Hippie Straps

A complete abuse of the word "hippie". The first Banana Republic outlet was a bunch of hippies right up the street here who sold surplus Latin american combat clothing and boots etc. Part of the style was of course a little beret with a red star on it, and a big poster of Che Guevara. If you
wanted a hippie strap of any authenticity to it, it should look more like a bandalolier with bullet loops sewn on - something Pancho Villa would have
worn. As for berets, they've always been popular with photographers, but those would need not only a red star, but preferably a few authentic bullet
holes too. And for transport, A VW bus, of course, with tie-dyed curtain, a wood shingle roof, engine oil cooled by Reevco, and bullet holes in the back
window next to your Tourista stickers.

My grandfather was definitely not a hippie, but he had one of those straps on his Sears KS-2, which I think was from the early 80s. It's mine now, and I have no intention of getting rid of the strap

Yeah, i like the width of the straps as well. ALL metal straps will scrape the camera body if you do not use some type of protector.
If the metal buckle is digging into your neck, you need to adjust them. That is not where they belong.

Before they were commercially available, if you wanted a hippie strap for your camera you had to go down to the music store and get a guitar strap (where they first appeared) and jury rig a way to attach it to the camera's lugs. I still have a guitar strap on my Rolleiflex case.
Or you could get your girlfriend to macrame one.
Then to be super-cool, you could duct tape a couple film cans on for extra ammo.