Would apparel and accessories buyers for Macy’s worldwide lead you astray?

Note, please, the knit caps … gauzy blouse-on tops … distressed and ripped denim jeans …paisley and tribal patterned clothing … jewelry dangling beads, shells and large chunky signature beads. All flash the Peace Symbol, butterflies and plump – sometimes misspelled — Peter Max-inspired typefaces: Love. Luv. Summer of Love. SOL..

Here’s how Gucci saw it in a Gypsy (i.e., Hippie) Collection last year in Milan Italy, as retro fringed handbags …

Timing is right:
· The universal symbol of Peace is having a 50th birthday this year.

· The big Hippie Summer of Love – epicentered in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco – kicked off in 1967 at the first “Human Be-In” in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. Though the media “officially” declared SoL over at year’s end, it continued in fact as a cultural, political and social movement straight through to the end of the sixties.

· Kept alive by anti-war protests against U.S. involvement in Vietnam, plus an impromptu gathering in 1969 on a small farm outside Bethel, New York (Woodstock Music & Arts Fair), plus youth political/social activism that rocked governments the world over … all extended The Hippie/Youth/Flower Child Era to the end of the 1960s decade.

· The official San Francisco Summer of Love hit 42 years ago. But peace imagery, styles and mindsets extended thru 1969. Now, 40 years later in 2009, they’re baaaaack.

See other items on this season’s revival of Peace Symbol jewelry and Nostalgia Clothing styles at the Top Ten Wholesale Blog:

1. Peace Sign Turns 50 Years Old. Peace Signs Blooming in Retail: Jewelry, Clothing, Accessories.

2. Wholesale Trendy Jewelry Compliments Back to School Sales

Including coverage of a Peace Necklace Collection from jewelry wholesaler Cool Jewels . What’s going to be hot this season as teens and young adults gear up for another school year. And, what’s selling in wholesale fashion jewelry .