Question about the late 1960s-mid 1970s

FedoraFan112390 · Jun 17, 2008

Hey

Around the late 60s (say from 1966 on) to the mid 70s (to about 1975) was it a common occurance for the older generation (those born in the 1910s or 1920s) to adapt to the social and fashion trends of the era? For example, would a 50 year old man in 1970 be wearing sideburns and bell bottoms?

Foofoogal · Jun 17, 2008

Probably out more in California or so I would think.
There has been and always be men and women who try to keep up with the styles and/or try to be young. Probably more so now than then though I would think or remember anyway.
I am sure alot of men were still like Archie back then.

Boxerken · Jun 17, 2008

I dont recall seeing any older men wearing bell bottoms, that was reserved for the younger crowd. I remember seeing alot of men of all ages in the early 70's with sideburns though, some wore them as big as Elvis. The good ole days, bell bottoms, sideburns and .40 cents a gallon gas.

LizzieMaine · Jun 17, 2008

Not where I lived in small-town Maine. The men and women of the 1910-1925 generation I knew for the most part still dressed and lived in a '40s/'50s time bubble. My grandmother, born in 1911, never changed her hairstyle or fashion sense from about 1939 up to her death in 1981, and my grandfather wore gas station work clothes most of the time, and a dark grey suit, circa 1950, on those few occasions he dressed up. It was still common to see middle-aged men in red-and-black plaid wool jackets and fedoras or shapeless flat caps, and women in housedresses and sensible shoes all thru my childhood.

We never had the sixties in my town -- I don't think I ever saw sideburns on a live person until about 1975, and certainly not on anyone over 50.

flat-top · Jun 17, 2008

When I was groing up, most of the older guys traded in their "Golden Era" stuff for 70's stuff, and it seems to be the stuff they're STILL wearing!
That's why alot of the great vintage is LOOONG gone!

Lincsong · Jun 17, 2008

My Grandpa was born in 1901 and died in 1980. He never owned denim dungarees nor bell bottoms. He was the fashion hound though. He had the 1970's leisure suit, plaid pants, white shoes, white belt, leather sport jacket, he wore ties, both bow and long but at Christmas 1979 he wore a blue suit, opened collar shirt with his bare chest, white shoes, white belt. Of course he had a collection of hats which he also wore and wore with the leisure suit.

sixsexsix · Jun 17, 2008

my grandfather was born in 1923, my grandmother 1931. here they are in the 70s:

you can draw your own conclusions lol

Rachael · Jun 17, 2008

My grandfather was born in 1910, and I only ever saw him wearing dungarees and Pendleton wool shirts. The three exceptions to this were weddings (he never went to a funeral) and on those occasions he wore a three piece gray suit with a watch.

My grandmothers on the other hand (born in '09 and '17) did adopt later styles, mainly because of the shoes. They both wore orthopedics as long as I can remember, and dressed a lot like Kate Hepburn. Cardigans, shirt jackets, and such.

It was my parents (born in the '30s) that adopted the 70's styles.. those scenic satin shirts sure do make for great family portraits now. lol

FedoraFan112390 · Jun 17, 2008

Here's my grandfather and his brothers in March 1973.
My grandpa's on the left (1920-1975), his one brother in the middle (1910-1979) and his other brother on the end (1912-1975)

It's hard to see but my grandpa has white ear-length sideburns (contrasting with his still black hair) and a white mustache; both of which he grew around 1966. His brother in the center also has ear length sideburns. And my grandpa's wearing shorts by the way.

scotrace · Jun 17, 2008

Yes they did wear that stuff in my small town. Look around for pictures: at the end of his life, LBJ had quite long hair and sideburns.

Dixon Cannon · Jun 17, 2008

This is a good one for me! My Dad was born in 1901 and my Mom in 1912. I've got a brother born in 1932 and a sister born in 1934! The answer is NO!

My Dad wore a crew cut til the day he died. My Mom loves polyester. My brother was spit and polish Army and my Sister was a suburban Mom. They all went into spasm's when I grew sideboards and grew my hair!

I think that people in the arts; TV, film, music, etc, were more inclined to be trendy. Middle-class people who had to go to a job every day couldn't afford to be trendy and buck the system. These were the days when a boss could still tell you your hair is too long and your sideburns to long; "What? Are you turnin' into a Beatle!?"

John Lennon once remarked that in 1970 newscasters had what were considered 'long' Beatle haircuts just five years earlier. But, again, these were media people, not work-a-day Joes.

When I look back at some of my families photos, people looked pretty dull. No worse I suppose than some of the family types we might see casually dressed (dressed down!?) today.

For myself, our HS graduating class was the first (1972) to be allowed hair over our collars and to wear jeans to school. Needless to say, the establishment was still pretty conservative back then. You have to remember, anybody at all hip was called a "freak"!

-dixon cannon

KY Gentleman · Jun 17, 2008

As a kid during the early to mid '70's I recall adults were all wearing the attire of the time. When we went to church most of the "grown-ups" had Leisure suits and longer hair/sideburns.

Rooster · Jun 17, 2008

OK, how about we get back on track. I had one grandfather that stuck to the 40's/50's style, and the other that sported a lot of polyester and plaid. They were born 1902 and 1903.
By the way , some of my most favorite people are war mongering militarists, and they aren't even in politics....Even I was featured in Soldier of Fortune magazine once.

cookie · Jun 17, 2008

FedoraFan112390 said:
Hey

Around the late 60s (say from 1966 on) to the mid 70s (to about 1975) was it a common occurance for the older generation (those born in the 1910s or 1920s) to adapt to the social and fashion trends of the era? For example, would a 50 year old man in 1970 be wearing sideburns and bell bottoms?

