Let It Rain!

Finally, we got some rain!  I mean it's been like TWO years since we we've had some significant rainfall where I'm at (we count anything over 1" as "significant", which is sad)!  And what better way to celebrate than looking back on some groovy 70s rain gear fashions!

Riders on the storm.....Ah, yes, why not start out with some smashing 70s wet weather gear featuring Kathy and another model in some long all weather coats!  Oh, wait, Kathy isn't wearing a coat, exactly.  Noooo, it's a long, oversized cape with holes in it so that you can stick out your arms (and it has the groovy 70s-style collar and plenty of buttons!).   So it was kinda like a high-fashion version of a poncho - with arm holes.  I bet THAT didn't look strange or anything!  Of course, these gals wouldn't quite be ready to be out-on-the-town without the knit hat and groovy go-go style boots (complete with racing stripes).  Just because it's sloppy outside is certainly no excuse to not be stylish!

Raindrops keep falling on my head...Not so fast there!  Those pesky raindrops won't bother Kay, Kathy and the gang here.  Why?  Well because they are sporting the best of 70s raingear. What? you say.  "How does one make raingear groovy in that special 70s way?"  Well, easy.  Throw on some happenin' scarfs - which match the umbrella - and some awesomely oversized handbags - which also match - and presto! You've got 70s grooviness that'll light up the world regardless of the gloomy skies!

You're Looking at VALUE, you betcha!  Once again, more scarfs.  I guess they are added protection in case the umbrella leaks or something.  The hats are also stylish for any rain storm - Kathy's hat smartly matching her raincoat!  And as a special 70s bonus, you gotta love the double collars on these "Simply Smashing" all weather short coats.

Okay, the next two pics go together.  They are the left and right halves of the same spread. First the left half..

Yes "Some Call them All-Weather Coats".  Well yes, I guess, what else would you call them?

Now the right half......

Oh, so JCPenney elects to call them "What to wear Anywhere, Anytime".  Actually "All Weather Coats" is a bit more succinct wouldn't you say?

Nevertheless, all these coats are simply smashing.  On the first pic, you gotta love the crushed blue velvet jacket (which looks a little big on Kathy?).  It kinda looks like a cross between something a ship's captain would wear and something you'd see in a Barry Manilow video.  Also, the model in the white coat keeps looking up.  Maybe checking the weather perhaps?

On the bottom pic, Karen is decked out in Native American garb (which I'm SURE is authentic.  After all, JCP wouldn't put out anything that wasn't authentic, would it?).  See, she even has pigtails to match! Of course the strawberry blonde hair doesn't look EXACTLY in character.

Colleen models "The Rain Dodgers".  No not the LA Dodgers.  Of course if these models had the groovy monogrammed umbrellas from the second pic, they wouldn't have to dodge the rain!

Here, Colleen looks ready for a stylish safari (no, not surfin' safari, a regular one) in "The Pac-Jac".  The side pack goes with the jacket and can be either attached to the jacket (hence the name) or removed and worn like a handbag.  Also, we are assured that both are treated with ZePel to resist water and oily stains - perfect for the on-the-go gal dashing from the subway terminal to her job in the busy city.  Well, perfect except that the concept never really caught on.

As a bonus, you may notice a teeney, tiny pic of Kathy (in a wig).  I didn't even see that until I uploaded the photo.

It's a "Rainclassic" for sure!  You'll stay dry from head to toe in that thing for sure!  I guess they are expecting some cool spring weather with that turtle neck!  I'm not sure that outfit would work in 100 deg + days we've been having this summer!

So I hope that wherever ya'll are, that you are not in a massive drought like us.  Remember to keep the groovy 70s raingear handy just in case!

Body Suits / Body Shirts / