The Colorful History of Bohemian Style
When you hear the word ‘Bohemian’, what comes to mind?
You may imagine a creative artist with a unique, colorful, and ‘hippie’ style. You’ll be right, but there’s much more to the boho story! What’s now a wildly popular fashion movement, had begun as a fascinating culture over 200 years ago with roots in the artistic streets of 18th century Paris.
What Does It Mean to Be Bohemian?
Being boho has always been about being free – in mind, body, and spirit. Bohemianism started out as a counterculture by French artists, writers, and creatives that encouraged creativity, artistic expression and rejected the accepted fashions and suffocating social rules of the 18th century.
Where Does Bohemian Style Come From?Â
Boho culture has a fascinating and rich history that traveled from the mysterious streets of France to England, and to the USA, before turning into a global phenomenon. Let’s retrace the steps of this colorful culture back to its very roots.
The Origin Of Bohemian Culture
The word ‘Bohemian’ began to appear first towards the end of the 18th Century. With the end of The French Revolution, creative artists like painters, musicians, and writers who earlier enjoyed the patronage of wealthy French royalty and aristocrats, were now forced into poverty. Deprived of a means to an income, they had to live on very limited means.
These conditions slowly led the artists to embrace a life that was minimalistic and nomadic in nature. They began focusing less on material possessions and more on expressing their creativity through this newfound lifestyle, often repurposing old and used clothing into artistic and quirky outfits.
What Does Boho Style Mean: Aesthetic Elements
Boho style, or ‘boho-chic’ fashion, has evolved in interesting ways over the course of its 200-year old history. However, even so, classic boho fashion has several aesthetic elements that define this unique sense of style.
Boho clothes can be easily identified with their eye-catching, vibrant, and bold patterns such as paisley prints, florals, tribal patterns, and tie-dye patterns.
The boho style is all about feeling at ease in your own skin. This means loose, flowing silhouettes that are comfortable and breezy translate into flowing dresses, skirts, lounge pants, and wide-sleeved tops.
Boho fashion often uses handmade techniques to create their clothes, as it places importance on individual creativity. Methods like macrame (a knotting technique), patchwork for clothes and bags, and delicate lacework give boho pieces their unique, eccentric individuality.
The Colors- Earthy, rich colors like greens, deep yellows, maroons, neutrals like browns, beige, and pastels form a big part of the boho color palette. Sister shades, or different shades of the same color, are often mixed together in a boho outfit, rather than wearing a single color across the outfit.
Materials: Comfort is key when it comes to bohemian fashion. This is why you’ll find most boho pieces made with soft, comfortable, and often natural materials. Fabrics like cotton, denim, chiffon, leather, and suede work really well.
Dazzling Embellishments: Little, artful details go a long way in expressing your unique style. Intricate embellishments such as hand-embroidery, beadwork, tassels, pom-poms, studs, and applique work can be widely found on boho outfits.
