The 1970s were a wild maelstrom of fashion experimentation, from disco glam to punk rebellion. But not everything lasts. Certain fads, like vinyl jumpsuits and bell bottoms, were only temporary shock value, not lasting style. To our shock, many of these trends came back on a regular cycle, enticing new generations.
But behind the nostalgia lies a painful reality: these fashions do not blend with modern-day aesthetics, comfort, or functionality. Back to them, unexamined risks reenacting fashion’s worst mistakes. This article explores 10 of the most notorious ’70s styles that need to remain in the past and why their revival would be a fashion and cultural faux pas.
1. Vinyl Jumpsuits
Vinyl jumpsuits promised a futuristic, streamlined look, but with them came ugliness and impracticality. The artificial fabric trapped heat and was not breathable, making it intolerable for extended periods of wear. Bathroom breaks proved to be a practical nightmare, turning style into drudgery.
In addition to ugliness, vinyl’s shiny plastic appearance always had a tacky rather than chic sense, undermining any fashion legitimacy. With the current green awareness, vinyl’s net environmental cost is yet another blot on its record. Its fleeting comebacks have been met with jocularity, pointing out that some things should remain in the past.
2. Bell-Bottoms
With their massive flares, Bell bottoms defined 70s fashion but rarely flattered modern shapes. Their unwieldy width and length impeded walking and appeared to compensate for the lack of fit. While they were the ultimate symbols of rebellion and liberation, their bulk usually swallowed up the wearer, producing an unbalanced figure.
Attempts at reviving the bell-bottom in the 90s and beyond have met half-hearted support since they clash with modern streamlined sensibilities. The inapplicability of the trend and retro style is a compelling argument against a full-scale return.
3. Wide-Collar Shirts and Chest Hair
The broad-collar shirt was less a matter of style and more a chest-hair bragging right, a 70s macho declaration now regarded as overblown. The huge collars looked more theatrical than chic, like something from costume parties rather than street fashion.
Such over-the-top posturing of masculinity is retrograde to today’s multicultural style, celebrating subtlety and diversity. Rolling out this trend is an invitation to perpetuate limiting gender roles and such outdated notions of masculinity that it becomes socially regressive as well as hideously ugly.
4. Cutout Swimsuits
Cutout swimsuits were brash beach style, creating ugly tan marks and often sacrificing comfort for looks. Their asymmetrical silhouettes, while dramatic, were inconvenient for hectic beach partygoers and sunbathers.
The trend also encouraged over-tanning, with its attendant health risks now well-documented. With swimwear now emphasizing function and sun protection, cutout suits are a hazardous anachronism. Their revival would ignore decades of progress in health awareness and functional design.
5. Shiny Platform Boots
Tremendously shiny, knee-high platform boots were a showy 70s disco excess icon with a histrionic, flashy quality that compromised poise for spectacle. While iconic, their showy height, thick soles, and shiny finishes tended to veer into tawdry, making them better suited to costume parties than real-world settings.
Barring their looks, such boots have been a practical issue, bulky, awkward on uneven surfaces, and challenging to match with modern, everyday styles. Modern fashion leans toward utility, simplicity, and versatility values these boots never quite offer. While they may be nostalgic, their utilitarian unsuitability and visual excess constantly clash with today’s style’s sensibilities.
6. Double Denim
The 70s double denim look of having a denim jacket and matching jeans typically produced a dull, heavy appearance with no visual detail and elegance. The denim ensemble can quickly appear clunky, retro, and overly similar.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake the pop culture icons were not able to make the look work when they famously sported it in the early 2000s. In today’s fashion environment, where the mix of textures, hues, and fabrics is the key to assembling vibrant outfits, double denim appears to be a style faux pas.
Its revival has the potential to bring an outdated, unoriginal style that may mask originality and negate the simplicity of high-end personal style.
7. Patchwork Denim Jeans
Patchwork jeans were an unorthodox but misguided attempt at innovation, combining jarring denim colors and textures in one garment. The trend used to look disordered and gaudy, lacking cohesiveness or refinement. Patchwork also hinders wearability, limiting outfit coordination.
At a time when minimalism and simplicity are reigning supreme, patchwork jeans are a visual assault. Its revival would be met with confusion and horror rather than awe.
8. Bra Tops
Bra tops symbolized sex freedom in the 70s but were prone to degenerating into clumsiness and unseemliness. While outerwear lingerie has improved, the plain bra top is nowhere as adaptable or classy as individuals demand.
Exposing lingerie as tops without meticulous contemplation can be considered sloppy or unseemly. This trend also risks facilitating objectification rather than empowerment, a problem that remains pertinent in fashion discussion today. Revival would overlook the subtle improvements in balancing boldness with respect.
9. Bell Sleeves
Bell sleeves created a dramatic, theatrical look for 70s fashion but were so excessively ornate that they overwhelmed the wearer and conflicted with the trend toward simplicity and streamlined silhouettes. The wide, flared cuffs command the overall appearance and limit freedom of movement, making them impractical to wear for everyday life.
While the current trend is adopting statement sleeves, the versions are toned down and more functional. Though symbolic, the classic 70s bell sleeve was too opulent and distracting to the eye. Reviving this style in its classic form risks putting aesthetics above function, thus moving us two steps back in the evolution of fashion toward adaptability and sophistication.
10. Terry Cloth Jumpsuits
Comfort Misconceiveerry cloth, whose absorbency in towels made it perfect for drying off after a swim, was curiously reformed into full-body jumpsuits in the 70s, a style never to be revisited.
While the gentleness of the fabric promised relaxation, wearing it seemed to produce an unseemly, lumpy figure that retained heat and humidity and amplified discomfort instead of alleviating it.The style summoned images of a sweaty, clumsy middle-aged individual to mind instead of style comfort.
In contrast to contemporary athleisure yarns engineered for comfort and performance, terry cloth jumpsuits were functional and aesthetically unflattering. Their return would disregard decades of textile technological advancements and fashion design, prioritizing utility and minimalism.
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