That's So 70s: Fashion as Couples Therapy Part 2

One of the interesting things about doing this blog is learning what types of subjects are popular and those that are, well, duds.  Some popular subjects are obvious (people like to see pretty girls in swimwear, duh).  However, I've been surprised by some.  One big surprise was the first post on 70s couples fashion.  Well maybe I shouldn't have been.  After all it opens up a rich vein of 70s bizarro-ness to explore!

Wow, right off the bat, we are hit with THREE different couples sporting completely different styles.  The upper two pics have the rope belt and the belt outside the shirt.  Why fashion designers insist on trying different things with belts, especially for men, is beyond me.  The guy on the right is obviously holding in his laughter.  He is probably thinking "Gawd, I wonder how gay this makes me look?  I mean I went into this modeling thing to meet pretty girls, not to be a pretty boy!".  Ladies, the next time you're tempted to get your guy a belt like this, please don't.  It is just future garage sale material.

I wanna be a cowboy, and you can be my cowgirl.....Okay, okay, this is where us in "Rural America" do a collective eye-roll at what "big city" designers think is "western style".  Sorry, but the threads that Kathy and that guy she is with are wearing are not "western", not even in the Urban Cowboy sense.  I mean those shirts don't even have pearl-snap buttons, come on!

The next two pics go nicely together....
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Here with three couples we see the complete span of fashion evolution from the neo-60s flower child look sported by Kay and dude on the left (complete with matching hippie necklaces), to the mid-70s causal jeans look of Kathy and dude (complete with the "self belts", remember those? What a complete fail!) to the pre-disco, leisure suit style sported by the brunette (1) and her guy (2).  I mean, wow! Ten years of couples fashion development in one breadth!  Also please note that in the perfect catalog world of perfect people wearing perfect clothes we MUST make sure that the hair color matches.  After all, we can't have a brunette matched with a red head or a blonde, now can we?  

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More "western style" shirts by Kathy and her guy - in blue for him and pink for her.  Looks like they are getting kind of chummy there, wouldn't you say?  I can hear the cameraman from back then..."Okay guys, for this shot I want you to really look like you are into each other....That's it!....Perfect!....Hey guys, you can stop now....Hey, we're still here......you who?......Well this is awkward...."  Perhaps there something to this "Fashion as Couples Therapy" thing after all!

And finally, le piece de resistance.........

If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.....Oh Groovy Baby!!  Let's all do a bad acid flashback to the late 60s for some "far out" fashion fun!  You gotta love the accessories - what flower child would be complete without them?  What is great is how Kay is barely able to contain her laughter while the guy is trying to act all macho-like.  Sorry, not in that outfit you can't, just ask the guy in the rope belt in the first pic!

Footnotes:  

(1) Does anyone know the name of that model?  You see her in quite a few catalogs from that era.  Cute!

(2) You may wonder why I don't do a post on the now infamous leisure suits of the 70s.  Well first, it is well trod ground covered in depth on other sites.  Second, I'm not so much into posting pictures of dudes (except when they are with girls).  But mainly, and this is hard to admit..sniff...I have had bad personal experiences with them.  You see, as a youth, I was forced to wear them in public.  You know church, family photos that sort of thing.  It was painful.  The scars are still there.  No, no, I can't say more.  The wounds are still too fresh.  The memories too vivid.  It's still too soon, too soon.  I, I, I, need to take a break now......