Where the Hippies get their clothes


Biker outfit - 7th Ave Tavern	Zigzag Man - Mexican outfit	Grateful Dead tie-dye

I've gotten a lot of e-mail on this one, so up goes a new page on the subject. To see my latest outfit, check out the web site's WebCam, which I update regularly. First of all, I guess I should mention the places where Hippies don't get their clothes. The mall is one place they don't get their clothes because it's where the multitudes get their clothes and we're shooting for a different look. Who wants to imitate everyone else? I hope that clears up a few things. In the sixties, there were boutiques and some headshops that sold Hippie clothes, but the main places where Hippies scored their clothes were at the thrift stores and the army-navy stores.

Actually, this is kind of like a treasure hunt, because you do have to hunt around at various thrift stores, and you might not find what you're looking for the first time. I had to go every Sunday for three years before I found one of those Mexican vest thingies (see above) that Hippies like to wear. Lots of those thrift stores have discounts on Sundays, so that's when I would go.

Another way to get Hippie clothes is to make your own. One way is to learn how to tie-dye. Where did the art of tie-dying come from? The Hubart Huncke Reader claims William Burroughs thought it up. I have no reason to dispute that claim. You also can use computers and t-shirt transfers to make your own unique designs.

I've noticed differances in the clothes that west coast and east coast Hippies wear. East coast Hippies like to wear bandanas around their neck and usually wore pants other than blue jeans and usually a button up shirt. An example of this is that 16 year old dude and girlfriend they interviewed in the movie, Woodstock. West coast Hippies seem to prefer blue jeans and sweatshirts, t-shirts or tank tops and prefer to wear the bandanas as a headband. At least, that's how it went for the men.

A variation of the west cost look is the biker outfit. The above example was shot with a Quickcam® under ultraviolet light. This look usually consists of blue jeans (black jeans are also becoming popular), a t-shirt (usually black) with the sleaves cut off and a Levi jacket with the sleaves cut off and a wallet with a chain on it that's clipped to one of the belt loops. Compared to Hippie clothes, biker clothes (especially the Harley t-shirts) tend to be cliches, but what makes their outfits unique are the patches they put on their Levi Jackets.