# Why was the 70s such a tacky time (for fashion, etc)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 10, 2017, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269 "2017-08-10T18:12:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/21 "2017-08-11T11:55:06Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I was one of those guys “hot-combing” my flowing locks, wearing the mock turtleneck under the Stars ‘n’ Stripes leisure suit with the bell bottoms that hopefully hid your vinyl boots. > > We did it because we were raised with identical crew cuts, white button-down shirts and narrow ties. Anything less than total conformity was viewed as “sinful hippie commie stuff”. We couldn’t wait to break free… and go waaaaay overboard. > Do check out James Lilek’s [“60s Interior Desecrations”](http://www.lileks.com/institute/interiors/71book/5.html) > > So much ugly, so much snark. I linked to the room with the caption that starts: Thanks for that link! The comments are hilarious and, dammit, I like a lot of those decor elements :o ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/22 "2017-08-11T14:04:30Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > Also, bear in mind that the 70’s fashion shoots to which you link probably bear as much resemblance to reality as fashion shoots do today: they tend toward the eyecatchingly extreme, and the number of fashion tragics who actually follow the fashions closely and to the max are massively outnumbered by those who do not and at most change their dress and decor only somewhat towards the fashion. This is what I was going to post. Most of the links in the first post would have looked strange to me even during the 70s. Nobody I knew dressed like that. Sure, styles were reminiscent of or influenced by what you see in those pictures, but not to those extremes. At least where I lived, I guess I should add. But to answer whether any period’s fashions are “tacky”, that all depends on opinions formed decades later. Zoot suits, flapper dresses, art deco, bell-bottoms, mustaches, pastels, big hair, skinny jeans, etc. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/23 "2017-08-11T17:41:42Z")
Yellow pajama bottoms guy in link #4 is packing some heat. That certainly wouldn’t make it into a modern catalogue. Do we still have catalogues? ---
**Author:** ![Elemenopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b5e925/32.png) [@Elemenopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elemenopy)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/24 "2017-08-11T23:07:51Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Thanks for that link! The comments are hilarious and, dammit, I like a lot of those decor elements :o Yes…come to the Dark Side…we have fondue and Harvey Wallbangers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2017, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/25 "2017-08-11T23:46:18Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > There is no definition of tacky there are only the vagaries of fashion, which change over time. Maybe. But some things are just plain \*\*EVIL! \*\* :mad: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiSwCfPofjg&t=491) ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/26 "2017-08-12T07:12:20Z")
It just looks like men were really alpha and peacocking back then. I guess at some point in time it was no longer considered required to show the complete outline of your genitals or wear a pimp suit to attract dates. ---
**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:** [August 12, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/27 "2017-08-12T12:57:07Z")
> [@CarnalK](#): > > Yellow pajama bottoms guy in link #4 is packing some heat. That certainly wouldn’t make it into a modern catalogue. The whole [BoredPanda thread](http://www.boredpanda.com/1970s-mens-fashion-ads/) that was lifted from is hilarious. Check out #11… ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/28 "2017-08-12T14:34:54Z")
OK that onesie shirt is just wrong. > [@Orwell](#): > > This is what I was going to post. Most of the links in the first post would have looked strange to me even during the 70s. Nobody I knew dressed like that. Sure, styles were reminiscent of or influenced by what you see in those pictures, but not to those extremes. At least where I lived, I guess I should add. True, the people I remember dressed like that were performers and showbiz people, on TV (Soul Train, anyone?). On the street you’d get something much more attenuated. And though I did see the leisure suits around, I never came across anyone in the bad-Sci-Fi “future suits” except, again, bands onstage. ---
**Author:** ![Weirofhermiston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e274bd/32.png) [@Weirofhermiston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirofhermiston)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/29 "2017-08-12T17:06:29Z")
I grew up in the seventies, embraced the fashions. Fortunately I can now deny that I ever made myself look so stupid (there are a few photographs, but I’ve got them hidden away). A fashion look is easy to abandon. I look around me these days and see a lot of tattoos and realise I have much to be thankful for. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/30 "2017-08-12T18:48:27Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Do you think [skinny jeans](https://smhttp-ssl-33667.nexcesscdn.net/manual/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/black-skinny-jeans-street-style-800x485.jpg)… Dude, when you said you wanted to get into your girlfriend’s pants, I thought… ---
