VLVL Ditzah

[Dave Monroe]

Well, although I remember watching the moon landing, I
can't claim that I much registered what the (big) kids
were wearing at the time, but yr army surplus wear is
stereotpically "hippie" here (then it migrates on to
yr 70s era "burnouts").  But don't take my word ...

"The 1960s for middle class Americans were those now
so innocent seeming, yet turbulent years. The decade
began so optimistically with the election of President
Kennedy. Yet in 1963 we were shocked by his
assasination and soon found ourselves faced with the
challenge of Civil Rights mired in the Viet Nam. We
began the decade with our 1950s certainties and soon
found events rapidly changing our values and long held
assumtions. President Kennedy's assasination is most
strongly etched into memory, but other snapshots of
the Vietnam War; the Civil Rights movement; Dr. Martin
Luther King; hippies, flower power, and the 1967
Summer of Love in 1967; as well as Woodstock and
Motown. Not the least among all this ferment was
changing clothing styles. All elements of American
life began 'heating up' in the 1960s. 

"Several of these events had a direct impact on
American fashion. Since the early 1960s, the Civil
Rights Movement had been fighting to eliminate
oppresive racial segregation and the subjegation of
African-Americans. An off shoot of this was an
increased interest in Africa and African culture.
Feminism got a new lease on life after the publication
of Betty Friedan's The Feminine Mystique in 1963.
Increasingly the role of women in modern America was
question. American women increasingly looked beyond
the family for 'fullfilment'. The impact on our
society and children is yet to be fully assessed.
Protests erupted against the Vietnam War in the
mid-1960s. Hippies held the first 'Be-in' during 1967
as they revolted against the values of what they saw
as a consumer-oriented society. Some experimented with
hallucinogenic drugs for escape. The impact on
consumer textiles of each of these events was
significant. African-inspired textiles became popular.
Blue jeans were ubiquitous, worn morning, noon, and
night. Young protesters and hippies adopted blue jeans
and incongrously, Army fatigues, as virtual uniforms
of the movement and a symbols of solidarity with
working people. Psychedelic colors and patterns
adorned their tie-dyed and hand-painted garments."

http://histclo.hispeed.com/country/us/co-uspw60.html

"Yeah. Remember FTA? It stood for Fun, Travel &
Adventure and was an Army recruiting slogan. One of my
favorite posters showed a long haired bearded hippie
wearing beat-up Army fatigues, lighting a joint.
Across the top, in BIG lettes, it said 'Fuck The
Army.'"

http://www.vipgrafx.com/hippy/archives/may98.htm

And I think it was the ex-Mrs. Siegel who mentioned
Pynhon's predilection for surplus wear, but ... but
ee, I've a readily-obtained Korean War issue military
parka going right now (cf. Quadrophenia, though the
hardcore mod guys laugh at 'em, but, hey, it's cold up
here, nobody'll steal 'em, the pockets are huge,  and
you can distribute a twelve-pack throughout 'em
without it being redaily apparent, so ...) ...

--- jbor <jbor at bigpond.com> wrote:
> 
> I question whether they would have been as easily
> obtainable back in '68-9. There was, after all, a
> war on. Army clothes were certainly a stereotypical
> fashion item for a particular type of college kid,
> however....

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