Within approximately four seconds of seeing a woman in a good suede jacket, I have worked out three things: The cut, the length of the fringe, and whether she knows exactly what she is doing. I do this on the subway, at weddings, in the produce aisle. I have no shame about this.

 

But somewhere between the festival revivals, the vintage-market hauls and the thirty-second styling tutorials, the whole boho aesthetic has gotten a little loud. We are told to wear everything we own and also to edit ruthlessly. We are told to look unplanned and also to coordinate the leather. Plenty of people typing what is boho style into a search bar are really asking where to stop, and that is a fair thing to want to know.

 

Which brings me to a rooftop in Marrakech in 1969, where Patrick Lichfield photographed Talitha Getty crouched in a corner in a vibrant coat, white harem pants and white boots, her husband hooded behind her in a caftan. Vogue wrote, 46 years later, that we still seek to emulate her mysterious allure. Nothing in that picture is trying hard. It is one loud idea worn with total calm.

 

Some of what I took from her made me want to empty a drawer. Some of it made me want to buy a belt. And some of it made me want to walk to work in clogs.

 

So, here are five lessons in boho style, for anyone who wants the rooftop without the costume.

Fringe began as plumbing. Native American tribes of the Plains and elsewhere made garments with fringe that worked like a gutter, repelling rainwater from the wearer, and it took until the late 1960s for the rest of fashion to notice. By then it moved fast: within a year of Yves Saint Laurent's fringed hems, one museum account says, the fringe binge had conquered fashion, and Easy Rider in 1969 made the fringed suede jacket a statement.

 

That history is why I treat fringe like a loud dinner guest and invite one at a time. Picture her in the Veronica Beard Bateman cropped suede jacket in tan with plain trousers and nothing else swinging. Or the Nour Hammour Quincy bomber in chocolate, paneled and quiet. The Burberry fringed wool cape in sand and the Toteme fringed checked jacket in dark green give you the fringe without the suede, which is how most boho outfits stay readable. For bags, the Jil Sander Kante suede shoulder bag and the ruched Proenza Schouler tote bring in the texture calmly. The FFORME strapless fringe-trimmed maxi in cream and the Taller Marmo one-shoulder fringed gown in black are evening pieces, and they are the entire outfit.

 

Here is the test: stand at the mirror and shake once. If two things swing, take one off.

 

What I would skip: a suede jacket and a suede bag in the very same tan, unless the goal is to read as upholstery.

 

Although if the fringe only moves a little when you cross the room, that is the right amount.

Tiers make their own drama. Thea Porter understood that when her Greek Street shop opened in 1966, drawing the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Jane Fonda and Elizabeth Taylor, and the peasant silhouette came back loud in Yves Saint Laurent's fall 1976 collection, with full skirts and tasseled belts. Plenty of the women who copied them forgot that the top is where you get to rest.

 

So I would let the skirt talk and keep the blouse calm. The Alémais frayed patchwork jacquard midi is the busiest thing on this page, which means it wants a plain top. The two Yoshita 1967 crochet midis, one black and embellished and one cream and fringed, are almost jewelry already. The Zimmermann embroidered Mahon midi in ivory is softer, and I would pair it with the Sea New York black broderie-anglaise Gracelyn blouse. The Dôen Henri top comes ruffled and pintucked in black voile and in white broderie anglaise, and the Posse Veda top is the neatest of the group, with just a trim of broderie anglaise at the edge.

 

A practical test: tuck the top in, then take a photo from the side. If the waist disappears under the ruffles, change one half.

 

What I would skip: a ruffled blouse with an embellished skirt, unless you plan to stand very still.

 

Although a very still woman in a lot of cotton is its own kind of daydream.

Ask anyone who was a teenager in 2004 and they will remember the belt. Sienna Miller's boho moment is dated to a Glastonbury on June 24, 2004, in a ripped denim dress, Ugg boots and an ambiguously exotic studded brown leather belt. Vogue later noted she wore chunky belts low on the hips, at the waist, and even across the top of a strapless dress. She herself later said she never wanted to wear anything coin-belty again, which tells you how hard a belt can work.

