# Fun experiment: Do the people you see fit fashion-wise in 1977? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 24, 2015, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734 "2015-01-24T05:29:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/21 "2015-01-25T01:41:18Z")
My problem is a fair amount of my shirts have dates. The 200th anniversary of Kittanning polo shirt or the 100th anniversary Harley sweater would be a dead give away. ---
**Author:** ![DeweyDecibel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d26b3c/32.png) [@DeweyDecibel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeweyDecibel)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/22 "2015-01-25T16:52:16Z")
Around here, a lot of the women under 50 wear fancy athletic clothes all day if they are on their day off or are at-home mothers. Think leggings, nice sneakers, workout tops, hooded sweatshirts. Stuff from stores like lululemon or athleta. No one in 1977 would wear anything like that to the grocery store. I’m sure gym clothes looked different, too, but maybe you could get away with it in context. But not out-and-about running errands. A woman in 1977 dressed like [this would](http://fashionista-next-door.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Athleta-Mendoza-Half-Zip-Top-and-Relay-Leggings-Review.jpg)…raise a lot of eyebrows, I think, even if the pants were black not hot purple but she looks very much like people I see every day. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/23 "2015-01-25T20:20:19Z")
> [@DeweyDecibel](#): > > Around here, a lot of the women under 50 wear fancy athletic clothes all day if they are on their day off or are at-home mothers. Think leggings, nice sneakers, workout tops, hooded sweatshirts. Stuff from stores like lululemon or athleta. No one in 1977 would wear anything like that to the grocery store. I’m sure gym clothes looked different, too, but maybe you could get away with it in context. But not out-and-about running errands. A woman in 1977 dressed like [this would](http://fashionista-next-door.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Athleta-Mendoza-Half-Zip-Top-and-Relay-Leggings-Review.jpg)…raise a lot of eyebrows, I think, even if the pants were black not hot purple but she looks very much like people I see every day. This is a very good one! Yep, the whole yoga pants in public thing did not exist. I myself wear Lululemon wear\* to Pilates and out and about when I am doing my errands afterward. These clothes all have a very “tech,” futuristic look. It would be a look that people in 1977 would find very hard to process. \*In my case it is shorts that would look like something from Logan’s Run to people of the time, footie socks (which pretty much didn’t exist then, at least not for men), a very tech-looking T-shirt in fabric that didn’t exist then, and when it’s cold a jacket that again would look like something from a sci-fi movie. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/24 "2015-01-25T22:25:06Z")
Would the popularity of goatee-type beards in 2015 raise too much of an alarm in 1977? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/25 "2015-01-25T23:03:53Z")
I think [today’s basketball players](http://cdn.fansided.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/229/files/2014/04/tim-duncan-lebron-james-nba-finals-miami-heat-san-antonio-spurs.jpg) might feel a little [out of uniform](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Lpk-Xbm6oOw/TQmQ7jtI4gI/AAAAAAAAHag/Y3RCXc-djGk/s1600/vlcsnap-2010-12-16-01h03m56s195.png) if they were transported back to 1977. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2015, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/26 "2015-01-26T12:00:36Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > So which was it, skinny jeans or bell bottoms? It’s perfectly possible to have tight bell bottoms. I think most modern clothing would just be far too colourful for the 70s. I think of it as a very brown time. Also, not enough shiny polyester around nowadays. ---