**Author:** ![Emily\_Litella](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/emily_litella/32/3370_2.png) [@Emily\_Litella](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Emily_Litella)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/31 "2017-08-12T19:06:13Z")
I don’t remember it being that bad back in the day and thought you were just using the worst examples you could find. I looked up images of Loggins and Messina, Arlo Guthrie and Three Dog Night and other singers from the 70’s. Nope, it’s my memories that are wrong. Major tackiness. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/32 "2017-08-12T21:17:37Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > Acid _Bad_ acid. ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/33 "2017-08-12T21:52:31Z")
The one thing I did like about the 70s, which I wish would come back, were the frilled dress shirts. They seem to have been a throwback to the 19th century. I mean like Gable’s shirt here: [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg) ](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/34 "2017-08-12T21:56:51Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > The one thing I did like about the 70s, which I wish would come back, were the frilled dress shirts. They seem to have been a throwback to the 19th century. > > I mean like Gable’s shirt here: > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg) [Hot Topic](http://www.hottopic.com/product/white-ruffle-shirt/10406184.html)? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/35 "2017-08-12T21:56:58Z")
> [@Reddy\_Mercury](#): > > The one thing I did like about the 70s, which I wish would come back, were the frilled dress shirts. They seem to have been a throwback to the 19th century. > > I mean like Gable’s shirt here: > [https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NwGaOXOluC8/hqdefault.jpg) Not like **this**? :dubious: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/3qWFSBqAxR4/maxresdefault.jpg "Seinfeld: The Puffy Shirt (Clip) | TBS") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qWFSBqAxR4) ---
**Author:** ![Reddy\_Mercury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@Reddy\_Mercury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reddy_Mercury)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/36 "2017-08-12T22:16:54Z")
[quote=“terentii, post:35, topic:793269”] Not like **this**? :dubious: [/QUOTE] No, too outrageous. Gable’s shirt - and many of the shirts in the 70s - were just dress shirts with ruffles down the front. No lace cuffs or any of that. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/37 "2017-08-12T22:41:49Z")
Not everybody dressed like that in the 70s. Jeans, chinos, and tee shirts were popular and looked much the same as today. Conservative 2 and 3 piece suits were actually more common than leisure suits IME. Leisure suits were kind of cheesey even at the time. Track suits and sweat suits are still around. I remember women’s fashions having things like slit skirts that I greatly appreciated in those days. Mostly, it is just the passage of time. ---
**Author:** ![Orwell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/dfb087/32.png) [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2017, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/38 "2017-08-12T23:07:28Z")
> [@Emily\_Litella](#): > > I don’t remember it being that bad back in the day and thought you were just using the worst examples you could find. I looked up images of Loggins and Messina, Arlo Guthrie and Three Dog Night and other singers from the 70’s. Nope, it’s my memories that are wrong. Major tackiness. Yeah, but they were professional musicians. How many regular people dress like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/39 "2017-08-13T00:25:26Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Not everybody dressed like that in the 70s. Jeans, chinos, and tee shirts were popular and looked much the same as today. Conservative 2 and 3 piece suits were actually more common than leisure suits IME. For a good sampling of '70s men’s fashions, watch the Bond movies with Roger Moore. Not for nothing was he known as the Cinzano Man. Another show that comes immediately to mind is _ **The New Avengers** _, with Patrick MacNee, Gareth Hunt, and Joanna Lumley. But I guess this is true of most TV series of tne period (_ **Starsky and Hutch** _, _ **Rockford Files** _, _ **MTM** _, and so on). Where women’s fashions are concerned, I really love the “Hot Secretary” look of the early '60s. Those knee-length close skirts and high heels really did it for me even when I was five and six (I used to call it “Tight Butts”). :o [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f1/cd/56/f1cd563661f9696c0ce491fe06e57d54.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f1/cd/56/f1cd563661f9696c0ce491fe06e57d54.jpg) '70s female fashions, not so much. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269/40 "2017-08-13T00:41:39Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > For a good sampling of '70s men’s fashions, watch the Bond movies with Roger Moore. Not for nothing was he known as the Cinzano Man. I thought Cinzano was a drink. 😕 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-the-70s-such-a-tacky-time-for-fashion-etc/793269.md?page=3)