Fashions of the 1970s were diverse, reflecting a new interest in clothing as self-expression. Hot pants, platform shoes, and wide leg pants and jeans (known as bell-bottoms) were a few of the fashions to come out of the Seventies. No single look encompassed the decade, which was a mixed bag of hippie/Bohemian, retro, and punk. The general silhouette was long and lean with lots of hair, a look for both sexes that gave the era an androgynous appeal. Some of the other trends seen in the Seventies were high-waisted, flared satin trousers and denims decorated with rhinestones, short-shorts, halter tops, plaid pants, antique dresses, baseball jerseys, custom t-shirts, tube tops, slit skirts, silk blouses, spaghetti-strapped tank tops, shirt-waist dresses, and zippered jumpsuits.
Polyester was popular, as was double knitting and skin- tight clothing.
Blue jeans emerged in the 1970s as everyday wear. They came in a variety of styles: flared, bell bottom, wide legged, hip huggers, high waist, embroidered, embellished, studded—you name it! Designer jeans were seen as a status symbol; the more expensive, the more desirable. Designer names such as Gloria Vanderbilt, Calvin Klein, and Jordache were branded across the backsides of men and women everywhere.
Denim was being mass consumed by all ages and seen as the ultimate American garment. And it wasn’t just limited to pants. Denim was worn as jean skirts, suits, vests, jackets, hats, and even accessories.
Corduroy jeans, known as the “poor man’s velvet,” were the dress-up version.
A Mexican look with ponchos and boots worn with Gaucho pants became the craze in the mid-1970s, and by the late Seventies, painter’s pants became fashionable. Like blue jeans, painter’s pants were discovered as a fashion item by people who never wore them for work. Originally white and designed to be worn by working painters, painter’s pants were available in a multitude of colors for both women and men.