Charlies Angels 1970s
December 14, 2014Charlies Angels first time round may have given the impression that they were independent women that could catch criminals and still manage to look like their hair was in place. A lip gloss in one hand, a bag in the other and all done with platform shoes and a halter-neck top.
Charlies Angels cast 1976.
ABC Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Charlies Angels 1970s
By today’s standards it seemed a little suspect as did most of the 70s to a lot of people. After all, looking all breathless and lip glossed with flicked hair did not necessarily equate with the emancipation of women, even if they did it without bras.
Seventies fashion and fighting crime
If you weren’t bothered by the fact that they looked a bit too girly to fight with boys then perhaps you were more interested in the clothes. This was the height of 1970s fashion and we’re talking flicks, curls and volume when it comes to hair, wide trousers, platforms, tube tops and designer jeans. Farah Fawcett was the real favourite of the Angels first time round, and a poster of her in a red bathing suit became the biggest selling poster of all time.
If you want to emulate Charlie’s Angels in their first incarnation then you need to think denim buttoned up skirts, jumpsuits, preferably with nice retro prints, gold heeled stilettos, tinted shades, maxi dresses, paisley and pleats (which will be big in Spring/Summer 2015), platform sandals and floppy hats. Denim will be big (again) next year, platforms have never really gone away and floppy hats are for those who dare. Especially on vacation.
Charlies Angels 2000
The Angels of this decade were sassy and vibrant, perhaps a little more intelligent and fun, but with the same fighting spirit. Their bodies were less hour-glass and more muscular, toned and perhaps a little thinner. Barrymore was more tomboyish, with Diaz and Liu bringing a combination of serious intent and blonde ambition.
The clothes reflected this, although the fight scenes may have appeared a little outrageous, at least their clothes looked a little more realistic. A combination of expensive taste and functionality mixed with glamour and sophistication.
And what do the new Charlies Angels have in store?
Well the new Charlies Angels never really got off the ground, with poor ratings and abysmal storylines it died a death before it ever really took off. However, we can only imagine what the new Angels for the mid noughties could be like.
We could create our own, perhaps combining the 70s, early and mid-noughties for a new more modern hybrid – without the lip gloss, but with plenty of Chanel and vintage Ossie Clark, a little Chloe with some Stella McCartney thrown in and lots of maxi dresses. You never know, someone might make it work – this time. Maybe we could even throw in some gothic black and some mermaid waves.
Fancy being an angel?
If you fancy recreating some Charlies Angels magic then perhaps you should stick to the 70s, of course this will depend on how much you love this period. In terms of fashion, the seventies is a decade you either love or hate, and in terms of fashion – some of it was great, some of it was awful, but at least it wasn’t as bad as the eighties.
Dress up, seventies style
Flicked hair, curls and volume are the order of the day with halter-neck tops, designer jeans and soft feminine draping. Denim skirts and tube tops, and jump suits have been in all last year and don’t seem to be disappearing just yet, just with more contemporary colours like blue and orange and some retro prints. Seventies clothes are a real find and always fun to source in vintage stores and online.
If you prefer retro as opposed to vintage, then look online and take inspiration from the original looks that were around back then, and look out for similar shaping and colours for a modern seventies vibe. But, really, vintage is the way to go, it’s much more fun….
