1968 - Flower Power Blooms
This blog is part of a series where we look at the styles of the 1960s: A decade of change. As we analyze this transition we can see the 1960s started as a continuation of family values and fashion styles of the 50s. But that changed….
In 1968 hippie culture was starting to ooze into the mainstream fashion scene. To be accurate, there weren’t too many true hippies. Hippies were a subculture, a way of living that was against the societal values of the day, against conventional norms, AKA Mom and Dad. Hippies took hallucinogens and were into free love, communal living and sticking it to the man. However, most teens and young adults were not into the full Hippie subculture. Most people either went in and out of the culture or took on parts of the culture but were not full blown into the culture. However, having said that, people do, to this day, call themselves a hippie if they love the hippie fashion and the essence of carefree peaceful living and not conventional in your values. One of the elements of hippie culture which easily and quickly made it to the fashion runways was flower power. Bright colours of the mid sixties continued into the late sixties. Combine that with flowered patterns and you’ve got some pretty wild statements in clothing. Flowered patterns would be on dresses, pants, tops, coats and even hats!
The Maxi dress was starting to make an appearance in 1967 and it made the cat walk on a 1968 Versailles Fashion show. In this same show you can see elegant shift dresses, straight and A-line skirts and that hippie flower power peeking through as the youth culture and hippie culture continues to influence the shape of fashion.
Mary Quant, was continuing in her fashion journey as she promoted fashion as a way for women to be noticed, to look sexy and to feel good. Not only to feel good and be confident but to feel comfortable in the clothing. And not only clothing but shoes as well! The make-up Mary Quant was promoting in 1968 was a more natural look. That baby doll look of the mid sixties was fading in favour of women in control of who they were. A more “adult” statement. The feminist movement, the hippie movement, and the political airwaves was moving fashion toward a more relaxed look but while still retaining elegance in more formal attire.
Jeans were becoming ever so popular because of their casual wearability they were perfect for that casual relaxed hippie look. Flowers would be embroidered on them with long tied belts to give that free look. The bell sleeve along with the bell bottoms was popular along with flowered necklaces, earrings, bracelets and the like. Flowers, flowers, everywhere flowers. And why flowers? Because flowers represented the peace, love and counterculture movement that hippies represented. “Make peace, not war” was the mantra.
1968 was a great year in fashion….truly. We still have that elegance of days gone by lurking in the background but at the forefront is the playfulness of boho chic, flower power, daring styles and a leftover childlike allure of the mid sixties still lingering. In fact, it’s these qualities I see in today’s fashion. The revival of the late sixties is here in 2022.
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