70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

Discussion of fashion elements and looks that are traditionally considered somewhat "femme" but are presented in a masculine context. This is NOT about transvestism or crossdressing.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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Coder wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 2:05 pm
crfriend wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:23 pm
ScotL wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 3:42 amI think the change from 70’s fashion occurred because it kinda looks ridiculous. No offense to anyone who loved it but in the pictures BM posted, the top two look utterly goofy. The bottom picture looks equally goofy. Again, this is just my opinion, may no one take offense and accuse me of biting criticism. My opinion doesn’t mean it’s right nor wrong.
The problem here is that you're using modern viewpoints to analyse historical context -- and that always fails. It fails because the modern viewpoint has none of the context and knowledge that was present at that time and thus cannot properly interpret things.
Yep! Some of the styles back then might have been regarded as goofy by the businessmen in suits - but enough people wore them for that not to be the case, and they are even a signifier of the time that lasts until this very day, so they could not have been goofy to a large portion of the population. They had some impact. Do I think they look great in a modern context? Not entirely - but the modern era allows for more exploration and if you like something from that era you can certainly wear it.

The funny thing is, if I wanted to go out decked in 70's hippie clothes, I'd get more stares than I do now wearing a skirt.
I agree Coder. Time makes a lot of difference. I still congratulate the people in the seventies for trying. It’s better than the drab boring of today. I just think looking back at it, it was a swing and a miss. But rather than give up and only wear khaki pants and a polo shirt both either black, brown or blue, I’d like to see the seventies experiment continue.

When I look though at men’s fashion, it’s awful. A tix looks good. But most men I see, even in a suit, are just plain boring. I don’t want to wear seventies stuff, I think that was nuts. But I’m interested in exploring other clothing. Likely one of the reasons I don a skirt.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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FLbreezy wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 12:45 pm

Remember this? :lol:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fPKPTcU3z0

I swear there was some other to-do about (American) football players wearing those during games in those times, but I haven't had enough coffee to go find it right now.
Don’t need coffee. Look at the athletic tights every NBA and NFL player wear in addition to every male teenager who wears them under pants. They were silly when they were called pantyhose but call them leggings/tights that are worn by the jocks, they are suddenly cool. When we ever complain that jocks wearing stuff doesn’t change fashion, this is one example where boy did they ever make a huge difference.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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"If these can make my legs look this good, imagine how good they'll make yours look!"

Bonus points to those who recognise the line.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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ScotL wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 6:55 pm
crfriend wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 1:23 pm
ScotL wrote: Sat Jan 21, 2023 3:42 amI think the change from 70’s fashion occurred because it kinda looks ridiculous. No offense to anyone who loved it but in the pictures BM posted, the top two look utterly goofy. The bottom picture looks equally goofy. Again, this is just my opinion, may no one take offense and accuse me of biting criticism. My opinion doesn’t mean it’s right nor wrong.
The problem here is that you're using modern viewpoints to analyse historical context -- and that always fails. It fails because the modern viewpoint has none of the context and knowledge that was present at that time and thus cannot properly interpret things.

A good example of this is the modern attempt to rewrite history in the USA and paint the early country as little more than a pile of racist bigots when it comes to slavery. What everyone conveniently forgets is that at the time of the founding of the United States owning slaves was still common and accepted as a practise. It fell out of favour in Europe during the latter part of the 18th and early part of the 19th centuries, and by that time half of the US had pinned their entire economic system on it. Does this make it inherently wrong? The modern perspective is unequivocally (and rather shrilly), "YES!"; however, what happens when you use the thinking of the people then? Things get vastly more complex.

The same concepts apply to most of history; one needs to understand the time and the minds of the time before one can make value judgments on it -- and that goes for fashion as much as social values. Just trashing it outright as "ridiculous" is merely silly.
Carl! Read the last two sentences of the words you quoted from me. These are my opinions. Opinions are not right nor wrong, only opinions. I do not know how else to make that any clearer despite writing this in plain language. Stating that my opinion is a failure is inflammatory.

I won’t assume, but will ask. Please complete this sentence. Seventies fashion is _______. Beautiful? Stylish? What? I’m genuinely interested in how you think of that fashion.

To me and to others I’ve spoken to, it looks ridiculous today. Again, MY OPINION.

Of course in the seventies, it was high fashion. I appreciate the effort then and love it that they wore it. But I think it looks silly NOW. My post was to attempt to debate why it’s not still in vogue. There’s nothing wrong with the clothing nor style. But today, it would probably attract more attention than a guy in a modern skirt. I am not “trashing” the look then but am suggesting the look now does not have staying power. If it did, we wouldn’t refer to it as clothing from the seventies.

I’m wondering if people were drawn to seventies fashion because it was so different than the Beaver Cleaver clean cut, buzz cut, strait laced male attire. That would be wonderful. There’s nothing wrong with expression. But like all fashion, what’s in vogue is difficult to define who gets to make those rules. To me it seems more like fashion happens, most of us follow like lemmings and then we get to look back at it in the current age and evaluate. In my mind, experimentation is awesome and necessary but doesn’t always result in a Nobel Prize.

Some, people look back and like. Some, people look back and are aghast. But they wore it because it was in vogue.

Again, it does not mean the fashion is wrong or the movement was misguided. I look at it as the Experiment it is. You try something and if it doesn’t work, you move on. But I still appreciate their effort.

That’s what I’m trying to say. The seventies fashion to me seem like an experiment that just didn’t work. And yes, in my opinion (that is neither right nor wrong nor a failure), I and others regard it as silly and ridiculous now. My opinion. You have your opinion that is valid but again neither right nor wrong nor a failure to contemplate everything or anything.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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crfriend wrote: Sun Jan 22, 2023 7:09 pm "If these can make my legs look this good, imagine how good they'll make yours look!"

Bonus points to those who recognise the line.
That was in the video I posted back a few pages. :)
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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FLbreezy wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 2:23 pmThat was in the video I posted back a few pages. :)
Well, that sort of stole the thunder. I hadn't watched the video but rather was operating from memory. That was quite the coup for the time, and a gutsy move for everybody.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

Post by FLbreezy »

crfriend wrote: Mon Jan 23, 2023 2:38 pm That was quite the coup for the time, and a gutsy move for everybody.
I was a young'n back then and remember quite clearly a lot of people were talking about it. There was also something about athletes wearing p-hose under uniforms for extra warmth.

I saw this story about Frances Tiafoe at the Australian Open last week https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/styl ... utfit.html creating a stir and thought, what if he really went all the way and wore the Nike skirt version instead of shorts? Why not?
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

Post by Barleymower »

Cool. It's almost looks like what the 70s tennis style would have moved into if it haddn't hit the buffers.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

Post by Grok »

Pdxfashionpioneer wrote: Thu Jan 19, 2023 6:11 am

If you look at the economy in the 1970’s into the’80’s there was a succession of recessions. In that environment you first wanted to fit in before you stood out.


In that kind of environment, most people will go along to get along.
Yes...appear to conform so you can have a job. Conform in appearance, so you can survive amidst a lousy economy.

Consider how economic distress can sour the mood.

Recall Jimmy Carter and "Malaise."
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

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There is a theory that society's moods are cyclical. This was described by Neil Howe and William Strauss in their books Generations and The Fourth Turning.

A quick summary.
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Re: 70's men's fashion - what the heck happened since then?

Post by 6ft3Aussie »

1970s fashion....

Oh, I remember those purple paisley prints, lemon yellow shirts and brown pants........
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