Go BOHO or go home!
Summer is approaching us and along with it one of my favorite fashion trends is shining as brigh as possible all over us again – The Boho-Chic. I admit, my favorie season takes the Boho girl out of me and into the light! But let us ask ourselves first - what exactly is Bohemian style? This is a trend that represents few generations of culture, art and lifestyle. The Hippie fashion, the Aesthetics, the Romantics and the Rock Glam mix (or should I say crash marvelously into each other) in this 60s and 70-inspired fashion style. It’s been designers’ favorite for the last decade and is largely celebrated on art and music festivals all around the globe. But in its perfect nature, Boho is definitely not a commercial and mainstream style. Moreover, it’s supposed to be a protest against the traditional. Boho is gental spring and wild summer, it is lively, differen, earthly, non-materialistic and largely handmade… Boho is fun. Boho is freedom!
Brief
history of the Bohemian style:
To understand what a Bohemian truly is we have to go
back to the beginnings - all the way back to the end of the 18th century. Back
then artists were living a life of poverty that forced them to wear used and
old clothing. Before you know it this clothing became a new way of exressing
yourself eccentrically and artistically. The dressing similarities to the
nomadic gypsies, who came from an area called Bohemia, became a trademark of
various artists and activists, who protested against sociey’s norms. In the
19th century, the Romantics became associated with the French Bohemians. They
brought to the style flowers,
oriental-inspired elemens, medieval elements and all the colors of the rainbow,
along wih some fancy old, worn and furry coats. This style later evolved and an
ideology against materialism and social conventions was born (known as the
Aesthetic Movement - for visual imagery
about it just check any random Oscar Wilde image in Google). Loose fits and
embroideries were added to the Bohemian syle. Then in the early 20th century
designers entered the picture and added ethnic details, floral prints, paisley
and swirls. Slightly decade by decade the Bohemians reached their Golden era -
1960s and 1970s. During this period the Hippie Movement protested against
conventional norms and lifestyle (along with conventional clothing). Hippies
added loose dresses and skirts, mixed prints, fringe and the boho hair waves to
the picture. They totally refused the polished and classy silhouettes of the
previous years. And as time progressed it became the obvios fashion choice for
the rebels … until 2000s when various celebrities started dressing like
Bohemians and made headlines. Sienna Miller, Marie-Kate and Ashley Olsen,
Nicole Richie, Rachel Zoe - all of them became the trendsetters of the new
mainsream Bohemian, popularly known as the Boho-Chic style. Boho-chic is a
merge of styles, so basically it’s still inspired by Hippie and Aesthetic
culture, but it also has retro/ vintage elements in it. However, if Bohemian
tends to looks very effortless, Boho-Chic is much more polished and relies on
more luxrios fabrics (like velvet and satin). It also incorporates heels,
sequins and rhinestones and even goes dark/rock/glam sometimes.
The Substyles:
If we have to separate the different Bohemian
substyles, there are basically seven of them.
The Hippie
Bohemian
The 70s
Bohemian
The
Romantic Bohemian
The Edgy
Bohemian
The
Country Bohemian
The
Eclectic Bohemian
The Chic
Bohemian (Boho-Chic)
My personal favorites are The Romantic Bohemian and
The Edgy Bohemian, and naturally, of course, The Boho-Chic.
The
Must-Haves in a Boho-Chic wardrobe:
Classic Bohemian or Boho-Chic, here are some
important elements you should definatelly have in your wardrobe, if you want to
follow this trend.
Lace items
Ethnic
prints
Tunics
and/or Kaftans
Embroidery
Loose and
relaxed fits
Half-length/ three-quarter length sleeves
Off-shoulder tops (or dresses)
Mixed
print designs
Maxi
skirts and dresses
Metalic
items
Denim with
embroidery
A-line
cuts
Oversize
silhouettes
Macrame,fringe, trims
Flat ankle
boots
Flat
sandals
Fake fur
Wooden
elemens
Backpacks
Big Scarfs
Rattan
bags
Braid detailing
Patchworks
Bandannas
Floral
elements (and floral tiaras)
Cotton and
silk
High-waisted pants
Charlstone
trousers
Head
chains (as an alternaive to the 20s flapper headband)
Oversized
jewelry
Knitted
bags
Bright
colors
Big hats
Laced
edges
Slouchy
sunglasses
Leather
clothes
Lace
chockers (preferably with other necklaces)
More than
one bracelet at once
Long
earings
Also learn to layer boldly, forget about matching
colors, be brave when it comes to mixing paterns and prins and accesorize as
much (and huge) as possible. Wear your hair in buns or waves, in a cute bob or
loose braids. If you are still afraid to use brigh colors it’s perfectly OK to
go with the natural –browns and pinks, blues and greens, yellows and oranges.
Embrace every culture and nationality out there when it comes to using its
ethnical paterns in your clohing and accept hand-made items as your new best
friends. But most of all, feel comfortable in your skin and enjoy life, becase
that’s what being Boho is all about!
You can check visual imagery on the topic on this
Pinterest board:
And if you want to see my personal Boho-Chic
interpretations, they are available on this Pinterest board:
Is Bohemian your personal style? What kind of
elements do you implementate in your Boho styling? And who is your favorite
Boho-Chic influencer? Let me know in the commens below!
In case you want to check my other styling ideas
(including non-Boho), check my Instagram here:
And for your daily dose of fashion inspiration give
a big like to this FB page:
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