Graphic T's and hippies

If you are interested in updating your old taste for hippie couture into something modern, there are several things you can do with your 60’s and 70’s fashion pieces, to spare you an expensive trip to vintage shops. The first thing you want to do is consider your current fashion needs, and the quality of your dated pieces: if you work as an attorney, an updated but badly worn fabric may not be practical.

Select a few fabrics that coordinate well, and sew them together like a quilt, then follow an updated pattern to make something cute and quirky that any hippie would covet. A shift dress made of several different tie-dyed fabrics could have a fresh look that you would enjoy wearing to the beach, for example. If you have more leeway in your life to be as eccentric as a hippie of the 60’s, here’s a fun fashion idea that you could add to your ensemble:

Go to flea markets, talk to some hippie guy friends, and gather all of the skinny, colorful ties that you can find, then sew the top 20 inches together until you have a big enough piece of fabric to wrap around your hips and overlap. Then, you can sew the end two ties to a zipper and have a funky, hippie-chic skirt, or you can sew the skirt 30 inches down, so that the flaps don’t open too much when you’re walking.

There's nothing that says "70s-style" better than a vintage tee. From tie dyed, to bingo tees and even tee-shirts with 70's rock bands are hot commodities. Pick one up at a local flea market or vintage shop. You can even recreate a look with a newer tee that you tie dye.

Take your old pieces and re-create the fun and freedom you felt during the hippie reign with a few simple updating tactics. Your personal fashion has evolved, but you can use touches of the past, like a chunky 60’s necklace, to break free from an otherwise corporate look. Or, you can try your simple 70’s hairstyle to play-down a fancy evening dress.