 

A belt is also the one place I would start. Try the TWP Buckle Bunny leather belt in brown, which is the relaxed version. The Amanu skinny Grumeti belt comes in chocolate suede and in black leather, and I would own both before buying anything louder. The Alaïa Vienne calf-hair belt is the one for a plain dress, and the Isabel Marant Lassio snake-effect belt does the work of a statement necklace. The Givenchy black leather belt is the quiet one, the Chloé Running Horses belt is studded and embellished, and the Déhanche Mini Juergen suede belt in chocolate sits low and easy.

 

Try this: wear one belt at the waist over a loose dress and take everything else off.

 

What I would skip: a studded belt with a fringed jacket and a tiered skirt, unless the look is a festival.

 

Although at a festival, nobody has ever lost to a belt.

Clogs began with work, not style. The Bata Shoe Museum holds French peasant work clogs made for crushing chestnuts, tools essential to food production in the 19th century. Time once reported that Swedes call their clogs Swedish sneakers, and British Vogue says Scholl's Pescura clog, from 1956, was soon adopted by Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton and is still emblematic of the Summer of Love.

 

I think that is the right brief for boho footwear: walk somewhere. The Chloé Talis embellished leather clogs in black are the dressed-up version. The Brunello Cucinelli shearling-trimmed suede clogs in taupe are the cozy one, and the A.Emery Lou clogs in brown are the simplest. The Burberry Urchin Check clog in burgundy adds the pattern. For ankle boots, the Staud Monty and Wally suede boots in two browns are the pair I would wear on the longest walk. The Khaite Clive 35 in camel and the Gianvito Rossi 55 in beige are neater, and I would save them for dinner.

 

Here is a test: walk to the corner and back. If you slowed down to think about your feet, the shoe is wrong.

 

What I would skip: a stiletto with any of the skirts here. The skirt wants to move and the shoe wants to pose.

 

Although a clog on a cobblestone street makes its own music.

Turquoise has a longer résumé than the trend it ended up in. Native smiths in the Southwest could set turquoise into silver from about 1880, and after that the stone went into every form of jewelry, according to the Heard Museum. The silver itself came from melted Spanish and Mexican coins. To the Navajo, a curator writes, turquoise symbolizes luck and protection, which seems like a good reason to wear it every day.

 

I like to layer instead of announce. The Paola Sighinolfi Kabala turquoise earrings and the Irene Neuwirth Golden Blossom earrings in 18-karat gold are the stones. The Marla Aaron Moonlock and Rondelle necklace brings turquoise and gold together on one chain, while the Jennifer Behr Safira seashell earrings add crystals and a little sun. For the gold, the Alighieri Summer Night necklace, the Roxanne Assoulin Nesting Rope Duo, the David Yurman Sculpted Cable necklace and the Khaite Monkey cuff are the layers.

 

The test: put on three pieces, then remove the one you notice first. What is left is the outfit.

 

What I would skip: turquoise earrings and a turquoise necklace and a turquoise cuff. Let the stone appear once, and let the gold do the rest.

 

Although if a stranger asks where the earrings are from, you have layered correctly.

When Vogue wrote about Talitha Getty, it quoted Yves Saint Laurent: "When I knew Talitha my vision completely changed." I keep coming back to that, because nothing in her photograph is complicated. She is crouched in a corner in a coat and boots, and a whole generation of closets went looking for it.

 

That is the best thing boho style does. It asks for one loud idea, a little patience and shoes you can walk in. I will still be tempted by a second fringe bag. I will still stand in front of a mirror with five necklaces on. I went deeper on a related idea in The Coquette Style Edit: Five Lessons in Wearing Bows Like a Grown Up. I went deeper on a related idea in The Grunge Style Edit: Five Lessons From Seattle, Circa 1992.

 

Although the rooftop will always have room for one more daydream.