Adult feminine clothes and head gear!

Overview
These various items of clothing did and still have many normal uses, but these garments also become the outfits warn by many of the Hippies and relate groups in their era.

The idea was to promote these pretty items evoke a spirit of a long lost care-free, happy, peaceful, cultured, environmentally friendly, non-capitalist and pre-modern world utopia; but sadly this image was generally a idealised myth. At times they were part of normal fashions around the world, both before and after the Hippy era.

Gypsy tops


Gypsy tops are another feminine variety of T-shirt. In general a Gypsy top is white, have short puffed sleeves that are gathered in at the shoulder and bottom, (balloon sleeves), a low-cut boat necked, décolleté or scoop necked neckline, full or cropped-off loose fitting bodice and for the most part have either lace, frilly or embroidered decorations on the neckline, hems and cuffs since the 1970's. Layla and Flora wore such tops in the Winx Club's 2006 series There are now other more revealing, knitted, or ¾ length sleeved versions to.

Their origins
The Gypsy top was derived from the short sleeved tops traditionally worn by Gypsies in Eastern and Central Europe. As a modern fashion article, Gypsy tops and peasant blouses first occurred in the USA in the 1930's as the original Eastern European styled peasant blouses had first appeared in the USA during 1936. They had embodied patterns, puff sleeves of various length and the fabric was in various colours on most 'Slavic styled' peasant blouses

1940-1969
By the 1940's the shortages caused by World War 2 had caused them to become more of a pretty looking up-market, embroidered, T-shirt than anything else During the 1940's the Americans created the 'Spanish style' or 'Gypsy style' blouse. The item was basically a puff sleeved white t-shirt with a gathered neckline that was worn under either a drab coloured Bolero jacket, boleroised waistcoat, Bolero jacket or boleroised shrug type cardigan and along with a long, coloured flamenco skirt.

1952 saw the modern, white, off the solder décolleté (decolletage) neckline and short (ballooned) puffed sleeved style come in to being in the USA. Both the coloured fabric and long sleeved versions were still going around at this time, while the posh t-shirt continued on during the decade.

1970-2000
The neckline became scooped,  smocked and or frilly in the 1980's, with knitted versions having crochet work collars in the 1990's.

They were both still liked in U.S to a degree in the early 1970's and early 1980's. When they permanently took on their present short sleeved, friily edged and smocked form in both cloth and crocheted material. They then started to spread to the British Isles, Ireland, France and Switzerland as a passing fashion article the early to mid 1980s. They then became briefly popular with some UK teens in the mid 1980s. Popularity declined the U.S. and the British Isles up to the late 1990s

The comeback
Gypsy tops were also briefly popular in the UK, France and Ireland from about 1998 to 2002. It emerged in Scotland slightly in 2006. They briefly caught on in parts of the USA, Italy, Mexico, Brazil and Argentina during the mid-2000s. Layla and Flora wore them in the Winx Club show's 2006 series. They have been generally out of fashion since then. The mid 2000's some have become more revealing around the chest like this one worn by America’s Christina Aguilera in 2007, while others types are now also being knitted with Crochet work collars or ¾ length sleeved in the UK and Ireland as of the late 2000s.

They still occurred as children's ware in 2010. As of 2011 they became children's ware and the term was used for any fashionably styled teenage or young adult t-Shirt or blouse, including the genuine article.

Their origins


A woman's blouse, based on traditional and largely Eastern European and Germanic European peasant dress of the 19th and early 20th Century, with puffed sleeves and square neckline. The national and folk costume of those regions still retain them.

As a modern fashion article, Gypsy tops and peasant blouses first occurred in the USA in the 1930's as the original Eastern European styled peasant blouses had first appeared in the USA during 1936. They had embodied patterns, puff sleeves of various length and the fabric was in various colours on most 'Slavic styled' peasant blouses.

A similar ‘Russian style blouse’ with embroidered geometric patterns a similar designed garment only occurred in in America during the 1930’s.

