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More Charity Shop Finds - Vintage Hippy Chic



Last night, during our weekly Skype date, Krista and I ranted about the absurd prices some on-line sellers charge for ethnic clothing so I was thrilled to find a vintage Rabari tribal skirt hanging on the sale rail in Banardos when I popped into town this morning.

Hand-woven by the tribeswomen of Gujarat, the skirt features traditional folk art inset with tiny mirrors on a deliciously soft cotton back cloth.


Colourful, cheap and a bit tatty around the edges it fits in with the rest of my wardrobe seamlessly.

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The original over-landers travelled light, dressing in clothes they'd picked up cheaply in local bazaars and markets once they'd reached their destination. On their return they fuelled a craze for the Indian block prints, tribal jewellery, woven leather sandals and maxi skirts which dominated the early 1970s.


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I love reading about the intrepids, the original overland travellers who put Goa well and truly on the hippy trail. Much as I love it now what a place it must have been back then.

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I used to do similar to those hippy travellers, taking only a bikini, a few books, sunscreen and the clothes I stood up in to India. Its wonderfully liberating to buy everything on arrival, from toothpaste and ayurvedic soap to leather chappals and recycled sari dresses but you do risk looking identical to every other Western visitor so these days I pack my usual vintage gear & buy a few bits and pieces when I fancy a change.


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These 1970s images of Anjuna thrill me. The infamous hippy flea market is still going strong.

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Whenever I Google 1970s Goa hippies I find pictures of me. The cheek! I didn't even get there till the late '90s.



Loving Rory Maclean's "Magic Bus".


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Just like the clothing, Indian tribal jewellery commands a feckin' fortune on the internet.

The choice is yours, click a button and input your credit card details or, for almost the same price, jump on a flight and go find 'em yourself. They'll be a lot more special if you can recall the sweat trickling down your back and the hustle and bustle of the marketplace while you haggled your hardest.

This skirt will be eventually returning to its homeland as part of my luggage on our next trip. What a well-travelled garment it will be, bought in India, brought to the UK and back home again - if only vintage clothes could talk.

Vintage Rabari tribal skirt (£1.99, Banardos) worn with 1970s Chelsea Girl halter neck vest (50p rail, Cancer UK), Rajasthani embroidered leather bag (flea market, India), 1970s block printed bed cover (from a jumble sale).
I'm having a quiet night in, Jon's off to an old band reunion and I'm going to indulge in a spot of gin-fuelled sewing accompanied by the footie.
See you soon.
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