The decade for disco 1970-1980

This decade contrasts with the last decade as women’s wear bounced back to a more masculine look, pantsuits, day wear, overalls, women emerging into the work place more meant that they needed more practical clothing. This decade was very different to previous decades in fashion as unlike other eras where women wore specific dresses in length and style very similar to each other, in the 70's women would where a large variety of  clothing like skirts, pants, pants suits, dresses. From the previous decades with a specific hem length for each decade changed as in this decade hemlines varied as skirts could be seen in different lengths; mini, midi or maxi. For eveningwear women often wore full length maxi dresses, evening trousers or glamorous halter neck catsuits.

The hippie flower child look from the late 1960s carried over into the first half of the decade in a non-restrictive bohemian silhouette with a heavy folksy influence. This allowed people to embrace the non-silhouette look with loose fitted clothing and allowed the embrace of different ethic culture styles, with Indian style prints, free flowing clothing, breezy gauzy tent dresses and wide legged pants.

 

Trousers and trouser suits were serious fashions in the 1970s. Pants began gently flared and reached wide bell bottom proportions by about 1975. This then began to slowly reduce again to wide, straight leg, until by the end of the 70’s they reduced back to a narrow leg. Popular fabrics included heavy crepes, wool jersey knits, Courtelle jersey and woven Polyester suiting such as Trevira. Colour was an important thing in the 70’s as Emerald green, apple green and bottle green were all favoured fashion colours of the early 1970s.

The decade for disco. The 1970’s was the era where disco became the craze Disco looks began in the 1970s and was memorable for its hot pants look and Spandex tops. Shiny clinging Lycra stretch disco pants in hot strident shiny colours with stretch sequin bandeau tops were often adaptations of professional modern dance wear that found itself making an impact in discos as disco dancing became serious. Gold lame, leopard skin and stretch halter jumpsuits and white clothes that glowed in Ultra Violet lights capture the 70s Disco fashion perfectly. Satin jackets that reflected the light and a medallion resting on a tanned chest in an open neck shirt with the collar turned up were de rigueur.

 

Media also played a part in the up building of the population for disco; Films like Saturday Night Fever of 1977 as John Travolta illustrates in the header, emphasised how important the importance of the weekend after a long working week, persuading people to go out the weekend for ‘disco’. Posing clothes designed to show off the body and made in materials like figure moulding stretch Lycra were ideal.