OverDressed for Life

Linda Gravenites turns them out slowly and turns them out well and only turns them out for those she likes.

Janis Joplin (1943-1970)

Janis is speaking to Vogue magazine in 1968 about her friend Linda Gravenites, who at one time was her roommate and her stage costume designer.

The pictured beaded bag was made for Janis by her friend, Linda – glass beads and silk embroidered on goat skin. Wow!

This bag is on display at The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll, an exhibition at the de Young Museum celebrating the 50th anniversary of the magical summer in 1967, that could happen only in San Francisco.

I was attracted to Janis’ bag because of course it’s beautiful but also it’s an excellent example of the hippie fashion aesthetic. Young people of the 1960s mixed it all up: handcrafting, re-purposing combined with influences such as the Wild West and vintage. Victorian and Edwardian clothing in particular were favorites as both men and women picked up for a song blouses, skirts, suits, and hats at local thrift stores and flea markets.

This hand-beaded bag is reminiscent of the Edwardian period when women sported a demure reticule, handy for only a handkerchief. Janis’ bag is larger and must have taken quite some time (and eye strain) to make. No wonder Linda had to really like someone to turn out one of these.

Stay tuned – there’s more to come about The Summer of Love Experience: Art, Fashion, and Rock & Roll on OverDressedforLife.