Boho Chic is a style of fashion that draws strong on bohemian (applied to people who live unconventional, artistic lives) and hippie influences. The boho chic mode of dress has become popular in mainstream culture since the early 1990s, and although appearing to wane from time to time, has repeatedly resurfaced in varying guises. Many elements of boho chic came into fashion in the late 1960s. Flower power, flower child, flower festive!
Boho Chic can consist of layered apparel, ruffly floral skirts, boots, floppy hats, flowing materials, giving off a look of bohemian, nomadic, spirited, gypsy, sexy, youthful and delightful! Fun, flowery style!
Boho Chic Fun Fact: Boho is an abbreviation of Bohemian Homeless, self descriptive of the style. The word ‘chic’ was borrowed from the French in the late 19th century and has come to mean stylish or elegant.
The boho look, which owes much to the hippie styles that developed in the middle to late 1960s, became especially popular at actress Sienna Miller’s appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2004, although some of its features were apparent from photographs taken of her in October 2003, and others living in or around the postal district of W10 (North Kensington), an area of London associated with bohemian culture since the mid-1950s.
Influence and Exponents in the Forward Move of the Boho Chic Look:
Many fashionistas attribute the boho chic look to supermodel Kate Moss. In April 2004, the British born fashion writer Plum Sykes was quoted as saying of a lynx mini-top, “Very cool, very bohemian, very Kate Moss-y.” In 2006, Times fashion editor Lisa Armstrong described a plaited leather belt as a “Boho ‘Kate’ Belt.” Actress Sienna Miller carried off the boho chic look that brought it into mainstream: even in the advertisements for Chloe early in 2005, Miller was shown as if casually shopping, while she told Vogue that she had a laid-back approach to grooming, including cutting her own hair.
In 2008 the Sunday Times applied the term “real chic” to a group of “the chicest celebrities”, including Sienna Miller and actresses Julie Christie and Marion Cotillard, who “handle the glare of fame with a large dose of reality”, with Sienna Miller being described as “a professional free spirit who seems to have more fun than anyone else.”
Boho Chic: Free spirit, festive, flared, fashionable fun!
Boho Chic: A trending look that works any day of the week!
The impact of boho chic illustrated certain broader trends in what was referred to as “the way we dress now,” with fashion being increasingly dictated not by fashion houses, but by the “famous and fashion forward”, of which Kate Moss, Lindsay Lohan and Sienna Miller were exemplars. Once the public spotted these new fashions, young women weren’t prepared to wait a season for the clothes to become available in stores, and the familiar boundaries between summer wear and the garments for autumn and winter were blurred. The practice of the fashion houses meeting such high clothing demands became known as “fast fashion.”
Ramp up your boho chic fashion spirit with layered, flowing, flowery garments. A sure fire look that is sure to last!
Boho Chic: The “beat” generation meets flower power!
Boho Chic Fun Fact: By the spring of 2005, boho chic was almost ubiquitous in parts of London and was invading stores in almost every British high street. Features included floaty skirts (notably long, white skirts), furry gilets, embroidered tunics, cropped jackets, large faux-coin belts, sheepskin (UGG) boots and cowboy boots, baggy cardigan sweaters and hobo bags. Footless tights and leggings were a contributory factor in the halving of sales of stockings in Britain between 2003 and 2007.
Boho Chic is a real eye catching, fashion treat!
Boho Chic became a popular staple in childrens’ fashion trends. Many parents embraced the boho chic trends and elements to create and purchase apparel for their children. This particular trend is inspired by the casual American fashion of the late 1960s, but as the counterculture included the influence of earlier time periods in its eclectic embrace of style and personal values, it often includes hints of the Victorian, a nod to the fabrics and details of the 1940s, or an homage to the intellectuals of the 1950s.
Boho Chic: A look of free spirited, dainty, elegant and sweet!
Boho Chic, hippie chic, gypsy chic, festive chic or dainty chic, there is no doubt that the bohemian, boho look is sensationally chic!
“Your look is light and airy, ready to dance into the sunset, whimsical and fun.”
“This is my boho chic look. It works for casual, sporty and festive events, or when I’m on the run.”
“I love the long lace skirt, cowboy boots, numerous chains and the flower in your hair.”
“It seems when dressed boho chic I get many looks and compliments, people stop and stare.”
“I adore your rhinestone hair chain and the long earrings that set off the boho look.”
“I suggest you dress boho chic yourself. You’ll get sold on the garments and hooked.”
Boho Chic: Change up your signature look and be boho chic unique!
Nancy’s next book in her award winning murder mystery series, Deadly Decisions – A Natalie North Novel, available now in online and retail bookstores.
Nancy Mangano is an American fashion journalist, screenwriter and author of the Natalie North murder mystery book series, A Passion for Prying, Murder Can Be Messy and Deadly Decisions – A Natalie North Novel. Visit Nancy on her author website http://www.nancymangano.com, Twitter @https://twitter.com/nancymangano, her fashion magazine Strutting in Style! at http://www.struttinginstyle.com, and her Facebook fan page Nancy Mangano https://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-Mangano/362187023895846
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