70s Fashion Men – 70s Mens Fashion Clothing Styles

In 70s Fashion Men, Hippies happened. The Woodstock festival was widely watched on film and both male and female happily adopted long hair, huge afros, bell bottoms and flares, layers and layers of flowing clothes and a generally unwashed vibe.In the UK there was the Isle of Wight festival.

1970s Hollywood nostalgia. niiicedave [CC BY-SA]

Musicals in 70s Fashion Men

The musical Hair was a both a big influence and reflection of this. Easy Rider showed Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in long hair and Captain America jackets.

Music

A more streamlined version of androgynous or effeminate dress in 70s Fashion Men came from Glam Rock, where men wore tight trousers and glitter eye make up, platform heels and feather boas. David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Gary Glitter were arch proponents of this look.

Unisex clothing was very popular, and though borrowing your boyfriend’s jumper is now a good move for a girl, in the 70s it was cool for a man to borrow his girlfriend’s instead.

In the office, men still wore suits but they came with exaggerated lapels, nipped in waists, huge kipper ties and flared trousers.

If you were daring they might be in velvet or corduroy, with a polo neck instead of a shirt. Tank tops – sleeveless knitted jumpers were a good option over shirts. Suits still came in grey, black and navy, but brown or olive green with mustard accessories worked too.

70s Ducks Cowichan Sweater

Casual 70s Fashion Men

For casual 70s Fashion Men if you were more conservative, denim ruled.

Jeans were worn by all ages and sections of society and the label was all important. Gloria Vanderbilt and Levi, Lee and Wrangler still ruled, and jeans were shrunk, stone washed, faded and bleached. Jeans could also be customized by their owners.

Sportswear was also huge, and sports celebrities endorsed products and clothing. Track suits and sneakers were worn by the non athletic, and even sweatbands and wristbands crept into every day wear.

70s Roxy

The pop band Roxy Music introduced a sleek style of dressing, influenced by the 30s, which prompted a vogue for second hand goods. Britain was also undergoing the 3 day week at the time, because an oil crisis meant there was not enough fuel to last a full seven days. As a consequence finances were tight, and so second hand clothes had an allure for that reason too.

70s Fashion Men designers included Biba, (Barbara Hulanicki and Stephen Fitz-Simon) who had started off with womens wear but moved by the 70s into clothing for man, woman and child, and Ralph Lauren, who had taken an English upper class look of the 20s and 30s and interpreted it for an audience looking for some refined, preppy style.

Another popular 70s Fashion Men vintage fashion designer was Mr Freedom (Tommy Roberts) who stocked his shop with bright, witty clothes. Tommy Nutter was an alternative for more expensive tailored clothes – John Lennon and Yoko Ono bought their matching wedding suits there in 1969.

By the end of the decade punk clothing was a menacing alternative to the free flowing hippy love. Punks wore leather and latex, ripped clothes rejoined with safety pins, and had piercings and Mohican hair styles. Their makeup was outrageous and extreme, and they listened to angry, howling music.

Matchy Match Denim 70s Style, Corduroy was Rich and Masculine, People all dressed up for Woodstock, Hair the Musical, Easy Rider, David Bowie looking Glam, Pretty Marc Bolan, Gary Glitter, living up to his name, Roxy Music, Looking Suave, Punks

• 1970s
• A CENTURY OF FASHION
• Men