1970s Fashion Essay

Fashion in the 1970s was daring, carefree, and diverse. For women, skirts ranged from

extremely long to drastically short and fabrics were bright and boldly patterned. Men

wore their shirts tight, their trouser-legs wide and their moustaches long. 'Hippie ' styles of

dress entered the mainstream and new ethnic-inspired fashion imitated styles from all

corners of the world.

1970s fashion was varied and changed frequently, but always liked to shock - whether it

was towering platform shoes, huge bell-bottom flares, or tight, shiny, disco-inspired hot

pants.

'HIPPIE ' FASHION IN THE 1970S

The hippie movement of the late 1960s continued into the early 1970s. Many young

people had become dissatisfied with the prevailing mainstream

Many men grew short beards,

sideburns or moustaches and let their hair grow long.

Flared trousers were popular with both men and women throughout the decade - ranging

from a subtle flare to huge, flapping bell-bottoms. By the end of the 1970s, however,

trouser legs had gradually straightened again.

POPULAR CULTURE AND FASHION IN THE 1970S

Television, film and music in the 1970s exerted a powerful force over fashion. The

television program Charlie 's Angels spurred the demand for flared trousers and the rough,

flicked-back hairstyle worn by the show 's star, Farrah Fawcett.

The Wonder Woman series popularized knee-high boots, sometimes paired with daringly

short hotpants. Later in the decade, movies like Saturday Night Fever popularized the

showy 'disco ' style of dress.

Music stars like David Bowie and the band T-Rex influenced the spangly, glittery style of

glam rock.

DISCO FASHION IN THE 1970S

The popular disco music genre spawned its own fashion craze in the mid-1970s. Young

people gathered in nightclubs dressed in new disco clothing that was designed to show

off the body and shine under dance-floor lights. Disco clothing was usually only worn