Bohemians upend the social order by refusing to participate in society in a traditional way. When you hear the word 'bohemian', you might picture a young hippy-ish man or woman with messy hair, baggy clothing and the job title of poet or artist. While bohemian fashion is now a modern fad, 'bohemia' itself actually began in the early nineteenth century. The term defined a loose group of people who dressed simply, lived in cheap areas, valued art over business, and sometimes h