The decade began with a continuation of the hippie look from the 1960s. Jeans remained frayed, and the tie dye shirts and Mexican peasant blouses were still popular. In addition to the mini skirt, mid-calf-length dresses called "midis" and ankle-length dresses called "maxis" were also worn in 1970 and 1971, thus offering women three different skirt lengths. In 1971, extremely brief, tight-fitting shorts, called hot pants , were a fashion craze for girls and young women. Throughout the period, trousers for both sexes, though flared at leg bottoms, were very tight and revealing from the lower thighs up. Another trend for both sexes was the fitted blazer, which flared slightly at the hip. It came in a variety of fabrics, including wool, velvet, suede, and leather. The buttons were covered and the lapels wide.
The jersey wrap dress in 1972, became an extremely popular item, as it flattered a number of different body types and sizes, and could be worn both to the office by day, and to nightclubs and discos by night.This is a one-piece, knee-length garment, which wrapped in the front and featured built-in string ties of the same fabric, tied around the waist. This dress became a huge success in the mass market. For teenage girls and young women the crop top was often worn, sometimes with a halter neck or else tied in a knot above the midriff. By the mid-1970s hip-huggers were gone, replaced by the high-waisted jeans and trousers with wide, flared legs. In Britain, they were often referred to as "Loon pants".
In Britain and Ireland, in the early to mid-1970s, there was the boot boy subculture which influenced youthful male attire with the "parallel jeans", which were flared jeans that stopped at mid-calf. These were worn with heavy workman's "bovver" boots, braces, and denim jackets. Their hair was usually worn longish by the middle of the decade.
The jersey wrap dress in 1972, became an extremely popular item, as it flattered a number of different body types and sizes, and could be worn both to the office by day, and to nightclubs and discos by night.This is a one-piece, knee-length garment, which wrapped in the front and featured built-in string ties of the same fabric, tied around the waist. This dress became a huge success in the mass market. For teenage girls and young women the crop top was often worn, sometimes with a halter neck or else tied in a knot above the midriff. By the mid-1970s hip-huggers were gone, replaced by the high-waisted jeans and trousers with wide, flared legs. In Britain, they were often referred to as "Loon pants".
In Britain and Ireland, in the early to mid-1970s, there was the boot boy subculture which influenced youthful male attire with the "parallel jeans", which were flared jeans that stopped at mid-calf. These were worn with heavy workman's "bovver" boots, braces, and denim jackets. Their hair was usually worn longish by the middle of the decade.
The decade saw the rise of disco, which became one of the biggest genres of the decade, especially in the mid-to-late 1970s. In Europe, a variant known as Euro disco rose in popularity towards the end of the 1970s. Aside from disco, funk, smooth jazz, jazz fusion, and soul remained popular throughout the decade. Rock music played an important part in the Western musical scene, with punk rock thriving throughout the mid to late 1970s. Other sub-genres of rock, particularly glam, hard rock, progressive, art rock, and heavy metal achieved various amounts of success. Other genres such as reggae were innovative throughout the decade and grew a significant following. Hip hop emerged during this decade, but was slow to start and didn't become significant until the late 1980s. Classical began losing a little momentum; however, through invention and theoretical development, this particular genre gave rise to experimental classical and minimalist music by classical composers. A sub-genre of classical, film scores, remained popular with movie-goers. Alongside the popularity of experimental music, the decade was notable for its contributions to electronic music, which rose in popularity with the continued development of synthesizers and harmonizers; more composers embraced this particular genre, gaining the notice of listeners who were looking for something new and different. Its rising popularity, mixed with the popular music of the period, led to the creation of synthpop.
The movie Saturday Night Fever was released in December 1977, starring John Travolta and featuring the music of the Bee Gees and several other artists. It had the effect of revitalizing the disco genre in the United States. The Bee Gees' soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever became the best-selling album of all time. Bill Oakes, who supervised the soundtrack, asserts that Saturday Night Fever did not begin the disco craze; rather, it prolonged it: "Disco had run its course. These days, Fever is credited with kicking off the whole disco thing—it really didn't. Truth is, it breathed new life into a genre that was actually dying."
In the 70s, a number of new music trends emerged. Hence, many new dance fads appeared along with them. Some appealed to the masses. Others were deemed silly by older folks who no doubt found them to be much different from the dances of their generation. Nonetheless, these 70s dances spoke to a different generation and many of them are quite memorable. The Bump was a fairly simple 70s dance that didn’t require learning a lot of complicated steps. Instead, partners stepped or swayed to the music – standing apart from one another – and came together to bump hips about every other beat. The idea was to bump gently, but smaller dancers tended to get jostled around by partners who weighed a bit more, and some people got carried away and bumped a little too hard, sending their partners across the dance floor. One of the more bizarre 70s dances was the Funky Chicken, it was a solo dance that involved steps with names like “chicken wings” and “chicken legs.” Not to be confused with the popular oom-pah-style Chicken Dance performed at wedding receptions, the Funky Chicken merely imitated the jerky movements of a chicken, with dancers incorporating their own style to make their dance moves a little different from everyone else. |
Reference: http://www.classic70s.com/70s-dances.html http://www.welcometothe70s.com www.eventdimensions.com Pendergast, Tom and Sarah (2004). Fashion, Costume and Culture. MI, USA: Thomson Gale. p. 933. www.liketotally70s.com www.sky.fm/70sdance www.70smusicvids.com