1940-1969
By the 1940's the shortages caused by World War 2 had caused them to become more of a pretty looking up-market, embroidered, blouse than anything else. The modern idea of the 'peasant blouse' styled tops, were those mostly worn during and occasionaly before the 1960's. They had a squire neckline, gathered or scooped neckline and long puffed sleeves that were gathered in at the shoulder and wrist, baggy sleeves or flared sleeves that were wider at the wrist than at the armpit, like those traditionally worn by the people of Eastern European. They mostly became fashionable with the hippie movement in North America during the 1960's, up until 1969.

1970-2000
They were still fashionable to a degree in the U.S. during the early 1970s and as late as 1977. The remained in use until the mid 1980s. They were briefly trendy in Ireland and Australia during the mid 1970s. The UK, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Germany took them up in the mid 1970's and dropped them during the early 1980'. Collars and V-necklins were the in-thing at this juncture time.

By 1978 a 'Bavarian style' type of blouse had also emerged in the USA. It consisted of a plain white blouse with a gathered necked with ties and long puffed sleeved worn with a dark coloured corselet and skirt, which has now largely gone goth.

The comeback
The 'Bavarian style blouse', corselet and skirt set took off with some teenage girls in the late 1990’s and went goth in the mid 2000's and has gon goth.

Trinidad ant Tobago tried out the Slavic peasant blouses in the in the early 1990's. Peasant blouses were the in thing with peater pan cloars in Mexico in 1995-2000, V-necks for Ecuador in 2005-2009 and with scoop necks for Ecuador and Bolivia in 2008. Colombia, Peru and Venezuela had some in the late 2000's.

They still occurred as children's ware in 2010 and 2011. As of 2011 they became children's ware and the term was used for any fashionably styled teenage blouse.

Traditional native Mexican\Guatemalan Huipil


Huipil [ˈwipil] (from the Nahuatl word huīpīlli [wiːˈpiːlːi]) is the most common traditional garment worn by indigenous women from central Mexico to Central America.

It is a loose-fitting tunic, generally made from two or three rectangular pieces of fabric which are then joined together with stitching, ribbons or fabric strips, with an opening for the head and, if the sides are sewn, openings for the arms. Traditional huipils, especially ceremonial ones, are usually made with fabric woven on a backstrap loom and are heavily decorated with designs woven into the fabric, embroidery, ribbons, lace and more. However, some huipils are also made from commercial fabric.

Lengths of the huipil can vary from a short blouse-like garment or long enough to reach the floor. The style of traditional huipils generally indicates the ethnicity and community of the wearer as each have their own methods of creating the fabric and decorations. Some huipils have intricate and meaningful designs. Ceremonial huipils are the most elaborate and are reserved for weddings, burials, women of high rank and even to dress the statues of saints.

They derive from traditional garments warn by the natives of the region. The art was lost by mid 19th Century, but a modern version was rehashed, using some original patterns mixed with modern ones after World War 2.

The ceremonial huipils of the Tzotzils have maintained aspects of pre-Hispanic feather art with white feathers found on the chest and lower hem.

In Ocotepec and Cuquila in Oaxaca, which are high in the Mixtec mountains, there are huipils made of wool to combat the cold with cotton ones usually for festive occasions.

Their origins
The huipil has been worn by indigenous women of the Mesoamerican region (central Mexico into Central America) of both high and low social rank since well before the arrival of the Spanish to the Americas. It remains the most common female indigenous garment still in use.

It is most often seen in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Oaxaca, Tabasco, Campeche, Hidalgo, Michoacán (where it is called a huanengo), Veracruz and Morelos. In Central America it is most often used among the Mayas in Guatemala.

