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| Joan Baez and Bob Dylan 1963 |
Beatnik is the 50's/60's stereotype to label aspects of the Beat Generation, sprouting from the words of Kerouac in 1948 when the words 'Beat Genration' were first used. The Beat philosophy was of antimaterialism and soul searching. At the time that the terms were coined, there was a trend amongst young college students to adopt 'Beatnik'.
Fashions for women included black leotards, black turtle necks, breton shirts and wearing their hair long, straight in a rebellion against the middle class culture of beauty salons. Naturally Beatnik evolved and hippies emerged in the mid 60's right through to the 70's. One of my favourtie female icons from this time is Grace Slick who sang with Jefferson Airplane and The Great Society in the mid 60's. If you're not familier with Grace, you can hear her haunting vocals on songs by Jefferson Airplane such as 'White Rabbit', 'Somebody to Love', High Flying Bird'.
The Acid Queen had Beatnik/Hippie/Bohemian style down to a tee. As discussed in my blog on Gaultiers Autumn/Winter collection, lets look at some new and old peices to create the Grace Slick look.
The main peice for this outfit would either be smock , 70's style maxi dress or a tunic. This stunning psychedelic vintage 70's dress is from the Rokit website.
Next, 100 denier black tighs, especially if the dress or smock is short like this one, you don't want everything on show so get the darkest tights you can find
These gorgeous peep toe, brogue wedges are by Abacus and can be found through Topshop. Brogues with a heel and knee high boots would also go with this outfit
For jackets, stick to smart, velvet overcoats or military jackets. Avoid tye-dye, anything too hippie will just make you look like you live in the woods. We want chic, not new age.
This Jacket is also from Topshop, however you will probably find one in a Charity shop, as they have been on trend off and on for the past 8 years.
Here are some I found, the ring is Ted Baker, earrings are Love Rock and the necklace is by Peices Felia.
Last of all, here's a bag I found again on Rokit, it has a Mayan Calender design on it, leather and fits perfectly in with the Summer of Love look. Vintage, you can pick something simialr to this up in charity shops or any Vinatge shop. A Satchel style bag would also go very well
Hopefully this will give you some ideas in how to re-create a look used by an icon or from a period of time. Although some peices I have used as an example here are a little pricey, you don't need to spend a fortune. Combining new and old works brilliantly and makes your outfit unique. Sometimes, past times are the best to take ideas from and make them your own.
