Bohemian Style - A Flashback into Fashion History

I have always had a penchant for all things boho. There is something eccentric yet romantically feminine about Bohemian fashion, the boho look is self-expression at its best and is totally timeless (you could even incorporate pieces from your mother’s closet!).

According to Wikipedia, the term ‘Bohemian’  “…is applied to people who live unconventional, usually artistic, lives”.The ‘Bohemian’ label was first given to the refugees of Central Europe. Their gypsy lifestyles did not conform to the bourgeois upper class.

In 1848 the word bohemianism was first coined by William Makepeace Thackeray in his novel “Vanity Fair”. In 1862, the Westminster Review described a Bohemian as "simply an artist or littérateur who, consciously or unconsciously, secedes from conventionality in life and in art".

 

 

 

The late 20^th century saw the rise of Welsh model Dorelia McNeill. Dorelia lead a very Bohemian lifestyle. She lived in a caravan with two artist brothers Gwen John and Augustus John, and married the later. She was the muse for both the John brothers’ works and one of the notable pieces was by Gwen John entitled “Dorelia in a Black Dress”. This was painted while Gwen and Dorelia travelled France by foot. It portrays Dorelia in a simplistic style, whereas her portraits done by Augustus give her more of a gypsy vibe with colourful attire, scarves and beads.

In the early years of the 21st century, the Sunday Times thought it ironic that "fashionable girls wore ruffly floral skirts in the hope of looking bohemian, nomadic, spirited and non-bourgeois", whereas "gypsy girls themselves ... are sexy and delightful precisely because they do not give a hoot for fashion".

 

1909 – The Cross-Gender trend hit Paris with style icons like Colleen Moore and Louise Brooks donning cropped hair and pants.

1920-30 – This era saw a marriage of Bohemian with Shabby Chic. Winston Churchill’s niece Clarissa was a great follower of this trend.  

Around the mid 1920’s the Eton Crop hairdo was also gaining popularity. Jazz queen Jospehine Baker rocked this trend, and was known for her animal print dressing and dramatic accessories.

 

 

1944 – The post-war scenario diluted the colourful aspect of boho glam, and the bright prints, peasant skits and floral accessories were predominantly replaced with a more sober black. A style icon for boho black would be French actress and singer Juliette Greco. When she first performed outside Saint Germain in black trousers and golden sandals, she was astounded by the fan-following and later confessed that her style was a result of poverty: “When I was a teenager in Paris ... I only had one dress and one pair of shoes, so the boys in the house started dressing me in their old black coats and trousers. A fashion was shaped out of misery. When people copied me I found it a little ridiculous, but I didn't mind. It made me smile.” Performing in London over fifty years later, Gréco was described as "still ooz[ing] bohemian style.”^[

1947 – Major fashion houses were starting to cash in on Bohemian style, and Dior came up with the “New Look” taking inspiration from bright colors that clashed with Parisian style sensibilities. The “New Look” came at a time when Europe and America were just beginning to fall back into normalcy post war. War time had pushed many women into the workforce and till then, clothing was more functional than luxurious.

 

 

 

 

1950 – The 1950’s gave us Brigette Bardot, a style icon we are still inspired by to date. The long tresses, the fringe, the black winged eyeliner still spell her magic even today.

 

1960 – The Bohemian lifestyle influenced the hippie (or ‘flower power’) movement of the ‘60’s the world over. The Greenwich Village gained popularity and singer Bob Dylan was quoted saying the Village was  "where people like me went - people who didn't belong where they came from … where the writers I was reading and the artists I was looking at had lived or passed through". This summed up the nomadic hippie lifestyle. Fashion got more colourful with the flower-power movement, and psychedelia was born. A notable boho chic of this era is Janis Joplin. She was seen in bright colours, romantic crochets, and tons of colorful jewelry. She even got her Porsche painted with psychedelic art.

1975 – Hippie fever was felt through the ‘70’s, and Freddie Mercury came up with “Bohemian Rhapsody”, a song I feel is a perfect translation of the free-spirited vibe of boho-chic.

-       Big Sis.