Photograph by Nacio Jan Brown
Forward
In 1969 I was a gangly twenty-year old hippie with thick brown hair halfway down my back who, with two dear pals, owned two clothing stores that sold “hip clothing.” Both stores were named, the Rag Theatre. One was in Santa Barbara and the other in Berkeley. They were alternative clothing stores. Clothing boutiques. We sold bell bottom hip-hugger jeans, tons of unique t-shirts, big collar shirts, skinny ribbed sweaters, used jeans and leather jackets. Clothes that were not yet sold in mainstream shops. We were not regular merchants. We were hip merchants who sold “hip” rags. Continue reading the Forward and first chapter.