**Author:** ![Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/les_espaces_du_sommeil/32/308_2.png) [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Les_Espaces_Du_Sommeil)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/27 "2015-01-28T14:36:10Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > … Photos of summer scenes tend to show crowds of people who [look pretty familiar](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1296&bih=658&q=kings+island+1977&oq=kings+island+1977&gs_l=img.3...763.3944.0.4230.17.11.0.6.6.0.110.873.10j1.11.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.61.img..1.16.891.sD27kjx4rbM#imgdii=_&imgrc=XSVTsmro5b2AwM%253A%3BPhVTUjOZKFF3jM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fphotos1.blogger.com%252Fblogger%252F6512%252F558%252F1600%252FFile1222a.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbooksteveslibrary.blogspot.com%252F2006_07_01_archive.html%3B994%3B678). Thanks for these pictures. I am a little bit too young to really remember 1977 (I was 3 at the time) but photos from the late 70s always make me extremely nostalgic, especially pictures of children. I must have worn pretty much the same sort of clothes then… ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/28 "2015-01-28T16:55:18Z")
Forgot about the basketball shorts! Yes, those were tiny, with a small pie-slice vent and piping, and made of stretch polyester. For some reason, I only remember those in bright green or red. Furnishings were brown and orange. Some men’s suits were brown. Color-wise, if you came back there wearing black, you would stand out. I had blue jeans and white jeans and green jeans, but no one wore black jeans. Maybe a black Western shirt wouldn’t be too odd then. The clothing colors I remember most were light blue (I think somebody mentioned that above) and yellow. There was also a dusty rose color which you don’t see anywhere today, but most women looked good in. Some olive green or olive drab, if you call that a color. No khaki, no black, little navy blue. Also, people would have had some clothes left from 1976, when red, white and blue were so popular in the US. But you would break the pieces up, and not wear your red T-shirt with blue slacks and a white belt. ---
**Author:** ![Tuxie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ee59a6/32.png) [@Tuxie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuxie)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/29 "2015-01-28T16:56:57Z")
How about thongs? Low rise jeans with a thong partly visible would turn a few heads, along with men with saggy jeans and sideways pointed baseball caps. Hipsters would probably confound them as well. I’ve started seeing a trend with some men to have ‘old timey’ looking facial hair. Currently its enough to be ironic, but back in 1977 it probably looked like dressing like your grandpa. Plus, our socks, particularly active wear, would look so freakishly SHORT compared to their calf high socks. And I know the OP said no gadgets, but I imagine someone seeing a guy in a hoodie with wires coming out of his ears might look like some weird cyborg zombie back then. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/30 "2015-01-28T17:13:55Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Photos of summer scenes tend to show crowds of people who [look pretty familiar](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1296&bih=658&q=kings+island+1977&oq=kings+island+1977&gs_l=img.3...763.3944.0.4230.17.11.0.6.6.0.110.873.10j1.11.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.61.img..1.16.891.sD27kjx4rbM#imgdii=_&imgrc=XSVTsmro5b2AwM%253A%3BPhVTUjOZKFF3jM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fphotos1.blogger.com%252Fblogger%252F6512%252F558%252F1600%252FFile1222a.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbooksteveslibrary.blogspot.com%252F2006_07_01_archive.html%3B994%3B678). I disagree and think this would be the biggest difference. I remember summers back then being full of men with tiny shorts showing way too much thigh coupled with white tube socks covering the calf, complete with the 2 or 3 colored stripes around the top. A male of today showing up with baggy below the knee shorts and black ankle socks would definitely raise several eyebrows. ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/31 "2015-01-28T18:08:48Z")
I forgot about the tube socks, too! Plus, the men’s tank tops with their wearers’ body hair sprouting all over. I think that today’s men would really stick out more than would women. Today’s woman would just look fashion-forward, or else a little frumpy in black. And, without pantyhose, would look pale and undressed. Another thing I was thinking about–I worked retail that summer–was how cheaply made clothes looked (and smelled) back then. The polyester of the day would snag on the first wearing, but no one had the cash to replace anything. There was a deep red dye that reeked of chemicals, and you could not get body odor out of the fabrics then. Athletic shoes, “track shoes” had thin foam in the sole which would smash flat or wear through within months. Some things were made well. A woolen jacket or blazer from the day would last for years. You could buy lovely, durable cloth if you could sew. T-shirts were made of much better cotton for the price point. But in general, poly-cotton blends pilled, and nylon yellowed. “Bonded” clothes, a material of a fancy visible top, a foam core, and a soft knit layer at the body would delaminate and be miserably uncomfortable. