsters and Indie kids differ in that a hipster will go to an American Apparel store and pay $25 for a v-neck; whereas the Indie kid will simply cut a v-neck into one of their t-shirts because they don‘t have the money to do otherwise. Hipsters, conclusively, attempt to buy the Indie fashion, mostly due to its recent media acclaim. Shows such as The O.C. and One Tree Hill show the Indie kid as being the non-leading protagonist everyone ends up rooting for, regardless of their lack of place in most episodal plot. However, the Indie kids’ whole appeal lies in th...

    Read More

  • Hipster Culture

    1117 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term hipster was coined during the jazz age (1940s), when the term hip emerged as an adjective to describe enthusiasts of the growing music scene. The modern hipster is a composite of individuals with a certain bohemian, new-thinking lifestyle, as he or she rejects mainstream norms, and embraces and contributes to unconventional culture. Hipsters are a subculture of people that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and music, creativity, and intelligence. There are two sects of hipster: the authentic, indifferent hipster and the consumeristic hipster. One of the most prevalent ways of analyzing hipster, bohemian, and artistic identities is through consumeristic habits and ideologies.

    Read More

  • Counterculture Movement

    1580 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Counterculture movement was an alternate way of living for many American citizens. People began leaving big cities to escape issues in the urban areas. They started to live in large groups with people that were much like themselves. Those who participated in this movement strongly opposed the war, the Vietnam War in particular. They felt the ideal way of living was in peace and harmony. Better known as hippies, participants in the Counterculture movement started environmental awareness groups. The people started to be very concerned in the health of our planet and began to care much more about the damage being done to the earth. Hippies had a different view on politics, authority, marriage and sex. They rejected the social norms and viewed leaders unimportant. Politics were not a big concern when regarding the hippie culture because they believed that everyone was equal and no real leader was needed. In addition to a new way of life, the Counterculture movement became a time for young people to express their feelings through all types of music, art and literature that defined the 60’s generation.

    Read More

  • Summer Of Love: The Hippie Movement

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    During the summer of love, the diggers helped out and spread the trend of being a hippie. Hippies are always so recognizable then and now with their “long flowing hair, bright clothes, and flowy dresses.” (The Sixties Chronicles 2004) With their noticeable look the hippies believed strongly in individualism. Again shown with their clothes, but also something else. “...where the hippie cry, "Do your own thing!" served to incubate a new cornucopia of causes…” (Stein pg.1) There are all sorts of causes that they fought for then that we have now that is better than what it was before. Some of the causes they fought for were gay rights, the environment, women's liberation, saving the whales, saving the forests and so much more. It had a, “...widespread impact in fashion, art, in the use of illicit drugs…” (Ventre pg.1) They also helped out creating a counterculture movement. During the summer of love there was also bad things happening during this time, Vietnam war was going on. The Summer of Love was a backlash to the war. Most of the people there wanted progress and there were tons of anti-war protests. Although there were still some who resisted and didn’t care that thousands of people were being drafted into the war. “Some methods of change proved healthy, others were damaging, depending on which social observers are to be believed.” (Summer of Love That Changed Music and Culture 2007) While the hippies were out and trying to change the world, some did it while doing

    Read More

  • The Flower Children of the 1960s

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a hippie was more than just a fashion statement it was a new way of life that was introduced in the 60’s. Some major changes in the 60s was the uses of drugs such as Marijuana and LSD used by the hippies. Along with the drug use that hippies commonly used was the new fashion trends. All of the sudden young men started to grow beards, and let their hair grow down past their shoulders. Then women started dressing in Psychedelic colors and were dressing in ways nobody ever has seen. Then once the crazy astounding hippie style emerged men and women started to wear bell bottom jeans, tie dye shirts, headbands, and sandals. At times men and women would even go barefoot, some women would even go braless! Some other hippie styles that were common were fringed buckskins, vests, caftans, mexican peasant blouses and gypsy style skirts was what most women commonly dressed like. Although for other conservative hippie styles there was more of a lounging type of style such as men and women wearing pajamas with a tunic top of some sort.

    Read More

  • A 1920s Woman

    2068 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Chronicle of Western Fashion: From Ancient times to the Present Day.

