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The Seventies in America Bell-bottoms Definition: A style of men's or women's pants or trousers that cling tightly to the thigh and flare out from the knee During the 1970's, bell-bottoms became a mainstream fashion trend for formal as well as casual or everyday wear. Originally worn by sailors in the U.S. Navy, bell bottom pants, or "flares," were part of the counterculture hippie style of the 1960's. For hippies, bell-bottom jeans were a cultural statement as a loose style very different from the standard narrow, straight-legged pants. By the early 1970's, hippies or "flower children" often customized their flares with appliqué, embroidery, beads, metal eyelets, cords, or other handiwork. In the 1970's, as hippie, unisex, and nontraditional clothing became universally popular, bell-bottoms entered mainstream fashion. Casual and easy-to-wear clothing became fashionable even as formal wear, and the bell-bottom concept was used in various kinds of pants. "Hip huggers" had a waistline right below the naval and often had a psychedelic swirl pattern in several colors. High-waisted baggy pants had large bell-bottoms and huge cuffs and were popular in plaid. In 1970, the denim jeans manufacturer Levi Strauss presented its first pair of bell-bottoms. Besides denim, other common fabrics used for bell-bottoms were polyester knit, corduroy, and velvet. Moreover, as the women's liberation movement grew, jeans and trousers became increasingly popular with women. For example, in the mid-1970's, designer Yves Saint Laurent created masculine suits with flared trousers for women. During the 1970's, disco music and dance became mainstream, and a new, distinct style of disco fashion developed. Shiny, stretchable fabrics were ideal for dancers, as they glowed under special lighting from mirror balls, spotlights, and strobe lights in the popular disco nightclubs. Flashy bell-bottoms were an essential part of the standard men's disco uniform. In the 1977 classic film Saturday Night Fever, the character played by John Travolta wore what became a famous white outfit consisting of a jacket, vest, butterfly collar shirt, bell-bottom pants, and platform shoes. The hit film helped make bell-bottom pants even more popular among Americans. Disco-style bell-bottom pants came in many colors and fabrics, but white or silver satin were preferred for their light reflective or shimmery quality. Other colors included shiny mauve, royal blue, and color combinations such as maroon and silver or bronze and black. Matching flashy shirts often displayed silver sequins or satin and gold or black metallic accessories. Impact During the 1970's, bell-bottoms expanded from an antiestablishment fashion statement into a mainstream fashion style using new colors and fabrics. Well-known designers incorporated flares into their designs for formal suits, casual wear, disco uniforms, and classic pieces. Flares were essential apparel for the television characters on Charlie's Angels, The Partridge Family, and The Brady Bunch, and celebrities and musicians--including Sonny and Cher and Elvis Presley--further reflected and reinforced the popularity of the style. Further Reading Mendes, Valerie. Twentieth Century Fashion. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999. Poltorak, Joe. Fashions in the Groove: 1960's and '70's Clothing. Atglen, Pa.: Schiffer, 1998. Steele, Valerie. Fifty Years of Fashion. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997. Alice Myers See AlsoDisco; Discotheques; Fads; Fashions and clothing; Hippies; Polyester; Saturday Night Fever; Travolta, John; Women's rights. |
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