Berkeley in the 60's/ Haight Street Hippies
The bay area was a hot spot in the 1960’s and 1970’s for counter culture movement and people that were advocates of social + political change. As well as people looking to change their outlooks on life by “expanding their minds” and adopting new ways of life. Starting around 1967, there was a large spur of young people moving to the Haight and Ashbury area in advocacy of love, anti-war in Vietnam, and civil rights. The summer of 67’ on Haight and Ashbury, which was coined the “Summer of Love”, is reference to the many assemblies, protests, performances, music concerts, and drug / psychedelic powered gatherings hosted at the three parks surrounding Haight and Ashbury. This was a time
of exploration, expression, and acceptance. The events and actions from the students at Cal Berkeley during the1960’s were pivotal for progression of this country's social, political, and cultural transformation. From pushing the Free Speech Movement to fighting for the liberation of expression at People's Park, the students of this time made sure to push for a new way of life where the government doesn’t tell them what to do or how to think.These two periods of times had a synergistic relationship with each other and laid the foundation for the values many of us hold today.
on display
Berkeley in the 60’s was the hotspot for counter-culture and social justice, spearheaded by the students of UC Berkeley and a number of professors as well. Fighting for topics such as freedom of speech, social and political change, and human rights, the impact of the events and protests that happened in this area and around this time are still felt today. This University of California Berkeley sweatshirt is significant because it also dates back to the 60’s, and judging by the amount of wear and color loss on it, was worn heavily by a student before ending up in a liquidation warehouse in LA and finally on display here.. The original owner definitely loved this sweatshirt, likely because of the amount of significance surrounding Berkeley campus at the time.
In the late 60’s going into the 70’s, the peace promoting, music loving hippies popularized a new way of dressing. Which was meant to help express their ideas of self expression, rebellion, and love through bold colors, asymmetrical cuts, and mixed styles. This pair of late 60’s to mid 70’s “Patchwork Hippie Denim” is an outstanding example of the mindset and fashion sense of the hippies. The classic bell bottom silhouette paired with the countless hours of original hand repairing from various fabrics and other scraps of the same era. These pants have an amazing amount of personality, and are a great example of the usage of bold colors, fighting capitalism by reusing old material, and the eccentric look of the hippies.
additional pieces
Another example of classic silhouettes being blending with more wild materials, patterns, and overall execution. This jacket features a medley of tones and shades of suede leather, each piece shaped and layered with intention.
The Haight Ashbury Street Faire was an annual event that first began in 1978, in order to promote and feature arts and crafts vendors, musicians, and other sellers. This event has been a longstanding yearly tradition in San Francisco for over 40 years, and still goes on today. This shirt in particular is from the 1994 Haight Ashbury Street Faire.
This is the other example of custom flared pants that were being made and popularized in the 70’s. As you can see the overall aesthetic of each pair varied greatly from individual to individual, each giving a small glimpse into the personality of the owner.
The 70’s counterculture movements had a large emphasis on ending the stigma on certain “drugs” such as marijuana and psilocybin. And with anything that contains a little bit of edginess, the nature of promoting these so-called “drugs” fueled a new punk counterculture style. This 70’s marijuana tank top from a brand from the UK is a great example of that.
The peace sign was synonymous with many of the movements in the bay area, used a lot in situations such as anti-war sentiments in Vietnam, as well as equal treatment of humans no matter the color, gender, or sexuality. This is a later example but nonetheless a fun addition to the curation.
A great example of the style of the 70’s, mixing classic silhouettes and materials with wild patterns and messages of peace, love, and psychedelics. The patches that were added feature themes of psychedelics, peace, love, equality, and San Francisco, CA.