My 12-year-old granddaughter Juliette and I recently went at shopping a few of my favorite local vintage stores here in Rockaway, New York. It was trip down memory lane – I was a teen in the 1960s and 1970s, and it seems like days of peace and love are back in fashion. The flowing tops, bell-bottom pants, and tie-dyed shirts weren’t limited to just the vintage stores!
And I know about the originals, having been a teen in the 60s and 70s. Yes, I was a hippie/flower child. Here’s proof:
I wore flowers in my hair when I married my best friend in 1972! This was just a few years before my brother Jim started a little flower business in an 800-square-foot flower shop in New York City that grew into 1-800-Flowers.com. My little brother, Chris, eventually grew the family business and became CEO and president of a family of brands that now includes Shari’s Berries, Harry & David, Cheryl’s Cookies, and many more. Can you pick Jim and Chris out in the photo above?
The best Halloween hippie costume? A flower child!
The trip down memory lane inspired Juliette to dress up as a flower child for Halloween. It was the perfect choice. One reason? She could just wear half of the clothes that she has in her closet! But we found a lot more inspiration during our shopping trip.
Juliette found this great Baja hoodie that she loves and can wear with a tie-dye t-shirt and a pair of a pair of jeans. Any kind will do – bell bottom, ripped, cut-off, shredded, except skinny! This was the period before Gloria Vanderbilt introduced us to designer jeans and when we called them dungarees!
A pooka shell necklace would be nice but what sets this look apart is a crown of flowers in your hair! And to me the daisy is the flower of that generation and that time. This fresh flower daisy crown is so easy and inexpensive to make that it is a Halloween win-win for the tween and her mom!
Here's how we did it, step by step.
Step 1
This is all you need, seriously! Two stems of daisy pom-poms and wire.
Step 2
You might even be lucky enough to have some Montauk daisies growing in your garden (or a friends) that you can clip a few flowers from.
Step 3
Using a clippers or scissors, clip the individual flowers from the stem, right at the base of the receptacle.
Step 4
Lay the flowers out on the table with the larger size daisies in the middle. About six flowers should be enough. I didn’t put the flowers all the way around – just in the front.
Step 5
Starting with one of the larger daisies from the middle, simply thread the wire through the receptacle.
Step 6
Slide the first daisy to the middle of the piece of wire. I used an 18” length wire.
Step 7
Here's how your full "daisy chain" should look!
Step 8
Make a loop on one end of the wire.
Step 9
Take a second piece of wire and thread it through the loop to attach. If you have any floral tape around you can wrap the stem where you make the loop to hold it more securely, but it isn’t necessary. You could also use masking tape.
Step 10
Take the other end of the second wire and loop it through the loop on the other side of the wire with the flowers. Don’t close this loop until you place it on the head of your Flower Child. This allows you to make sure that it fits exactly the way they want it to. The most important component in creating a successful hippie costume is comfort and wear-ability!
This flower crown is so light and easy to wear and makes the wearer feel like a beautiful free spirit filled with peace and love!
Today's flower child
Like everything else today, being a Flower Child is definitely more intentional, designer level, social-media worthy, and expensive.
Think flower crowns for Coachella! If you are serious about knocking it out of the park this Halloween or just want to live your best Flower Child life, you can find all of the instructions here. Which every path you choose remember to just have fun with it!
Peace out!
AUTHOR
Julie started her career in the floral industry over 30 years ago in a small, family-owned flower shop. From floral designer to author and lifestyle expert, her insight has been instrumental in developing the 1-800-Flowers.com brand. Representing the company’s floral lifestyle vision, Julie has shared her talent and passion in numerous television appearances and national magazine features. She is an active fundraiser and longtime friend of IGHL, a group dedicated to facilitating a more independent life for developmentally challenged adults.