    Read More

  • Life During the 1960’s

    665 Words  | 2 Pages

    The sudden pull from the conservative ‘50s changed America’s views on all aspects of life, including fashion, entertainment, and lifestyles. While the 1950’s had been very conservative, the stay-at-home housewives, the perfect families and home lives, children of the baby boom soon alternated this into a very different kind of lifestyle. Women were beginning to fight for their rights, and men began to realize them as equals, war in America became a very sore subject, not everyone was “patriotic” and believed we should all fight for our country. The people who began these changes in the way they thought were known as “hippies”. The hippie movement began in San Francisco.

    Read More

  • The Hippie Counterculture

    2095 Words  | 5 Pages

    Unlike the society before this movement, the hippie did not try to change America through violence, the hippie tried to change things through peace and love. The Hippie Movement was a moment during the mid 1960s through the early 1070s where sex, drugs and Rock-n-Roll, was at the forefront of mainstream society. No one really knows the true definition of a Hippie, but a formal definition describes the hippie as one who does not conform to social standards, advocating a liberal attitude and lifestyle. Phoebe Thompson wrote, “Being a hippie is a choice of philosophy. Hippies are generally antithetical to structured hierarchies, such as church, government, and social castes. The ultimate goal of the hippie movement is peace, attainable only through love and toleration of the earth and each other. Finally, a hippie needs freedom, both physical freedom to experience life and mental freeness to remain open-minded” (Thompson12-13). Many questions are asked when trying to figure out how this movement reached so many of America’s youth, and what qualities defined a hippie as a hippie?

    Read More

  • The Hippie Movement

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    When people hear the term hippie, they think of men and woman in loose clothing with flowers weaved in their hair. Although these men and women did in fact wear these things, they left a significant impact on society. Hippies were a part of the Counterculture movement, which basic ideals were to reject the ideas of mainstream society. The movement itself began with the protesting of the Vietnam War. Eventually, the movement was more than just protesting the war. Hippies promoted the use of recreational drugs, religious tolerance; they also changed society’s views and attitudes about lifestyle and social behavior. The Counterculture movement was the most influential era in the 20th century because the people of this time changed society’s outlook, and broached the topics of drugs, fashion, and sexual freedom.

    Read More

  • How the hippies changed the world

    1917 Words  | 4 Pages

    The term hippie is derived from "hip" or "hipster" used by the beats to describe someone who was part of their scene. It literally means to know, so someone who's "hip" is wise. Hippies never adopted this term for themselves. They preferred to be called the "beautiful people". However the media played up "hippy" as the catch-all phrase to describe the masses of young people growing their hair long, listening to rock music, doing drugs, practising free love, going to various gatherings and concerts, demonstrating and rejecting the popular culture of the early 60's. Hippies were the adults of the baby boom post-World War II. They wanted to test and enjoy the limits of life adopting a motto of - “Being alive should be Ecstasy”.

    Read More

  • Fashion in the 60s

    622 Words  | 2 Pages

    The swinging 60's were at their height. Women's hemlines were very short. Fashion in the 60's tended to encourage exhibitionism. Miniskirts, bold colors, and see through dresses were all geared to showing off women's bodies, and on rare occasion men's bodies. Gaudy accessories such as perspex rings and earrings and fold chain belts.

    Read More

  • The Hippie Subculture

    1428 Words  | 3 Pages

    The sixties was a decade of liberation and revolution, a time of great change and exciting exploration for the generations to come. It was a time of anti-war protests, free love, sit-ins, naked hippie chicks and mind-altering drugs. In big cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Paris, there was a passionate exchange of ideas, fiery protests against the Vietnam War, and a time for love, peace and equality. The coming together of like-minded people from around the world was spontaneous and unstoppable. This group of people, which included writers, musicians, thinkers and tokers, came to be known as the popular counterculture, better known as hippies. The dawning of the Age of Aquarius in the late sixties was more than just a musical orgy. It was a time of spiritual missions to fight for change and everything they believed in. Freedom, love, justice, equality and peace were at the very forefront of this movement (West, 2008). Some wore beads. Some had long hair. Some wore tie-dye and others wore turtle-neck sweaters. The Hippie generation was a wild bunch, to say the least, that opened the cookie jar of possibilities politically, sexually, spiritually and socially to forever be known as one of the most memorable social movements of all time (Hippie Generation, 2003).

    Read More

  • Fashion History

    1358 Words  | 3 Pages

    middle of paper ... ... It also analyzed the influences of modern dresses. As Palmer and Clark (2005) mentioned earlier, both decades are the classic era in fashion history.

    Read More

More about The Hippie Culture

Open Document