After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and subsequent Spanish expansion, the huipil endured but it evolved, incorporating elements from other regions and Europe. One of the oldest known huipils in existence is the "La Malinche", named such because it was believed to have been worn by Hernán Cortés’ interpreter as it looks much like ones in depictions of her in the Lienzo de Tlaxcala and the Florentine Codex. However, carbon 14 tests date it to the 18th century. It is exceptional not only for its age but there is none like it in any collection and it is larger than usual at 120 by 140 cm. It is made of cotton with feathers, wax and gold thread. The design is dominated by an image of a double headed eagle, showing both indigenous and Spanish influence. It is part of the collection of the Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Some huipils, such as those from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec show Asian influence due to cloth brought from the Philippines. In addition, the huipil began to be worn with other garments, especially European skirts, during the colonial period. This led to changes in the garment itself and how it was used. In some cases, the huipil became shorter, to function as a kind of blouse rather than a dress. In the same region, the huipil also evolved into a long flowing and sometimes voluminous head covering which frames the face.

To this day, the most traditional huipils are made with hand woven cloth on a back strap loom. However, the introduction of commercial fabric made this costly and many indigenous women stopped making this fabric, or making simpler versions. By the early 1800s, women began to wear undecorated huipils or embroided European style blouses. By the end of the 19th century, most Maya women had forgotten the technique of brocade weaving entirely.

The huipil endures in many indigenous communities, if not as an everyday garment, as one for ceremonies or special occasions. When a woman puts on a huipil, especially a ceremonial or very traditional one, it is a kind of ritual. She becomes the center of a symbolic world as her head passes through the neck opening. With her arms, she forms a cross and is surrounded by myth as between heaven and the underworld.

1940-1969
It carried on in the countryside unabated in a primitive style format.

1970-2000
Guatemala, Chapapas, Belize and Yucatan retained it and wore it in public. It's use increased as time went on. Examples were found in locations including Todos Santos in Guatemala, during November 2008 Yucatán in 1993.

The comeback
It is now forming the clothing norm in Guatemala and southern Mexico's native populations.

Native Mexican\Guatemalan Huipil were the in thing in Mexico, with peter-pan collars added in urban Mexico in 1995-2000, V-necks for Ecuador and Chile in 2005-2009 and with scoop necks for Colombia, Panama, Ecuador and Bolivia in 2008. Colombia, Peru and Venezuela had some in the late 2000's. It was publicly worn by a woman in Tijuana, Mexico during 2005.

They still occurred as children's ware in 2010, 2011 and 2012. As of 2011 they became children's ware and the term was used for any fashionably styled teenage or young adult's dress. Adults wore in in rural Guatemala in 2010.

Natives publicly ware traditional clothing in Chenalhó and Tzotzil, Chiapas, Mexico, during 2015. It was also publicly warn in Mezquital Huasteca, Mexico and Belize in 2012. It was also warn on mass by adults and children in Guatemala in 2013 and 2012.

British websites were selling a pornographically skimpy version of it in 2016.

Tourists bought it back to New Zealand in 2012 and the USA in 2016 as a suvinear, party were and posh were.

1970-2000
A often white, flair sleeved, baggy, square necked and lace trimmed hybrid Hippy garment style occurred in the USA from the late 1970’s to the mid 1980’s and in the UK, France, Australia, Canada and Ireland in the late 1970’s mid 1980’s.

The comeback
It is now children's were in Bali and The USA as of 2016, but both now call them Gypsy tops and\or peasant blouses, not caftans.

Overview
A prairie skirt is an United States|American style of skirt, an article of women's and girls' clothing.

Prairie skirts are slightly flared to very full, with one or more flounces (deep ruffles) or tiers, and are often worn over a ruffled eyelet or lace-trimmed petticoat. In keeping with their design inspiration, traditional prairie skirts are usually made of "country" fabrics such as denim and flowered Calico fabric. Prairie skirts are a staple of women's western wear, and very full prairie skirts are worn for square dancing.

Their origins
Prairie skirts are so-called after their resemblance to the home-sewn skirts worn by pioneer women in the mid-19th century, which in turn are a simplified version of the flared, ruffled skirts characteristic of high-fashion dresses of the 1820s. The style originated as an adaptation of high fashion to the practicalities of rural life in the Western United States. Deep colors and prints were used as they did not show dirt, while decorations were used to update clothing to changing fashions.

