Fashion

1970s fashion, which began with a continuation of the mini skirts, bell-bottoms and the androgynous hippie look from the late 1960s, was soon sharply characterized by several distinct fashion trends that have left an indelible image of the decade commemorated in popular culture. These include platform shoes which appeared on the fashion scene in 1971 and often had soles two to four inches thick. Both men and women wore them. Wide-legged, flared jeans and trousers were another fashion mainstay for both men and women throughout most of the decade, and this style has been immortalised in the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, which starred John Travolta. The "disco look", complete with three-piece suits for men and rayon or jersey wrap dressesfor women, which the film further popularized, lasted until it was gradually replaced by punk fashion and straight, cigarette-legged jeans. Platform shoes gave way to mules and ankle-strapped shoes, both reminiscent of the 1940s, at the very end of the decade.

Early to Mid-1970s

By the early 1970s, miniskirts had reached an all-time popularity. This young English woman is wearing a fringed suede miniskirt

Teenage couple in California, 1975. The girl is wearing a crop top and high-waisted trousers. The boy is dressed in the classic t-shirtand jeans, popular male attire in the 1970s

The decade began with a continuation of the hippie look from the 1960s. Jeans remained frayed, and the Tie dye shirts and Mexican peasant blouses were still popular. In addition to the mini skirt, mid-calf-length dresses called "midis" and ankle-length dresses called "maxis" were also worn in 1970 and 1971, thus offering women three different skirt lengths.[1]

In 1971, extremely brief, tight-fitting shorts, called hot pants, were a fashion craze for girls and young women. Throughout the period, trousers for both sexes, though flared at leg bottoms, were very tight and revealing from the lower thighs up.

This photo taken in 1974, shows a girl inspired by the British glam rock craze which had a brief influence on fashion. Her glitter-adorned dress comes from Granny Takes a Trip boutique

Another trend for both sexes was the fitted blazer, which flared slightly at the hip. It came in a variety of fabrics, including wool, velvet, suede, and leather. The buttons were covered and the lapels wide.

The jersey wrap dress, first designed by Diane von Fürstenberg in 1972, became an extremely popular item, as it flattered a number of different body types and sizes, and could be worn both to the office by day, and to nightclubs and discos by night.This is a one-piece, knee-length garment, which wrapped in the front and featured built-in string ties of the same fabric, tied around the waist. This dress became a huge success in the mass market.[2]

For teenage girls and young women the crop top was often worn, sometimes with a halter neck or else tied in a knot above the midriff.

By the mid-1970s hip-huggers were gone, replaced by the high-waisted jeans and trousers with wide, flared legs. In Britain, they were often referred to as "Loon pants". These lasted until the end of the decade when the straight, cigarette-leg jeans came into vogue.

In Britain and Ireland, in the early to mid-1970s, there was the bootboy subculture which influenced youthful male attire with the "parallel jeans", which were flared jeans that stopped at mid-calf. These were worn with heavy workman's "bovver" boots, braces, (US suspenders), and denim jackets. Their hair was usually worn longish by the middle of the decade

Glam Rock style[edit]

Main article: Glam Rock

In Britain and the urban United States, from 1972 to 1974, fashions were inspired by extravagantly dressed glam rock stars such as David Bowie, Roxy Music, andMarc Bolan.[3] Glitter was in vogue. Women wore high-waisted, flared satin trousers or denims, the latter usually decorated with rhinestones, tight lurex halter tops, metallic-coloured lamé and antique velvet dresses, satin hot pants, sequined bra tops, and occasionally they wore ostrich- feather boas draped over their shoulders or turbans on their heads. The 1930s and 1940s look was also popular, and many women bought their clothes at second-hand shops. The short, imitation rabbit-fur jacket was a hot fashion item during this period. Make-up was garish and glittery, with eyebrows thinly plucked. Bianca Jagger, who often used an ebony walking stick, wore peacock-feathers in her cloche hats, green sequined shoes, transparent blouses, and carried an ivory cigarette- holder, was a fashion icon.[4] The men often wore lamé suits, silver astronaut-style outfits, satin quilted jackets, wide-legged denims or velvet trousers, and rhinestone-studded shirts. Their hair was long and softly layered, or spiky, multi-coloured mullets. Clothing shops which became associated with glam rock-inspired fashion were Biba,[5] in London's Kensington High Street, and Granny Takes a Trip in Kings Road, which also had a branch in West Hollywood, California. Both shops had opened in the 1960s.

Platform shoes with soles two to four inches thick became the style for both men and women. Men's ties broadened and became more colourful, as did dress shirt collars and suit jacket lapels.

Three-Piece Suits[edit]

The 1970s saw a return to three-piece suits (suits with matching vests), worn with the wide-collar shirts carried over fre were worn without ties as dance-club wear, or even in just a vest and jacket combination as depicted in the film Saturday Night Fever. As formal wear, however, the three-piece slowly died out in the early 1980s, by which time the outfit had come to be associated with lawyers.[citation needed]

Leotards[edit]

The dancer's leotard became an important feminine fashion accessory in 1974, and remained in style throughout the decade. The traditional long-sleeve leotard was popular as the "layered style" of the mid-1970s took hold, where it served less as clothing than as a way to add color and texture to the body. In the late 1970s the leotard had become a standard fashion icon of the disco scene, where flexibility and ease of movement were important. It was helped by an extensive advertising campaign in the late 1970s by Danskin which promoted their leotards and tights as "not just for dancing". Celebrities of the 1970s also appeared regularly wearing leotards, including Joni Mitchell, Cher, and even Rod Stewart. The leotards popularity was still climbing at the end of the decade, and exploded with the arrival of the aerobics craze in the early 1980s.

Eyeglasses[edit]

The 1970s also marked a trend in which larger eyeglasses became

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