What Is Bohemian Style?
Bohemian style is a fashion style strongly related to hippie fashion, in which natural fabrics, retro patterns, neutrals and warm shades merge with 70s style accents and a flair for statement accessories.
Bohemian style is more than just a fashion trend – it’s an actual culture in its own right, one that comes with a very specific ideology and complicated history. While it’s closely associated with the hippie fashions of the 60s and 70s, these days, bohemian fashion is part of the mainstream culture. But fact is, boho fashion actually started out as a counterculture back in the 19th century. Today, the wide variety of boho clothing and accessories make the style an actual phenomenon, one that follows the lines of effortless, relaxed fashion, with its loose-fitted clothing items, casual accessories and overall artistic, creative mishmash of elements.
The fashions labeled as bohemian represent the lifestyle ideology that comes with it: an alternative to the traditional way of dressing, paired up with an equally alternative, more liberated lifestyle and a social stance against everything from materialism to society’s constraints.
Bohemian style comes with a long history, with its aesthetic originating in the late 60s and 70s. Also called ‘boho chic’ or ‘boho’, the style features a variety of natural materials, earthy shades and hippie-inspired patterns.
The origin of bohemian style is strongly correlated with the bohemians, a counterculture that appeared in France after the French Revolution. The era saw many artists plunge into poverty, as a result of being deprived of the former system of patronage.
Bohemian fashion is laid back, unconventional and highly expressive. Like hippies, bohemians are free-spirited and refuse to dress in order to conform. Bohemians are often romantic, with a wonderer like lifestyle, similar to hippies.