1940-1969
They had died out until a Hippy revival style started in the late 1960s.

1970-2000
Counterculture Hippies rejecting mainstream fashion looked to historical and non-Western styles. While 19th century prairie clothing was usually homemade, new companies such as Gunne Sax in San Francisco began manufacturing ready to wear prairie clothing. The style grew in popularity in the 1970s with the approach of the United States Bicentennial and was introduced to high fashion by Ralph Lauren in his fall 1978 Western-themed collection.

Mid-calf length, button-front denim prairie skirts with a single flounce, worn with a 1950's-style petticoat that was slightly longer than the skirt, became a mainstream fashion in the 1970s and early 1980s following Lauren's introduction.

The comeback
Short, many-tiered prairie skirts of voile, chiffon fabric or other lightweight fabrics were a fashion trend in 2005. Some wear longer-length prairie skirts with a slip or underskirt to preserve their modesty.

Overview


They were various tie-on head coverings made of cloth created at various times  before 1900   for both decoration, modesty and head protection. They had a mini-revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially for girls.

Their origins
A Dutch cap or Dutch bonnet is a style of woman's hat associated with the various traditional Dutch woman's costumes. Usually made of white cotton or lace, it is sometimes characterised by triangular flaps or wings that turn up on either side. It can resemble some styles of nurse's cloth\paper uniform hat. It is now part of the traditional costumes of the Netherlands. Many parts of the Netherlands have their own traditional costumes and other Western European nations also us similar caps. A less lacy and show-offish version was worn by agricultural workers in North America, Australasia and Western Europe. Sorbian bonnets were similar, but made out of heavy cloth and did not have the option of a back of the neck protecting flap, since their primary role was to keep heads and ears warm in the bitter weather of eastern Germany.

The Pioneer Bonnet/Western Women's Pioneer/Prairie Sunbonnets/Children's Pioneer Prairie Sunbonnet are a versatile accessory in pioneer days of mid to late 19th century. It was the meting point of modesty and hair protection in cloth.

A mob cap or mob-cap is a round, gathered or pleated cloth (usually linen) bonnet consisting of a caul to cover the hair, a frilled or ruffled brim, and (often) a ribbon band, with a full crown, worn by married women in the Georgian period, when it was called a "bonnet". Originally an informal style, the bonnet became a high-fashion item as part of the adoption of simple "country" clothing in the later 18th and early 19th centuries. It was an indoor fashion, and was worn under a hat for outdoor wear. During the French Revolution, the name "Mob Cap" caught on because the poorer women who were involved in the riots wore them, but they had been in style for middle class and even aristocracy since the century began.

By the Victorian period, mob caps lingered as the head covering of servants and nurses, and small mob caps, not covering the hair, remained part of these uniforms into the early 20th century.

All of them were common for girls and some younger teenage women in the 19th and early 20th Centuries as a way to keep their heads warm in damp and chilly houses; or as a cover for their heads after they had been shaved due to either fever, ringworm and\or fleas.

1940-1969
All bonnets became useful during WW2 as bombed out families lived in barns, basements, ruins and tents. The thinker Sorbian bonnet and knitted versions of all bonnet types were popular. This re-occurrence had fizzled out by about 1955.

They had a mini-revival of the cloth variants in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially for girls. They were cheep and easy made as well as ruralistic, anti-capitalist and environmentally friendly. It started to get traction in about 1962 and had taken of by about 1969.

1970-2000
They had a mini-revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s, especially for girls. They were cheep and easly made as well as ruralistic, anti-capitalist and envromentaly friendly. It was prey much over by 1975 and had passed by 1977.

The comeback
Toat's girls' party were may include any of them on occasion. The modern adult versions of mob caps are still worn in the pharmaceutical industry, in cleanrooms, and in other sectors where the hair has to be contained. These mob caps are usually a simple circle shape with an elastic band and may be made of disposable materials such as spunbound polypropylene or of nylon netting.

Also see

 * 1) OTL
 * OTL Decolonisation notes
 * OTL Natural disasters