Hello. How has your week been? I've been busy with family and trying to register the name for my new creative consulting and wellness company. I never knew how difficult it could be to pick a matching domain name that wasn't already taken. Just a little tip: it really helps if you're company or blog name is specific and not generic, or one word like mine. For sure, I love the name Truly, but I must admit, it has been pretty difficult to work around. It's definitely been a lesson in patience for me, and learning to trust God in the process. Thankfully, I've come up with ideas, and promise to reveal more as things unfold. BUT, I will not be talking about domain names today. Instead, I decided to bring back my series, Different Time, Same Style. It's a column I started some time ago (see the first one here). In fact, I've started a few columns I no longer write because they didn't seem to work. But I really enjoy this one. Different Time, Same Style is where I answer the question, "What would they wear today?" I love history. I find it fascinating to learn about how people did things "back then" and the impact it has on us today. Recently, I came across an online photo essay, "Oct. 1969 Hippie high school," shared by the popular design blog, Design Sponge via mashable.com. It highlighted the impact that the hippie movement had on teenage fashion in the year 1969 with photos that were beautifully shot by photographer, Arthur Schatz. The article made some interesting points, mainly noting that the hippie movement evolved from counter culture to mainstream and heavily influenced the way high school students dressed. Essentially, the mainstream capitalized off the hippie movement by making mass produced hippie inspired clothes that the young generation could identify with and use to assert their individuality. Ironically, because "everyone" seemed to be wearing the clothes, the homogenized look countered the very freedom and individuality that the hippie movement represented.

The article reminded me of the evolution of hip-hop culture, which also started out as a counter culture movement that the mainstream capitalized of off for profit. Eventually hip-hop fashions, originally created to reflect individuality and an attempt to stand out from what was perceived as an oppressive mainstream, is now mainstream. And really, where can we go without seeing some type of commercial, ad, or clothing line that hasn't been influenced by hip-hop.

Fun, young, free, & "edgy" mainstream style

pic||clutch|| top|| shorts|| shoes

So when I thought about what the teenagers in this article would wear today, I thought about the influence of hip-hop and the impact it has on teenagers, who by nature are inclined to assert themselves and push the boundaries of what mainstream, or their parents expect of them. The teens in the picture seem fun, young, and free, and their hippie inspired clothing reflects this. But their clothing is also noted to be more safe and maybe not as authentic as would be worn by true hippies during that time. This complex dynamic is what I attempted to replicate with the outfit above. The high-waisted jean shorts with the lattice crop top feels fun, young, and free, yet there is a little hip-hop edge with the graffiti (which would have never been considered a "thing" in the mainstream back in the day) printed designer clutch, and modern, metallic flatforms that are both youthful, and good for frolicking around. If these kiddos were teenagers in 2015, I think they would wear an outfit just like this. What do you think?

Different Time, Same Style

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