70's look

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The Seventies was a fascinating era when all manner of fashions were being both introduced and phased out. We saw the final end of the mini-skirt’s relatively short stay on the fashion scene, the appearace and disapperance of HOT PANTS in a matter of two or three years at the most, the maxi-length outfit and of course the re-emergence of the accordion pleat skirt, usually incorporated into a frock or gown, though rarely as full as their 50’s counterparts. The main differences here being the improvements in both the ‘feel’ and the hang of the now widely available synthetic fabrics. This is why a number of 70’s outfits can readily be ‘exchanged’ in looks for genuine 50’s items.

Three examples of pleated frocks from the 1970’s. Whilst these examples have long sleeves, short sleeved or sleeveless variants were equally popular. Unlike the synthetics from earlier years, all these garments feature material with is very soft and smooth to the touch. With some of the more smooth and ‘stretchy’ items, the pattern and colour printing often only occurred on the outer surface of the garment, as can be seen on the item to the right.


	GOWNS



	Most pleated gowns were produced over-length and would ‘pool’ beautifully, though most wearers preferred to have them taken up.


	For both evening and bridal wear we saw the full length pleated gown introduced. Whilst this is not a style that is liked by all, ( possibly because of some of the hideously tasteless variations to the common theme? ) some of those remaining are nothing short of beautiful in their simplicity. Full length pleated gowns from this era were usually ‘Empire waisted’ (the waist is just below the bust) and would usually be sleeveless, though a few examples with short and long sleeves were made. With a full length plain accordion pleated skirt, the bodice could have been anything from simple with shoe-string straps, to a clumsy runched-up mess (sorry!) that IMHO gave the entire style a bad name. On occasions, a matching bolero jacket would be included, either plain or with adornments (such as lace) to compliment the decoration on the bodice.


		What is however, a tragedy, is that the style is rapidly becoming a dying breed, as more and more people are inexpertly chopping off the bottom part of the skirt to create a far more saleable knee-length frock and occasionally an even shorter style. With the ones I have seen close-up, the new hem is either left raw (unstitched) or is inexpertly turned up. My guess is this is the reason that gowns with a waist over 30 inches are now almost impossible to find :( The particular material used for these gowns is generally much softer than that found on frocks and is therefore extremely difficult to work with, so as not to leave very obvious signs of the alteration.


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