Like many vintage trends, there isn’t a whole lot of information on 1960s flower power jewelry. Flowers and jewelry are a natural pairing. The Victorians created a whole language based upon the meanings of different flowers. But up until the late 1950s, most flower-themed jewelry was subtle in design. It was delicate in color and style, often using colors found in nature. Single gold metal flowers with colored stone centers on delicate stems, decorated with flourishes to enhance the design. Also, older floral basket brooches with multiple colored stones depicting fresh picked bouquets were popular as well.
By the 1960s, all that had changed. Between the late 1950s and early 1960s, newer easier to mold plastic became a way to make jewelry lightweight and cheaper to manufacture. More color options and more detail found its way into costume jewelry. By the mid 1960s, the hippie culture had become a fixture of young society. Along with it came bright colors, louder voices, and the civil rights movement.
In 1965, Allen Ginsberg, the American Beat poet coined the phrase “Flower Power.” What followed was a revolution in style as well as culture. Flower Power was a reference toward peaceful protest. Young protesters would hand out flowers to the public in an effort to remind people that peace and not war was a preferable way to live. The colors were bright and attention grabbing. Flowers were worn in the hair, embroidered onto jeans, and made into stickers. Jewelry, of course, followed the latest trend and inexpensive costume jewelry in bright bold colors flooded the market with all manner of shapes and sizes of flowers.
Some were made by the larger manufactures of the day including Coro, Vendome, Sarah Coventry, and JJ, although many were manufactured by overseas companies and left unmarked. A great deal of these were brooches, some with matching earrings. Most were made of metal overlaid with colorful enamel. Often the same pattern was made in a variety of color ways. They were sold at department stores down to local five and dime stores including Woolworths, TG&Y, J.J.Newberry, Kress and others.
Flower Power jewelry usually refers to symmetrical single or multiple flowers in bright color combinations, either with or without a stem. Because of the huge variety of styles, colors, sizes, and designs, these brooches are still popular today. They are easy to find and affordable, making them an effective way to spruce up an outfit without spending a lot. Collectors build collections of single styles in multiple colors or try to find as many different styles as possible. With few exceptions, they remain reasonably priced and relatively easy to find.
Here is a video featuring a collection of Flower Power Brooches from the Funky Pickle Thrifter.
Morning Glory Jewelry has this reference page of of Flower Power 60s Enamel jewelry
If you would like to read more about vintage jewelry on our blog, here’s a link to several other articles we’ve written.