I grew up at that time (age 15-20) and the answer is no. Generally they dressed soberly in British type clothing post War that was not at all trendy

Doctor Strange · Jun 17, 2008

The answer to the original question is: it varied a lot. To an extent by locale, but even more by personality. Some older folks continued wearing what they always had, but many more fashion-conscious types made a dedicated effort to be "with it".

And as the 60s/70s wore on, there were many more bell bottoms, designer jeans, polyester shirts and suits, wide psychedelic ties, etc., on sale than more conservative fare, so some people eventually changed of necessity as their wardrobes required replacement. And many old-style barbershops gave way to hair stylists - and even those old-style barbers were eventually following the trends to longer hair and sideburns, beards, and 'staches...

You can't really generalize about something like this. My memory of it, living through those years in NYC and upstate NY (Binghamton), was that it was all over the place, and it progressed over time. In 1968, a big chunk of older (and younger) folks still looked as they would have five years earlier; by 1973, only the oldest and most conservative still weren't "happenin'".

They seek him here, they seek him there,
His clothes are loud, but never square.
It will make or break him so he's got to buy the best,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

And when he does his little rounds,
'Round the boutiques of London Town,
Eagerly pursuing all the latest fads and trends,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He thinks he is a flower to be looked at,
And when he pulls his frilly nylon panties right up tight,
He feels a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
There's one thing that he loves and that is flattery.
One week he's in polka-dots, the next week he is in stripes.
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

They seek him here, they seek him there,
In Regent Street and Leicester Square.
Everywhere the Carnabetian army marches on,
Each one an dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
His world is built 'round discoteques and parties.
This pleasure-seeking individual always looks his best
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.

Oh yes he is (oh yes he is), oh yes he is (oh yes he is).
He flits from shop to shop just like a butterfly.
In matters of the cloth he is as fickle as can be,
'Cause he's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.
He's a dedicated follower of fashion.

- Ray Davies, The Kinks (1968)

pgoat · Jun 17, 2008

The answer to the original question is: it varied a lot. To an extent by locale, but even more by personality. Some older folks continued wearing what they always had, but many more fashion-conscious types made a dedicated effort to be "with it".

Dr s is right on, imo. I also think these looks filtered into people's dress subconsciously.

My dad - who was born during WWI and was an immigrant to America in the 1950s - was extremely conservative. Yet, as the 70s dawned, his hair crept over his collar a bit (mind, he'd give me regular lectures about my own adolescent-to-teen fashions , eg waist length hair, ripped up jeans, etc etc). The side burns definitely puffed out too. He never went bell bottoms, and the most casual he ever got was flannel shirts in the winter and deck shoes with khakis in the summer (w/Short sleeve dress shirt, tucked in).

My mom - who was only a few years younger, also an immigrant, definitely was more of a fashion victim of the era. I recall being hypnotized as a young child by various hideous floral and paisley patterns...

If you want another view - not that this represents what people on the street were actually wearing - check out TV shows and movies from the era. You def. see men and women in positions of authority/power/responsibility wearing lame post 60s fashions.

Paisley · Jun 17, 2008

My dad continued wearing jeans and western shirts, the style he grew up in and went to work in, but my mom was happy to wear polyester clothes that didn't need to be ironed.

David Conwill · Jun 17, 2008

Regarding hair and clothes from this era - do you ever wonder whether some of this was not by choice? I mean, how do you stay looking '40s and '50s in the '70s if all they're selling in department stores and barber shops are '70s clothes and haircuts? Probably not too many middle-class people wanted to shop thrift stores in the '70s.

I recall my Grandpa Conwill wearing quite a few 1970s items with just a smattering of earlier stuff that matched - he was military, though, so his hair cut was the same from about 1950 until he died in 1994. Actually, that may have effected his wardrobe, as well - aside from a lot of nice bespoke suits from Hong Kong, he really didn't own to many civvies. It was Air Force blues or Korean-era fatigues for him until he retired. My brother still wears a pair of those fatigue pants today (he also wears all those beautiful suits that are too small for me!).

My Grandma Conwill has always been quite "with it" for fashion, but also didn't get rid of things. When we have '50s revivals, she hauls out her clothes from the 1950s and wears them. Unfortunately, her clothes from the '30s and '40s are mostly long gone.

My Grandpa Markey died when I was only four, and his wife before I was born. From what I recall of him, he dressed fairly conservatively - cardigan sweaters, button-up shirts with collars that did get a little bigger but slimmed right back down in the '80s, flat caps, and he even smoked a pipe. From what I've seen in photos, Grandma Markey also kept up with fashion.

-Dave

dhermann1 · Jun 17, 2008

Part of what made the 70's so creepy was the so called "Peacock revolution". There was a reaction in the "establishment" to the truly flamboyant off beat styles of the Hippy generation. The main stream types wanted to show that they were "hip" and "cool", but still be "conservative". This led to the gaudy colors and thick but neatly trimmed sideburns of the 70's. Compare with the flower children of the late 60's. The styles screamed "I'm cool, too.", even tho they were were obviously thoroughly uncool. That's why you see so many of the fifty somethings of the 70's wearing those styles. The folks with a little stronger sense of who they were, who could see how silly the other folks looked, kept to a more traditional sense of style.
This is a very interesting topic of discussion. It gets to the heart of a lot of social changes in the last few decades, and what the significance of "vintage" vs. "contemporary" is all about. Thanks for bringing it up.

pgoat · Jun 17, 2008

also the trend reversing; whereas the young once tried to emulate their elders and assimilate into an adult role, you now have people from 20 to 90 trying to be young and hip....with disastrous results, often far beyond the realm of mere fashion....

Question about the late 1960s-mid 1970s

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