Well, here we are, right in the middle of perhaps one of the “zingiest” fashion eras in history.
As we leave 1970 and bravely march into 1971, one thing is very apparent — everyone is doing “his own thing”. There no longer seems to be any one “look” to fashion. It’s wearing as many faces as there are people who wear clothes.
The younger set still seems to be very much mini-minded. At present they don’t seem to be in the least inclined to give up the short skirts — and with their young legs — who can blame them? On formal, or I should say festive occasions (formality is out), they tend to blossom out into the maxi-look. So much for the extremes of youth!
I’ve seen a few — but just a very few, midis. The ungainly length of the midi-look — except perhaps on Marlo Thomas or our perennial Doris Day — has kept most women far away from it. Perhaps we’ll succumb to it next season — by then we’ll have had time to dig out all our old high school skirts and sweaters and we’ll be high-fashion again.
The pants-suit is “in”. It seems to be the answer for everyone who doesn’t know what else to put on. The only trouble with the pants suit is that many women look the same from the front and the back in pants — and unfortunately, most of the time it’s not a very attractive look. The pants suit has definite advantages, though. It keeps you warm on cold days and you can bend over as far as you want and still feel completely safe.
The “look” that really intrigued me, however, hasn’t seemed to gain any popularity at all; at least in the St. Louis area. That’s the “uni-sex” look. In case you missed Time or Life about three months ago — let me describe this fashion brainchild. It consists of matching outfits for men and women. The majority of them could claim close kinship with frog-men suits or outer-space tank suits. Some, showing a little more imagination, featured harem pants — and little else. The harem pants were worn with shaved heads and ankle-bracelets and lots of jewelry around the neckline. Now, I’ve seen a lot of strange fashions walk down our street in the last few years, but I have to admit, if this one made the rounds, I missed it. Thank God!
Original photograph caption
Original portrait printed with Donne Lottes’s column, The Paper, February 1971, page 2.
Originally published in The Paper, February 1971.
Read this article in the original newspaper issue.
Original source: SD_Times1971_02.pdf, printed page 2.
