Bootsy Collins	Taking different elements from the musical styles of the time, funk started off as a hybrid of jazz, soul, and rock 'n' roll whose purpose was to make the listener want to get down and dirty and shake their booty like nobody's business. But more than just the greatest dance music ever created, the roots of funk grew from the idealogy that self-expression is essential and one of the most important exercises a person can participate in. Repression and formality have no place in the world of funk. So it's little wonder that the genre was born in the 1960's, when experimentation with creativity was not only supported, but encouraged.
And just as the sound of funk was a mix of different ingredients and ideals, so was the look. While the children of funk shared many of the same socially aware beliefs as their flower power brothers and sisters, the former did it with style and finesse that was rarely matched by their contemporaries. Screaming psychedelic prints, paisley, fringe, and large medallions were all staples in a funk-a-teer's wardrobe. Color, and lots of it, was an important element, even in the earlier years when the style was more understated (by funk standards anyway). But as the 60's turned into the 70's and rock fashion moved to a more sobering mood of jeans and t-shirts, funk went into the opposite direction, becoming more "out there" as the decade wore on (only glam rock could rival funk in flamboyance and theatricality). And once that train started rollin', there was no turning back.