Are you a Real Hippie or do you just Dress Like One? (Warning, Nudity)

In order to be a hippie, "don't worry; be happy"...but remember to protest injustice

(nobody is worrying about cellulite)

Hippies made or embellished their own clothes or purchased items from the thrift shop, deliberately rejecting the standard uniform.  Sometimes outfits were deliberately outlandish.  But at other times they were jeans and t-shirt basic, meant to reflect a rejection of class discrimination.   The hippies still had to choose their clothing from what was available and what suited their lifestyle.  A party going, LSD tripping acid rock loving  hippie might look like this.

(I feel dizzy just looking at a still photo of this dance)

But your clothing might be simpler if you were trying to get back to the land or spent most of your time attending protests.  In either case long hair and unkempt facial hair for men was another way of rejecting the status quo.

The hippie movement did not achieve all of it's goals, but if you believe, as I do, that the choices you make and your motivations for making them speak  powerfully about who you are, then you probably agree with me that new hippies are born every day.  Time has passed and lessons have been learned, so no modern day hippie would be thoughtlessly mimicking the past.  Incorporating hippie clothing into your wardrobe does not make you a hippie although the legacy of the hippies includes the vast choice in clothing options and the increasing tolerance for individual preferences being expressed in the workplace.  Modern hippies are as likely to create their own eclectic style from thrift shops as they are to purchase historical hippie favourites from retail chains or trendy new designs in organically grown and sustainable fabric.  They are likely to have embraced tattoos and body piercing although that too has lost it's edge.  A modern hippie might sport dreadlocks or wear Birkenstock sandals with socks, but these too have become somewhat of a stereotype.  The hippie creed is that it shouldn't matter what you wear; you should wear what you like.  Hopefully you will be an informed consumer.

Other Criteria for Proudly calling yourself a Hippie

* liberal politics and strong views in support of human rights

* concern for and activism regarding the environment     

* vegetarianism/veganism for health, environmental and animal rights reasons

*a belief that outer beauty is superficial and little time/money is spent on this

*beliefs and actions support the philosophy that love and compassion are the antidote to violence and war/hatred and racism/ prejudice and intolerance

*attempts to find a balance in a consumer driven economy and the perils of excess

*a desire for peace love and harmony to rule