The 1970s were a time of great music, great fashion and political scandal. Recently, the style of the 1970’s has begun to resurface: fringe, flares and frayed denim. Sometimes I begin to wonder, why are these trends coming back now? Why not five years from now, or why not five years earlier? Style reflects what people feel and what is happening in the world. I’m sure we’re all very aware of the political uproar people are feeling, or perhaps the political indifference at this point. Well, the people of the U.S. were feeling pretty similarly in the 1970s, and their style reflects that.
In 1972, Congress passed the Equal Rights Amendment in an attempt to make women fully "equal" to men by law. But the amendment was never ratified by enough states to incorporate it into the U.S. Constitution, and women are still fighting for social equality today, which brings us to the current controversy of our first female presidential candidate. Even after more than 40 years, people still seem to be afraid of destabilizing conventional gender roles. In the '70s, women tried to show their equality by literally not giving a f*** anymore. They did everything that men did: sex, drugs and dancing disco, and their style echoed this. Say goodbye to the conservative Catholic schoolgirl collars and say hello to Daisy Dukes, platform shoes and suede jackets. This way of dressing made women feel rebellious, like they were finally breaking the norm. Perhaps that is why the style of the '70s is coming back in full force — the U.S. is witnessing a new women's fight for equivalency.
The '70s had its fair share of political scandal. Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal demoralized people’s trust in the good intentions of the government. People not having faith in the government...sounds familiar now. Perhaps because we’re currently stuck between having to choose the less of two evils (a criminal versus a sexist, racist, etc). The fact that people are reacting similarly to a time when Nixon was president should not come as a surprise — along with these similar feelings come a similar style choice. As the scandals of the '70s unraveled, peoples hair began to grow, and as Nixon resigned, so did everyone’s hair products. Welcome to the time period of the dreadlocks — I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of these in the next few months.
With all that’s going on in the world, at least we’re lucky that the trends that are coming back are to die for. No one cares about politics when you can have fashion, right? I mean who doesn’t want to rock tie-dyed T’s and boho maxis? The only things we’re missing are some mood rings! Who knows what’s to come for us — another stock market crash and we could begin seeing long pearl necklaces and flapper dresses.
