70s Style Month: Week 4 - Disco Glam

I’ll end the decade overview at night spots like Max's Kansas City and Studio 54; both drew hordes of the rich and beautiful. Bianca Jagger, Mick's wife and a favorite of Andy Warhol, was the reigning queen of Studio 54, where she celebrated her 32nd birthday riding in on a white horse—lead by naked men. Now if that's not enough reason to celebrate the '70s, then what is?

Thanks again to Wikipedia, for all the detailed info:
"With the popularisation of disco and the increasing availability and diversity man-made fabrics, a drastic change occurred in mainstream fashion, the likes of which had not been seen since the 1920s. All styles of clothing were affected by the disco style, especially those of men. Men began to wear stylish three-piece suits (which became available in a bewildering variety of colours) which were characterized by wide lapels, wide legged or flared trousers, and high-rise waistcoats (US vests). 

Neckties became wider and bolder, and shirt collars became long and pointed in a style reminiscent of the "Barrymore" collar that had been popular in the 1920s. 

The zippered jumpsuit was popular with both men and women, and clothing inspired by modern dance (wrap-around skirts and dresses of rayon or jersey) also became common. 

Neck-scarves were also used. Polyester, double knitting, skin-tight Spandex trousers,tube tops, and slit skirts were popular for a while at the very end of the decade. In 1978, there was a brief craze for transparent plastic trousers worn with leotards underneath. Silk blouses, spaghetti-strapped tank tops and shirt-waist dresses were also worn. 
Platform shoes with soles 2–4 inches thick became the style for both men and women.

The top fashion models of the 1970s were Lauren Hutton, Margaux Hemingway, Gia Carangi, Janice Dickinson, Cheryl Tiegs, and Jerry Hall

In Britain and the urban United States, from 1972–1974, fashions were inspired by extravagantly-dressed glam rock stars such as David Bowie,Roxy Music, and Marc Bolan. 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 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. The men often wore lamé suits, silver astronaut-style outfits, satin quilted jackets, wide-m rock-inspired fashion were Biba, in London's Kensington High Street, and Granny Takes a Trip in Kings Road, which also had a branch in West Hollywood, California. And who can forget the roller skating craze?"

All in all, the 70s was a very groovy decade, and I plan to be wearing a lot of great outfits in honor of an era that was not afraid to be different. Let the dancing begin!

Love what you read here, and want to see more great 70s fashion?
Check out my other blog entries in honor of 70s style month:
Week 1: Hippie Chic
Week 2: Rock and Roll, Punk
Week 3: Street Style

70s Style Month: Week 3 - Street Style

Street Style is one of my favorite types of style because it takes its inspiration from the people who are bold enough to try something new and different. Saying that, however, it was a little different in the 70s, technology wise, and there weren't millions of street style blogs to document what the public was wearing. So I have found my best resource is to follow the tv shows.

Finding my inspiration from all the classics like:

• Charlie's Angels
• The Brady Bunch
• Three's Company
• Wonder Woman
• The Love Boat
• Donny and Marie
• Dukes of Hazzard

Street style in the 70s was all about trying something new. Think hot pants, platform shoes, wide leg pants, mules, wrap dresses, leisure suits, knit dresses, turtlenecks, baseball t shirts and all types of rock tshirts, afros, farrah fawcett hair,etc.

See my other posting in 70s blog month:
Week 1: Hippie Chic
Week 2 : Rock and Roll, Punk
Week 4: Disco Glam

70s Style Month: Week 2 - Rock and Roll, Punk

In case you missed last weeks post, I have dedicated July to a fashion exploration of the 70s. This week I am focusing on the rock and roll and punk contribution.
The 70's was all about the music, with rock music making major advances and some of the best classic rock songs and bands of all time came from this era. Think the Rolling Stones, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Kiss, Abba, the Bee Gees, the Ramones, Carly Simon, Queen, Fleetwood Mac.. the list goes on and on

One of the most iconic idols to emerge from the '70s was Stevie Nicks, the bewitching Fleetwood Mac singer who layered velvet, crystals, scarves, feathers and top-hats over peasant skirts, tight tanks and sky-high platforms. 

Thanks again to wikipedia, who just says the facts so much better than I ever could..

"Punk as a style originated from London from the designer Vivienne Westwood and her partner Malcolm McLaren. Before theModern world a punk was a person who attacked someones cherished beliefs, traditional institutions, etc., based on error or superstition. Due to the harsh economic realities of Europe and Britain in the early to mid '70s, this movement was a direct reaction to the economic situation during the economic depression of the period. Punk had at its heart a manifesto of creation through disorder. Safety pins became nose and ear jewellery, rubber fetishwear was subverted to become daywear, and images of mass murderers, rapists, and criminals were elevated to iconographic status.

Punk fashion can be traced to the ripped jeans, torn t-shirts, scrappy haircuts, and worn and torn leather jackets sported by members of the Sex Pistols. When they released Anarchy in the UK in 1976, Malcolm McLaren, their manager, dressed The Sex Pistols. Whose wife Vivienne Westwood owned a clothes store called "Let It Rock" in the Kings Road, Chelsea area of London. 

These styles can be traced back further to New York artists at the Andy Warhol Factory or bands such as the Velvet Underground, Patti Smith Group or New York Dolls. 

By the 1980s, punk fashion and punk bands had shown up in cities across the world. There was a Do It Yourself quality to the fashion. Some small elements that spoke of a person's punk roots were safety pins, black PVC or tartan bondage trousers, leopard-print t-shirts, mohawk, spikes or harshly dyed hair, filthy tennis-shoes, or pointy Beatle boots. There is an element of a makeshift, thrown together look and a sense of poverty."

See my other postings on 70s style month:
Week 1: Hippie Chic
Week 3: Street Style
Week 4: Disco Glam