Many Entangled readers weren’t even born in the 1970s, but I spent my teenage years in this distinctive decade. Yes, I admit it—I wore platform shoes, liked Glam Rock, and bopped to the Bay City Rollers at discos.
But not everything the Young Me liked to wear would be laughed at by modern sophisticates (I hope). Here are my 5 favorite items of 70s clothing in a more “alternative” style.
#1 The Blanket Coat
My school uniform was blue, but you didn’t have to wear an approved uniform coat, so long as the item was in school colors. So, rebel that I was, I had a gorgeous coat like the one in the picture, with a psychedelic zig-zag pattern in various shades of blue.
#2 The Gauzy Two-Piece
My first ever paid job was in a department store. Employees got a staff discount, so I was able to afford some very posh clothing imported from India. I bought two of these combos- one of which looked a lot like the one in the picture.
#3 The Bohemian Dress
I don’t know why, but I felt like a princess when I wore this dress. It was figure-hugging (I had a figure back then) and detailed, and looked great with high leather boots or sandals. It was one of my favourite pieces of clothing, but even though I wore it for my 18th birthday party, I don’t have a single photo of me in it. The picture below is of a dress in the same style, but in different colors—mine was more a mixture of rust, gold and tan.
#4 The Wrap-around Skirt
These were lovely and comfortable to wear, and also allowed for a bit of expansion around the waist. What I liked best though, was the scent. The dyes and fixatives used in India for block-printing cotton smelled gorgeous, and evoked thoughts of hippies, joss-sticks and Prog Rock in my teenage mind. And still do!
#5 The Kaftan
I didn’t have one of these, but my mother did, and I have a photo of her sitting at dinner dressed up in one, wearing jewellery handmade by my father. We’ve cleared her house now, to move her into a Care Home, but the kaftan had long since gone, much to my disappointment. But I still look on ebay from time to time, to see if I can get a similar one for myself, but boy! Are they expensive now!
Never mind. I have my memories. And I intend to hang onto them!
Pick up Distracting the Duke by Elizabeth Keysian for just 99¢!
He’s the last thing she wants. She’s the last thing he needs.
Devonshire, England, 1820
Determined to avoid the strife-filled marriage of his parents, Marcus, the Duke of Ulvercombe, wants an amenable, biddable wife, and has set his cap for a certain pretty miss. Unfortunately, her vastly opinionated, frustrating, and lamentably beautiful guardian, Lady Clara Tinniswood, keeps distracting him, tempting him to consider a far more tempestuous—and passionate—union.
Recently widowed Lady Clara Tinniswood wants only to organize a quiet new life for herself, beyond the control of any man. But one shockingly unguarded moment while confronted by Marcus’s gloriously naked body catapults her headlong into a forbidden passion and threatens to undermine all her well-laid plans.
Even if Marcus abandons his sweet ideal and surrenders to his growing desire for Clara, there’s one unalterable issue which could destroy their hopes forever…
Elizabeth Keysian felt destined to write historical romance due to her Cornish descent, and an ancestral connection to the Norse god Odin. Being an only child gave her plenty of time to read, create imaginary worlds, produce her own comics, and write sketches and a deplorably bad musical for an amateur dramatics group.
Three decades spent working in museums and archaeology fired Elizabeth’s urge to write, as did living on a Knights Templar estate, with a garage full of skeletons, a resident ghost and a moat teeming with newts.
Elizabeth lives near Bath in England with her partner and cats. Subscribe to her author newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/cxe369
About Author
my mom made me an ombre green denim wraparound skirt when I was in 5th grade.