The '70s Copied the '30s

[Marc Chevalier]

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... with no-so-hot results.

The success of such '70s retro films as The Sting, The Great Gatsby, and Lady Sings the Blues led to a short-lived revival of '30s menswear styles. Problem was, this revival was born at the height of the pastel polyester boom. Just as unfortunate were the low-waisted trousers of the time, and the very wide pocket flaps.

Take a classic '30s suit, color it yellow, make the pants hip huggers, and this is what you get:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-70s-3pc...4QQihZ010QQcategoryZ52399QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Sad, yes?

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[Matthew Dalton]

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... with no-so-hot results.

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I don't know about that... I'd probably bake to death in a polyester three piece before long.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

You have a point there! lol


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[Senator Jack]

I picked up one of these 70s suits to see if it were possible to re-cut it into a 30s style - just take in the flared cuffs and perhaps the lapels. The suit is wool and well-made and not the polyester that we associate with the 70s. Well, I never got around to the project, and the bar where I tend to drink too much decided to have a 70s funk party, so it turned out I had the perfect suit to wear.

Having grown up in the 70s, I would never think it possible to actually make anything from the era work, but after throwing this outfit together, I'm beginning to think otherwise.

Note: the rings were part of the costume Please don't think me the garish Sicilian.

Note the flares in the last picture. Not as awful as I remember them to be.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[scotrace]

Hey, man, I had those boots! Decent!

That's probably the best rendering of that style I've seen. Certainly better than anything seen then.

A film that captures 70's styles on the nose: Boogie Nights.

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I have a very similar suit that i need to have the cuffs unbelled on.

a very nice suit it is too ...

bk

 

[Lauren]

Gotta add it...
For women too... here's some 70's designs totally evoking the 1930's by Ossie Clark:

 

[Matt Deckard]

I remember Dan at the Queen Mary last year wearing a 70's suit the was very early 1940's in style. They definately wanted that 30's aesthetic. Maybe not quite to spec, though the 70's were a decade with their own style.

Belt backs wide lapels and shoulders were back. The 60's you can say were a repro of the 20's styles and they were. Sort of how the 80's went to the 50's for looks. Ferries Bueller's outfit was an updated casual look from back in the day.

Anywho... It's all rehash, I just think the 30's have the most stayin power.

 

[herringbonekid]

i think the 80s were just as strong on the 40s as the 50s. think of the large shoulders, pinstripes, and braces and slicked back hair. once into the 90s it gets harder to spot one influence. now we live in a collage of the past.

 

[Elaina]

The early 90's technically drew from the 40's silhouette. I don't personally buy into it, but every fashionista out there claims it to be true. I think the evening wear went back to a really sophisticated style and they just said it was the 40's, since it wasn't bouffant like the 50's nor the tailoring of the 30's.

Elaina

 

[BellyTank]

Me too-

I think late '40s styling when I think of designer and business-wear gear from the '80s...

B
T

 

[Senator Jack]

Baron, are the lapels on your suit just as wide? What do you think can be done with them?

 

[Baron Kurtz]

they're not actually wide at all. Here's a pic of the jacket. I wondered about the age of the suit, but the bells put it solidly NOT in the 80s.

bk

 

[Senator Jack]

That's much easier to work with. I like the higher gorge for the two-button. The other exaggerated detail on my suit is the hacking pockets. They're extremely long.

I was watching some dvd a few months ago, and it had trailers for a few strong-R 70s films. From about '72-'74, I'd say, all from producer/director/editor/writer/foley artist/best boy Radley Metzger. The men were all supposed to be of high-finance - power brokers and that sort of thing - and they were wearing 3-piece suits that had me take notice. Seems at the time the Europeans weren't following the American trend and were producing some great suits. Straight lines. Dignified cut. Opened my eyes to some new possibilities.


Regards,


Senator Jack

 

[Baron Kurtz]

That's much easier to work with. I like the higher gorge for the two-button. The other exaggerated detail on my suit is the hacking pockets. They're extremely long.

This one is a custom job. I wore it all the time (except the trousers) until i sent the shipment back to the UK. The jacket is great as a sportscoat. 'Tis one of the best fitting jackets i own ... When i get it altered, i need the bells taken out, and i'll add a buttonhole onto the lapel ...

I had another 70s suit that didn't fit me very well that had similar crazy long hacking pockets as you describe.

I really need to photograph a 3 button SB from the 70s i have hanging around. It's a great suit.

bk

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Watch the 1976 film Network, and you'll see some of suits that you're talking about. Surprisingly classic for the mid-'70s.

The only giveaways are the wide pocket flaps, the wide belt loops, the low trouser waist, and the flared legs. (Come to think of it, those are a quite a few giveaways!)

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[Benny Holiday]

Funny you guys should mention this

A couple of months back, I bought a dark blue DB pinstripe suit from Ebay UK. Lovely wide lapels, baggy trousers, the whole deal. When I got it, the wool was heavy the same as in my 40's suits, only there were two vents in the back of the jacket, and the pants were flared at the bottom. It was a 70's suit!

Not to worry, thought I, an easy job for my tailor to sew up those pesky vents and take those trouser hems in and cuff 'em. The rest of the suit looks like a 30's high-gorge DB suit. So there you go . . .

Only a few more weeks of paying rent before the renovations at home are finished and I can move back in. Then, when I've got some dough again, off to see Il Sartoria.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Senator Jackboot!!! .. my new pal !!

I picked up one of these 70s suits Regards,...Senator Jack

:eusa_clap

Senator Jack, you just made a new friend!....it's the BOOTS I noticed first!!! I thought I was the last cowboy on the ranch wearing ankle/zip boots!! What a sight to behold; another human being wearing my favorite boots!

Man, I've got 'em in brown, in black and in boxes I haven't even worn yet! I've worn "Beatle" boots since the '60's (when the uppers were about six inches higher!!...amazing how the upper gets shorter and the price gets higher!)

Actually the day I fell in love with ankle/zip boots was the day that 'Dino, Desi & Billy's' LP "I'm A Fool" hit the stands. (c.1966?). Both the boots and the title stuck with me - I'm wearing a pair of Stacy Adams even as I write.

Thank you for restoring my faith in masculine footwear. Hell, I think I'll sleep in mine tonight! lol

-dixon cannon

 

[Senator Jack]

I believe the Beatle boot is an essential part of a man's wardrobe, Dixon. I've never like the look of unhemmed trousers with regular shoes. It's always seemed off to me. But when you're buying vintage, of course you don't always have the luxury of having a few inches to cuff the trousers - they fit exactly as you find them: uncuffed. So on go the Beatle boots. i think I'll have to take some pictures to illustrate.

Regards,

Senator Jack

 

[Baron Kurtz]

I believe the Beatle boot is an essential part of a man's wardrobe, Dixon.
Regards,

Senator Jack

YES! I have two pairs. Both suede. One dark blue, one brown with a zip-side. I think the long-ish skinny lines work better with the modern-type skinny-ish cuff trousers than any other type fo shoe.

Also, heeks give me some more height!

bk