vintage festival fashion

there’s been plenty of talk about coachella and the season of summer music festivals lately. while i don’t have plans to attend anything besides our local outside lands fest in san francisco this august, i still enjoy searching through photo archives trying to get a glimpse at what those first festivals in the 1960’s must have been like. there were no street style photographers lurking about looking for fashionable ladies in cut off shorts and flower headbands, but there certainly was some pretty impeccable style worn by the popular musicians of the time. this is only a small selection and i know i’m leaving out a ton of people, but i thought i’d share some of the inspiration i collected while pulling together my first regular column for polyvore. each month, i’ll be finding a vintage photograph and recreating the look with modern pieces, so head on over to polyvore and check it out!

above: joan baez with her sisters pauline and mimi photographed by jim marshall.

calivintage Recreates the Classics: Summer Music Festivals


leonard cohen and joni mitchell at newport folk festival, 1965.


marianne faithfull.


bob dylan, donovan, and mary travers at the newport folk festival, july 1965.


grace slick and spencer dryden, 1967.

16 comments

  1. I love this! I have been studying music and popular culture in the 1960’s as a part of a history class and I find these so fascinating. I love reading about the musicians and the culture at the time. I find it so fascinating. I love your set for polyvore so much! So awesome!

  2. YAY i love this, soo soo soo tired of “festival wear” I REALLY WISH WE COULD MOVE BEYOND THE CUTOFFS, I was all for it the first time around but now I’m just grumpy. I like how earnest this is. The first photo looks like Irina Lazareanu tho! haha! shes such a babe

    1. dude, i know what you mean. i remember a couple of years back, i was in love with the festival style photos that would circulate around the street style blogs, but now it’s just a little too cray.. i wish more people would bring it back to it’s roots!

      1. I love how formal this is!! Well “formal” to our modern times. Like this is the kind of stuff I would wear to work, or on a date! Now in muddy fields. But thats what makes it so great! I was watching an episode of Lucy and she in was “work clothes” painting the house, and I was like “really YOU PAINT IN THOSE CLOTHES” those are the kind of vintage clothes from the 60s i get EXCITED to find! haha

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