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/32 "2015-01-29T02:31:49Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > But Disco (the dance craze with the distinctive fashion, not necessarily the music on the radio) was in a slump when SNF came out. The movie brought it back bigger than ever. But that movie came out on December 14, 1977. I also think the Disco look had a strong regional basis; plus, you had to go to clubs that featured that. In Indianapolis, I don’t recall ever seeing someone look like John Travolta at the time. I was a kid, however. > > True on the whole, but not everyone liked bell bottoms. My mom didn’t and never wore them or bought them for us. A lot of people wore pretty damn uncool polyester straight-leg pants too. > > Check out the JC Penny 1977 Christmas catalog here. Most of the pants are not actual bells but more somewhat flared wide leg (there are some bell-like pants for women). I associate bells more with 73-76: > > [http://www.wishbookweb.com/](http://www.wishbookweb.com/) > > One thing looking at this catalog reminded me of (and taught me, to the degree I didn’t remember in the first place–I was a kid, after all) is that fashion was changing _very_ rapidly in the 70s. I saw this one Tom Snyder interview on YouTube in which he interviews someone in a leisure suit cuts back to the “present” (still in the 70s), and makes fun of himself for having worn a leisure suit a couple years earlier. It’s hard to imagine anything like that happen fashionwise these days, as nothing much changes. Also, fashion got a lot sleeker in 78-79. The 77 and 79 catalogs are vastly different, especially for women. > > Oh yeah. > > Those were never normal fashion for anyone except a certain style of women’s shoe that was still not worn by most people. > > This is true! Although most 2015 would fit into 1977 (IMHO), a _lot_ of 1977 would not fit into 2015. You’d see women in god-awful “separates” with polyester pants and the exact same shade of shirt or vest or something. Men wore these terrible polyester plaid pants and whatnot. There is still a LOT of polyester in the 1977 catalog in quite offensive colors (oh, the powder-blues of that time, ACK). > > I think that would be stylish people, certainly not most. > > And that would be most! People who threw on a T-shirt and jeans would not look all that different than people today. Photos of summer scenes tend to show crowds of people who [look pretty familiar](https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1296&bih=658&q=kings+island+1977&oq=kings+island+1977&gs_l=img.3...763.3944.0.4230.17.11.0.6.6.0.110.873.10j1.11.0.msedr...0...1ac.1.61.img..1.16.891.sD27kjx4rbM#imgdii=_&imgrc=XSVTsmro5b2AwM%253A%3BPhVTUjOZKFF3jM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fphotos1.blogger.com%252Fblogger%252F6512%252F558%252F1600%252FFile1222a.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fbooksteveslibrary.blogspot.com%252F2006_07_01_archive.html%3B994%3B678). > > But a lot of “normal” adult wear was just awful. Wait. Are you trying to say that people wear jorts and bell bottoms in 2015? ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/33 "2015-01-29T02:33:29Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > Would the popularity of goatee-type beards in 2015 raise too much of an alarm in 1977? In 2015, people already think your goatee is from 1992. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/34 "2015-01-29T04:02:01Z")
To fit in with 1977 fashions, you might want to wear cords (men) or not wear a bra (women). There were no visible bra straps back then, and low-cut necklines showing cleavage was pretty rare for everyday wear, in spite of Daisy Duke on TV. To fit in, you might want to spring for a digital watch with red numbers where you need to press a button to see the time. But that’s the opposite question… I was a college student that year, and a male wearing an earring (stud) was a sure indicator of being homosexual (gay wasn’t a common term yet, at least where I was). Other facial jewelry would be very unusual as previously mentioned. Flannel was not as common; a woman wearing flannel would be labelled “different”. The androgynous look would also be unusual - no Boy George yet. Another thing that is currently common but would be unusual in 1977 would be the high-tech fabrics used on coats and jackets - weatherproof / windproof / lightweight. They might have been available back them but only as special gear worn by mountaineers and very expensive. