Stories Written By: Rennie Hand
Wide Collared shirts
Sometimes patterned shirts with contrasting white collars. The wider the collar the better to show off the hairy chest and medallion. Collars that were wider than your shoulders were really impressive. Now they’re back in fashion according to Harry Hill! Believe it or not, it seems that this shirt actually has its roots way back in the medieval times and later evolved into the Elizabethan ruff… (and everybody loves a bit of ruff!).Back in the 70s, we thought it was such a new fashion, but being the 70s we had to put our own tasteless spin on it! The shirts …
More….
Tonic Trousers, Skirt, Jacket
Tonic Woven Trevira material that looked two different colours when viewed in different directions. Normally the following colours; green/brown, pink/purple or blue/black. Ideal for those short of money who wanted to make it look like they had more clothes, as long as they walked backwards sometimes! (Early 70’s)You could buy Trousers, skirts, and jackets all made out of this unusual looking material. I always loved the weird effects this had when people were in the sun, as sometimes it looked like people were wearing two skirts or trousers. I tend to remember that they were not comfortable trousers to wear, …
More….
Teddy Bear Jacket
Short jacket with round collars and front zip, made with false fur or teddy bear fur in various bright colours. No animals were harmed in the making of these jackets! (1971). The jackets were like wearing a teddy bear; they looked really thick and sweaty, and probably were. The colours of course matched the era, the more colours you could fit in, and the more important the coat was for the wearer. The arms were full length, and most would have different fluffy material around the end of the arms and around the collar too. I can remember my collar …
More….
Tartan
No description necessary. What ever happened to Les, Eric, Alan, Woody, and the other one? (1975). These guys really put the Tartan pattern back on the map, as this Scottish super group of the Bay City Rollers (named after an American town) ,gave the Scottish tartan a worldwide hike. No need to worry about which clan you belonged to, all you had to do is wear those big thick red checked tartan trousers to school. Of course, it was absolutely compulsory to have them flared, and to be made of the thickest material possible. The girls would go one further. …
More….
Tank Top
If there is one item of clothing that makes you think of the 70s it must be the tank top. This was a sleeveless knitted vest top jumper in various colours and seemed to be worn by just about everyone. The tank top lost all credibility when worn by Frank Spencer in “Some Mothers Do Have ‘Em”, and not forgetting the true gods of tank tops, those trendy Radio One djs like the breakfast show hosts of the 1970s Noel Edmunds and his arch enemy Tony Blackburn. These guys would often co-host BBC TV Top of the Pops wearing tank …
More….
Suede Patchwork Skirt
Another item of clothing probably made by Barbara from the “Good Life.” (1973). This beautiful skirt was mostly worn long and made of very large patchwork shapes. No need to stick to squares or circles; it could be any shape going in any direction at all. The main beauty about the patchwork dress was the ability to change how it looked. No problem if you ripped the skirt, all you had to do was replace the damaged area with another patch, this gave the dress a long life, and also it was able to change itself over a course of …
More….
Sta-press Trousers
Drainpipe trousers with crisp permanent creases. Made from the famous Trevira that never required ironing. No wonder they were so popular. The idea actually originated back in 1964 by the Levi Company in the U.S. It was the Mods in the 1960s that really gave this product a leg up into the 1970s. The Sta-press (pronounced stay press), came in a huge variants of colours and designs in the 1970s that appealed to everyone. They were popular with the skinhead brigade too because you could get them in two tone, called tonic in the early 70s, a material that they …
More….
Starsky Cardigan
A chunky- knit, long length, woollen cardigan with belt. Normally cream and brown and only ever looked good on me and Starsky! A really cool bit of clothing, which I absolutely loved. Those of you who shout out who is Starsky? Shame on you. Paul Michal Glazer was a TV detective, who along with David Soul became the TV pin up cops of the 1970s with their TV show Starsky and Hutch. Go on YouTube and watch the open titles of that show, and you will see the very cardigan as Starsky climbs out of a swimming pool and shows …
More….
Snakeskin Boots
Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) will be pleased to note these were fake .An ideal item to be worn with a mini-skirt, according to the blokes! Of course, not everyone could afford genuine snakeskin, so the Snakeskin boots in the High Street were normally a plastic patterned imitation of the real thing. The boots would range from small type ankle boots, to mid leg boots, right up to snakeskin boots that went pass the knee and up the thigh. Phew! The girls really knew how to turn heads when they were wearing these beauties. However, the boys had their versions too. …
More….
Skinny Rib Tops
Very tight fitting jumpers to show off all those intended and unintended curves! This in fact was a left over from the 1960s, but was prominent during the fantastic 1970s. These were really figure-hugging garments for the ladies. There were so many versions of this, that now we probably all remember them differently. Some were sleeveless, others had long sleeves, some had polo necks, others had scooped or round necks. Some were made of wool, many were made of acrylic or other new man made fibres becoming increasingly more popular in the 70s. The best way to remember this jumper …
More….
