The 1970s were a decade of easy-care jersey dresses with frilly skirts and tops. Overalls catch on in the 1970s as well as knitwear costumes and suits in different varieties. Anyone who doesn't want to be too modern wears jeans with a parka in a camouflage-green, heavy, adapted from the army jacket.

The 1970s haven’t really produced new silhouettes. They continued the romantic look of the 1960s on the one hand and on the other hand they were the basis for the dress-for-success style of the 1980s.
The fashion of the 1970s clearly shows the influence of free-time-fashion. Jeans were worn in all socials layers, they became a favourite item and were worn at almost every occasion. People wore either sex-neutral jeans and pullovers or jeans and blouses.

The middle of the decade is characterised by the Indian-look, a sister of the 1960s hippie-style, with wide flying shirts or blouses of light fabrics, knee-long skirts and wide dresses. At the end of the decade specially feminine combinations came up like sportive jeans with lace blouses.

Skirts and dresses were straight and often made of tweed or other sportive materials. Shirt-dresses worn with a belt and wide romantic dresses covered the body rather than revealed anything.

The grandma-look features frilly blouses with stand-up collars and skirt volants similar to the style of the 19th century. Patchwork suggesting original rural life were suddenly modern.

Mini, Midi, Maxi and hot pants: In 1970 skirts covered hardly the bottom, followed by midi skirt and later long skirts which reached up to the calf. They were combined with waist-short pullovers or jackets made of plush or knitwear. Jackets with hoots were taken from the sports and work-wear fashion.
At the beginning of the 1970s clothes for young women were very narrow and extremely short like hot pants.

Hairstyles:
The hairstyles reflected those tendencies again. Men grew their hair naturally over the collar and the sideburns were always long. Women let their hair dry naturally.

Vocabulary

German - English
to catch on - durchsetzen
clear - deutlich
collar - Kragen
to cover - verhüllen
fabrics - Stoffe
frilly blouse - Rüschenbluse
independently - eigenständig
layers - Schichten
on the one hand, on the other hand -einerseits, andererseits
original - ursprünglich
particular - bestimmte
to produce - hervorbringen
to unveil - enthüllen
waist - Taille
to reflect - widerspiegeln

By Dilek Karamese and Nüket Kutluisik

Sources

Lehnert, Gertrud: Geschichte der Mode des 20. Jahrhunderts. Köln: Könemann, 2000.
Seeling, Charlotte: Mode - das Jahrhundert der Designer. Köln: Könemann, 1999.

Timeline Fashion

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