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/35 "2015-01-29T04:15:34Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Though who’s shaving their chests/arms (how would you even notice, anyway) or dyeing hair bright red or shaving their heads? I’m sure a few people are, but then there were eccentrics back then, too. I am a 35 year-old man, and I don’t remove my body hair. However, my perception is that most younger people and almost all celebrity-types do these days. Sure, you have guys like Hugh Jackman, who are in shape and considered “hot” who have body hair. But if you look at a site like TMZ or some celebrity/gossipy place that would have pictures of “hot” young celebrities, almost all men from 18-60 look ridiculously shaved/waxed. Chaz Bono probably has to shave his chest to fit in better as a man. As an example, TMZ runs Then and Now pics of (mostly low-level) actors/celebs, such as soap stars from the 90s- Guess What they Look Like Now? There is a pic of some such guy- who was obviously considered studly in the early 90s- and almost every comment is some variation of “Yuck, chest hair” or “You can tell this is a really old picture because this dude has chest hair.” If I wear what I consider a “normal” collared shirt, the top of my chest hair shows (and I am NOT very hairy). Yet, I see grown men wearing V neck shirts or shirts with 3 buttons undone with no hint of being able to grow body hair. I would seriously consider a man with a shaved chest, AND a shaved head, AND red dye job (maybe a bald head with a red beard or some sort of Hitler Youth half shaven hairdo) to be just as typical in 2015 as a guy with a head of hair, unshaven chest, and his natural color. ---
**Author:** ![GreenElf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@GreenElf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenElf)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/36 "2015-01-29T05:59:48Z")
> [@Tuxie](#): > > Hipsters would probably confound them as well. I’ve started seeing a trend with some men to have ‘old timey’ looking facial hair. Currently its enough to be ironic, but back in 1977 it probably looked like dressing like your grandpa. Plus, our socks, particularly active wear, would look so freakishly SHORT compared to their calf high socks. The ‘old timey’ facial hair would fit in with 1977 though, particularly among athletes such as Rollie Fingers’ handlebar and Bill Walton’s mountain man beard. Some men would wear it that way to their place of work or office. Nowadays that’s not considered acceptable for many jobs such as accounting or banking. Today’s baseball gear would be noticeably different from the sanitary socks they wore until around 2000. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/37 "2015-01-29T06:09:29Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I got married in 1977. Looking back at my wedding photos, I don’t think anyone would have looked particularly odd if transported to a wedding in 2015. I got married in 1978. I, the bride, would look very out of place in a wedding today where it’s de rigeur for the bride to wear a strapless dress. I wouldn’t have been allowed to walk down the aisle in such a dress in 1978. ---
**Author:** ![CGav8r](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@CGav8r](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CGav8r)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/38 "2015-01-29T12:10:05Z")
The preponderance if fleece jackets (as someone alluded to earlier, with high tech fabrics), would make you stand out. Length of hair on men and women is different, but the styling is completely different. Most young men & women where I livedI parted their hair in the middle, and “feathered” their hair, or had “wings”. Pants have shorter rises and are slimmer cut for men, jackets/blazers are slimmer cut as well. A lot of tighter dress clothes for men are influenced by Italian fashion as well as the style from “Mad Men” and fashion idiot Thom Brown. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2015, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734/39 "2015-01-29T12:16:07Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Hey, are those crop tops? So much for no one wanting to bare their muffin tops. It’s not that women didn’t wear tube tops or other short tops in 1977- plenty did.But they didn’t have muffin tops - either because they didn’t have the extra flesh or because higher waisted jeans didn’t produce a muffin top. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fun-experiment-do-the-people-you-see-fit-fashion-wise-in-1977/710734.md?page=1)