Falmers Jeans & Waistcoat
Denim jeans with three pin-tucks in the back pockets & front of waistcoat. Status Quo eat your heart out. (1976) It was the height of fashion, especially for the Denim brigade, which included myself.
Jeans evolved in the 1970s from work wear into designer clothes. Peter Golding was a British fashion designer who was hired by the Falmers Jean Company to come up with designer jeans that had no pretence of ever having been used as working clothes – unlike Levis who still had this rugged reputation and appeal.
In 1970 Peter Golding created the” World’s First Designer Jeans” and they were sold in trendy clothes shops Jean Machine and Mayfair fashions in the UK.
Some of the artists and celebrities of the times who wore Falmers jeans included Mary Quant herself, a great endorsement for Falmers denim! In addition, we had Cher, Zandra Rhodes, Bryan Ferry, Dudley Moore and even the Rolling Stones themselves. So it really was the who’s who of 1970 stars and movers.
In 1974, Peter Golding opened ACE in London, where along with his amazing Denim 3 pin tucks and waistcoat, he would serve other huge stars a range of denim ware. The TV star Cilla Black, George Best, David Bowie and Marlon Brando were just some of the A list stars who wore Falmers jeans.
Other brands were quick to follow. Brutus jeans were cheaper to buy than Levis and Falmers and a catchy advertising jingle from a TV ad (created by Saatchi and Saatchi ) created a hit single for singer David Dundas and millions of sales for Brutus jeans…”when I wake up in the morning light, I put on my jeans and I feel alright!”
The jeans of the era were worn tight and figure hugging around the bum and crotch area and then widened out into flares! Many jeans had design details such as tiny front pockets or the three pin tucks of the back pocket and were soft and comfortable to wear despite being tight.
Denim waistcoats were worn by both sexes. Quite often, the guys wore nothing underneath and the girls a simple figure-hugging tee shirt.
So with all those famous names wearing the product, it was obvious that they became a huge fashion necessity for the regular street goers in the 1970s. Denim of course was the real 1970s sexy product for guys and gals. It looked so great, and it hugged the body so well.
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