We're all groovy

Thanks to liberated hippies, fashion is more about personal style than rules

We owe more than you might think to the hippie.

Without them, men might not be wearing polo shirts and wrinkle-free Dockers to work on casual Fridays. Most women might still be confined to dresses, pantyhose and heels while running errands. And we might all still be using starch -- or actually know where the iron is in the house.

A flowy peasant skirt or hip-hugger jeans may not be your style, but you're likely enjoying a more casual, easygoing fashion sense because of the fashions that grew out of the Summer of Love 40 years ago.

"The whole hippie, anti-fashion revolution was a major turning point in fashion history," says Valerie Steele, the director of the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. "The hippie style, like the Bohemian style before it, was about dressing to please yourself rather than following social rules."

At the time, the look seemed outrageous to many. The hippie wore secondhand or worn and torn jeans, tie-dyed and graphic-print T-shirts, long beaded necklaces, tunic tops embroidered in India, psychedelic prints, long flowy skirts and dresses or anything made from organic or natural fabrics.

It sounds an awful lot like what people have been wearing this summer.

And last summer.

And the one before that.

The hippie influence has become one of the most enduring in modern fashion. Over the years, the free-spirited, break-the-rules look has taken different forms, coming in and out of fashion as bell-bottoms in the '70s, New Wave in the late '70s and early '80s, grunge in the '90s and Bohemian chic in the '00s.

The most recent widespread hippie-inspired look was the low-rise jean, which began as a teenage and young adult trend in 2001 but later trickled down so far into the masses even suburban moms were ditching their high-waisted "mommy" jeans.

If you head out to stores now, you might find what's left of this summer's Summer of Love-inspired designs: a long, tiered gauzy dress at Old Navy, a kimono-sleeved tunic at Target or a Bisou Bisou printed maxi skirt at J.C. Penney.

It's easy to understand why designers so often draw on the look for inspiration. The hippie style is an easy sell, especially in the summer, with fickle consumers who often crave ease and comfort over changing fashion trends that typically cater to the tall and thin.

"It's a flattering look and it's flattering on a lot of body types," says Shari Keller, the designer for and owner of Carrboro's Mehera Shaw Designs, known for upscale Bohemian, free-spirited clothing styles.

Comfort first

Shoppers increasingly want comfort -- more than they care about following society's fashion rules.

"It [the Bohemian style] makes it a great choice when women are tired of tight, colorless outfits and want more freedom in dressing," says Susan Coker, owner of Dina Porter women's clothing store in Chapel Hill. "That's why it reoccurs so often."

The clothing is also less restrictive, says Ashley Vermillion Harris, owner of the women's clothing boutique Vermillion in Raleigh. "In the summertime, people are ready to be a little more unstructured, a little more free-spirited."

There's something, too, about wearing clothes that make you feel a little rebellious. And each generation that comes of age wants a taste of it.

"For young people, it's a form of self-expression, a way to rebel against their parents," says Julie Jennings, the owner of one of the area's oldest contemporary women's clothing stores, Uniquities. "They all want to have their Woodstock."

She's seen it happen over and over in the 15 years she's owned the store. This time, she thinks the look has plenty to do with people's growing concern about the environment.