Hippies were all about peace and love in the 1970s. They were fun-loving, war-hating, drug dealing sweethearts that eventually became CEOs of the major corporations that they despised. Somewhere in the magic of the 70s, hippies developed their own brand of fashion. It was a convenience, easy style that still inspires two generations later.

If you weren’t around in the 70s, you may only be relying on old photos, television, or other people’s memories to understand hippie fashion. Comfort was the primary emphasis for hippie fashion. They weren’t interested in very structured looks. Their clothing and appearance was very free-flowing and open. Of course, hippies were also counter-culture. They sought to do what was different from mainstream society. Hippies would never have worn a suit and tie. They would never cut their hair. They were peaceful, but dogmatic rebels.

Hippie men always wore beards. As mentioned previously, they never cut their hair. Most hippies sported long, straight hair that fell below their shoulders. Hair was never dyed. If you are looking to create a temporary hippie look, and cannot wait the months or years it will take to grow a beard and long hair, you should buy a wig or glue on beard. This combination will give you an instantly recognizable hippie look. You cannot look like a hippie without long hair or an afro if you have kinky curly hair.

Hair is a big part of the hippie look, so it won’t surprise you to learn that hippies also exposed their chest hair. No shaving for hippies, and this one applies to women as well! It should be noted, though, that women did not intentionally expose chest hair, if they had it.

As for clothes, hippie men wore bell bottoms pants. Look for jeans with huge bell bottoms, preferably skinny in the thighs. The jeans should not be perfectly intact. Most hippies wore holes in jeans, sandals, and everything else. Iron on patches onto your jeans. Hippies wore patches like peace signs and butterflies. Patches like these can be purchased at your local fabric store.

Women also wear bell bottom jeans with ironed on patches. If you want to look more feminine, wear a long, flowing dress, or a peasant skirt. Hippie women loved bohemian clothes, especially the peasant blouses and skirts with printed designs on them. Sometimes, hippies wore mini-skirts or mini-dresses.

Hippie women looked similar to men with long, straight hair. They would add freshly picked flowers to their hair. Some hippie women would take several daisies, or similar flowers, are string them together, creating a band. They would then wear the flower band around their hair. Fabric head bands were also popular, along with head scarves.

Both men and women wore tie dye t-shirts. It was economic, easy to create, and always individual. Hippies always wore sandals or flip flops whenever possible, and in the winter, they wore boots. Women wore boots also, with their dresses. Women never wore high heels. Make sure you wear the flattest shoes possible to carry off this look. Always get into the easy-going spirit whenever you dress like a hippie, because that’s the most important part of the equation.