Bohemian Like You…
- Gabrielle Clague
- Sep 8, 2024
- 6 min read
This week’s blog post has been inspired by the “Boho Is Back” trend that has been surfacing online in recent months and especially since Chloé debuted their Fall/Winter ‘24 Runway Collection at Paris Fashion week back in February, here we are seeing a revival of floaty romantic, bohemian inspired silhouettes and delicate chiffon fabrics used throughout the collection.
(Chloé Fall - Winter 2024)
This seasons collection is actually quite reminiscent of earlier Chloé collections, their Fall/Winter 2015 collection featured similar silhouettes and 70’s inspired tailoring which I can remember being very inspired by at the time in the years that I’d first began to heavily incorporate this style into my wardrobe.
For lots of us folks who love bohemian style and see it more of a lifestyle than a trend, boho has never really left our wardrobes and I’m sure if you’re anything like me, have favourites in your wardrobe you’ve owned for many years!
Wether it’s in or it’s out I really do think that bohemian style is timeless, and the same with the overlapping 70’s styles which we keep seeing making a come back again and again, one example being the 70’s revival trend which happened last year after the release of Daisy Jones & The Six, but is something that keeps returning as a trend every couple of years.
(Stills from Daisy Jones & The Six)
For me part of Bohemian style is collecting and curating timeless pieces which I can treasure for many years and fall in love with again and again, some of my favourite pieces I’ve had in my wardrobe for almost 10 years and you would never tell, which is one of the reasons I love collecting vintage clothing, or investing in well made pieces which stand the test of time.
Before I continue discussing my love of all things Bohemian, I wanted to discuss the origins of the word Bohemian and it’s meaning, something which I think is very important to remember and recognize.
The origins of Bohemian
The word Bohemian was derived from the French word Bohémien which emerged in the early 19th century and was the name given to Romani people and people living among them in lower rent districts of Paris, whom the French believed to have come from the Bohemia region (now known mostly as Czechia)
In the later half of the 19th Century the word Bohemian evolved into a word to describe an artist or littérateur (intellectual) and later on in the early 20th century was used to describe artists, poets and those who would follow a life outside the usual societal expectations.
During the 1940’s and 50’s a new generation of poets, known as the beat poets rebelled against mainstream consumerism with poetry that mirrored their unconventional ways of living.
This was followed into the 1960’s with a new generation of free thinkers, the hippies who shared bohemian values and followed an alternative lifestyle, this is where I believe bohemian fashion really evolved, during the hippie movement of the late 60’s and into the early 1970’s.
The Hippie Movement
The 1960’s was and still is one of the most iconic decades for development in the world of fashion, arts, film and music, with so many styles and subcultures emerging from this era and it is during this era where the hippies evolved, expressing their individuality through the arts and their approach to fashion and lifestyle.
(Map of the Hippie Trail)
Whilst the Bohemian aesthetic was not exclusive to Hippies, there were similarities between styles and in living an alternative way of life.
During the late 50’s through to the 70’s, an overland journey known as “The Hippie Trail” was taken by members of the hippie subculture traveling from Europe and Asia through countries such as Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Thailand, with many more on the trail. I believe this is where a lot of 60’s hippie and bohemian fashions were picked up from street markets and local artisans.
(Hippies in Nepal, 1969 by Bruce Thomas)
These fashions became popularized even more by musicians of the time such as The Rolling Stones who travelled to Morocco, and The Beatles who travelled to India and brought back certain styles with them, later encouraging designers in India, such as Ayesha Davar to export their designs from India to the UK.
This is when traditional pieces such as block print skirts, kaftans, kurtas and Afghan dresses and coats became popular in the western world with natural fabrics and traditional dyeing, printing and embellishment techniques being at the forefront of design, all of which are still popular today.
(Wearing a late 1960’s Ayesha Davar block printed cotton Kaftan from my personal vintage collection)
Bohemian designers of the Sixties and Seventies
During this era many British designers of the time were creating bohemian inspired styles with floral prints, free flowing silhouettes with billowing sleeves and ruffles, using chiffon fabrics and lace, a couple of my favourite designers of the time being Barbara Hulanicki of Biba, Gina Fratini, Thea Porter, Alice Pollock, Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell.
(Images from a recent visit to the BIBA exhibition at the Fashion & Textile museum, featuring some late 60’s and 70’s bohemian designs.)
(Modelling an original bohemian Gina Fratini chiffon dress for my shop Rags & Feathers Vintage)
(Top; Modelling Joanie Clothing x Celia Birtwell Bottom; The Original Design by Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell modelled by Gala Mitchell, 1969)
Bohemian Icons of the Sixties, Seventies and Beyond!
Some of my favourite celebrity fashion icons throughout history have had a very distinctive style with bohemian influences and include the likes of Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Nicks and In more recent years Florence Welch (just to name a few!) all of which mix a variety of vintage and antique styles and cultural pieces collected from all over, with a keen eye for accessorizing and let’s not forget Kate Hudson as Penny Lane in the Iconic 2000 movie Almost Famous which brought back a bit of a revival in bohemian, rock and roll style fashions.
Shopping the Bohemian style
As I mentioned earlier on in the post, for me Bohemian style is all about collecting and curating timeless, well made pieces which will stand the test of time and express my own individual style, rather than buying into short lived trends.
My favourite ways to shop are buying original vintage pieces, there are so many beautiful bohemian designs from the 60’s and 70’s which not only are better made than most clothes you find today, but also original and unique and have a story to tell.
Some of my favourite things to search for are vintage Afghan dresses, 70’s prairie dresses, Indian block print skirts and tunics, cheesecloth blouses and embroidered pieces.
I also follow some beautiful modern slow fashion brands which are great for buying well made vintage inspired garments with a heavy bohemian influence, some of which I’ve listed below!
8 Bohemian Slow Fashion Labels
An independent fashion label specializing in premium vintage clothing and luxury upcycled fashion designs, handmade in London.
A sustainable label with shop based in Cornwall, creating small batch vintage inspired collections using traditional block printing techniques, natural dyes and fabrics within their designs.
A British vintage and slow fashion label creating timeless romantic dresses, created in small batches and designed to be future heirloom pieces.
Seventies Soul is a UK based online business with a range of vintage 70’s inspired designs using natural and vintage fabrics and techniques such as Indian block printing and Suzani embroidery, supporting individual artisans and craftspeople.
El Hobo is a UK based label, specializing in unique handmade and upcycled garments utilizing vintage and secondhand fabrics and natural materials such as leather, sheepskin and suede.
Meadows specialize in romantic, feminine pieces inspired by victoriana, prairie and folk styles, designed in Hackney, London.
Nalini is an online shop based in Macedonia creating Bohemian clothing for free spirits using natural and vintage fabrics.
Ida And Moon is a Colorado based business specializing in small curated collections of vintage and handmade and upcycled pieces made from vintage textiles, salvaged natural materials and plant dyes.
Ambaar Bazaar is an online business based in the UK with a range of designs made in India specializing in block prints, embroidery and indian silk fabrics.
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