When it came to style, this meant individuality and customization over mass production: long hair for men, little makeup for women, bras optional. By 1967, a raft of publications and handbooks explained exactly how to dress like a hippie. Ruth Bronsteen’s “The Hippy’s Handbook” even included graphics on how to rock the look.

But in 1969, the year of these photographs, hippie fashion was evolving from counter culture to, well, culture. And young people were informing the change. Most of the students you see here are wearing off-the-shelf fashions — still recognizably hippie, but more homogenized.

Being a hippy was safe, but somehow not as free.

This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
This is What American High School Students Dressed Like in 1969Image Credit: Arthur Schatz / Time Inc / Getty Images
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