Changing times, did we have it right in the 70's

[KlaireLarnia]

I am a child of the 70's so I am looking at this without knowing the ins and outs of the times.

I was watching an old repeat of Top Of The Pops from the late 70's and on it where two very famous acts. One was Boney M and the other Rod Steward. While I loved the music, something odd caught me. Both Rod and the male singer from Boney M where wearing boots with 2-3 inch heels!

I know from personal experience that doing this now can produce very odd looks from people. Yet here where two famous musical talents (and one heart throb) wearing exactly the sort of shoes and boots I want to wear now.

It appears that in the 80's these shoes got... dropped in favour of the sorts we have now. So it makes me wonder if 70's fashion was trying to make a statement or just on it's own trip on what was left over from the 60's...

Just wondered if anyone else thought of this and knows (or wants to hazard a guess ) as to why the heeled shoes and boots for men died out in the 1980's rather than carry on.

[DanaR]

I think that rock stars get away with things that wouldn't be considered mainstream.

[sissystephanie]

Those heeled boots did not sell well at all. That is the main reason why they died out in the early 80's. Some stars wore them to increase their height, but probably found them to be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time! FYI, I have been CD'ing since the late 30's. so have seen a lot of changes!

[Richelle423]

I miss those styles they were so androngyous.

[Diane Smith]

You can't judge an era's fashions much by what performers wore on stage at the time -- you need to go out and look at what real people are wearing on the street. The high school where I work had a "retro day" last week, and most of the kids who dressed up chose costumes based on the music videos they've seen from the '80s. Hardly any of them looked like any of the people I ever actually met back then.

- Diane

[GaleWarning]

I had a pair. With the flaired pants, I was a dedicated follower of fashion!

[josee]

Yea those were the days! I had 4" platform shoes, wore bell bottom hiphuggers played in a garage band and was listening to Head East.

[JessHaust]

I was in college in the mid to late '70's. I had several pairs of 'platform shoes', 3-4 inch lift, and the bell-bottomed pants. We all did Disco every weekend. Come to think of it, my hair was down to my shoulders, I wore silky shirts and lots of chains around my neck. I was out as a cross-dresser and did not even know it!

[Tuesday Theriot]

As I remember it, most people wore platform shoes at the time. Perhaps, Elton John had the most outrageous shoes (and glasses), even some of the members of real Rock bands like The Who wore them. We did try to emulate those that set the trends to some extent. I don't believe that many would actually go as far as dressing like David Bowie, or even Mick Jagger -- We tended to wear shirts that actually buttoned and spandex was just a little too far out for the street.

And, best of all, dressing up was pretty much the same for boys and girls, except that girls had halter tops!

Then, came Disco! Platform soles, tight, long sleeved, fake silk shirts unbuttoned to expose gold chains and chest hair and polyester slacks that were quite good at emphasizing your butt were all the rage. This also meant the end of denim, bell-bottom, hip-huggers with the button fly, muslin shirts, turquoise and silver jewelry and puca shells, with Converse All Stars, Kenos or Hush Puppies. The Seventies and Eighties were really pretty androgynous. I miss the the musk and patchouli oil, though.

I also miss being young and pretty, but that's another story.

Glam Rock moved on into the Eighties and gave us Punk and the Hair bands, but Blues based Rock and tie dyed T's died an un-merciful death. Bell bottoms were later resurrected, but it wasn't the same. And, in real life, I haven't really changed much since the mid-seventies. Is that sad? I still listen to Clapton's Bell Bottom Blues over and over.

Ugh, I need a life...

[jillleanne]

I wore platform boots in the early 70's as well because that is what Britian fashion designers were selling at the time and fashion was set by the brits for the most part.