the ones who were there

Carl Posey Photography

I was just 3 years old in the Summer of 1969. I did not make it to Woodstock. I asked myself, so who WAS actually there? Who ARE those people and where ARE all those hippies now? Surely they must be old now. Was there still a way to recognize them? None of my friends, family members or colleagues were at Woodstock. So WHO was?

Little did I know that they would eventually make themselves heard. I mean I am wearing my red Woodstock Dress all over town and get a lot of compliments on it.

One recent night at a roof party on the West Side highway in Greenwich Village this lady Rosemarie comes up to me and says: "Wow, I love your dress! You know I was there. At the Festival." I told her I never met anyone who WAS there and that she is the first. She mentioned her husband - who WAS there with her - was somewhere around the roof top and she wanted to introduce me and my dress. So I met Warren, my first Woodstock Hippie man! They said they could almost not remember anything about the festival! Rosemarie, originally from the Bronx, thinks they actually missed Jimi Hendrix, because they went home early because it was raining, but she could not recall for sure. They were very sweet and we took some pictures.

...Rosemarie & Warren Dobbs, the first hippies i ever met who were at the Woodstock Festival...

...me in my red Woodstock Dress flanked by 2 original Woodstock hippies...
...all photographs by Carl Posey...

BTW, I haven't seen the movie yet, because none of my friends wants to go see this movie..??!! Well, I can wait too, maybe it is available on DVD soon...

inspired by interiors of the 70s

...google'd 70's interiors images...

I don't know about you, but I adore interior design! For me, interior design comes right after fashion design. You can design interiors just like fashion. I personally like to mix things up and in my professional life a practical approach rules. I just need space and it's all about surfaces. My private space has a lot left to be desired for, as I haven't found my perfect home yet and have therefore not settled on any style. That doesn't mean I can't get inspired.


Years ago, when I traveled to the West Coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco, I had a chance to visit the Madonna Inn, which blew me away! This landmark hotel attraction features 110 themed rooms which are totally decorated 70's style, with names like "Canary Cottage", "Captains Bridge", "Old Mexico", "Rock Solid", they even have an "Edelweiss" room - Just picture it! Another place that comes to mind when I think 70's interiors: Elvis Presley's Graceland Home.

summer of love 2009

At the time I felt there was a hippie holiday theme going on in December of 2008, but I swear I wasn't planning to post on Woodstock this Summer, nor did I intend to design the Woodstock Dress for an anniversary of some kind. I'm not lying! The John Lennon and his round glasses post? Also innocently just a coincidence of hippie culture coming together. I just recently spotted the very 70's inspired typography poster around town: A Woodstock movie? Well, let me tell you: I stopped smoking that weed a long time ago and I am not a hippie by all means, but it is the music and the culture that has always inspired me in my life!

The weather is about right as it was then, exactly 40 years ago. 40 years ago, what?! The Summer Of Love, baby! What an incredible story!

Yes, it was in the Summer of 1969 when the Woodstock Music & Art Fair (informally, Woodstock or The Woodstock Festival) a music festival, billed as "An Aquarian Exposition", was held at Max Yasgur's 600 acre dairy farm in the rural town of Bethel, New York from August 15 to August 18. Bethel, in Sullivan County, is 43 miles (69 km) southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York.

Thirty-two acts performed during the sometimes rainy weekend in front of nearly half a million concertgoers. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest moments in popular music history and was listed on Rolling Stone's 50 Moments That Changed the History of Rock and Roll.

I went Upstate in the late 90's to see the town of Woodstock for myself and I thought about all the great bands playing there in '69 (Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Sly & the Family Stone, Joan Baez, Santana, Johnny Winter, etc.) and I was a bit surprised to still find all that leftover hippie vibe there... I recall buying a bunch of hand made bee wax candles.

There is no doubt that we would need another Summer of Love in 2009, but sadly we are out of luck! There is no more Jimi Hendrix and there is no more Janis Joplin and no more The Who!!!

Before I get too sentimental, I better come to the point of my post now: You may want to head over to the ticket office and grab a couple of tickets for the "Taking Woodstock" Movie, directed by Ang Lee! It opens Friday, August 28th, 40 years after Woodstock. And check out my Woodstock Dress while you are getting into the 70's groove:

As you well know there are many more 70's music inspired items to find in the idilvicefashionrocks online shop... just saying!

And because you are so cool to check out my blog, as a very special treat y'all: here is the full set of Jimi Hendrix's performance at Woodstock in 1969 - ENJOY!!

Vote for your favorite Woodstock song! See you at the movies!