Boho-chic is a style of fashion drawing on various bohemian and hippie influences, which, at its height in late 2005 was associated particularly with actress Sienna Miller, model Kate Moss in the United Kingdom and actress/businesswoman Mary-Kate Olsen in the United States. It has been seen since the early 1990s and, although appearing to wane from time to time, has repeatedly re-surfaced in varying guises. Many elements of boho-chic became popular in the late 1960s and some date back much further, being associated, for example, with pre-Raphaelite women of the mid-to-late 19th century.
Short floaty skirt, 2005
Sherlock Holmes "upon the sofa in a purple dressing gown" in The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle (Illustration by Sidney Paget, Strand Magazine, 1891)
Furry gilet, Autumn 2005
Sienna Miller at the London premiere of Factory Girl, 2007
Bohemianism is a social and cultural movement that has, at its core, a way of life away from society's conventional norms and expectations. The term originates from the French bohème and spread to the English-speaking world. It was used to describe mid-19th-century non-traditional lifestyles, especially of artists, writers, journalists, musicians, and actors in major European cities.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, The Bohemian (or Lise the Bohemian), 1868, oil on canvas, Berlin, Germany: Alte Nationalgalerie
Bohemian Grove during the summer Hi-Jinks, circa 1911–1916
An illustration from Henri Murger's 1899 book Bohemian Life.
Former brewery turned artist center in Prenzlauer Berg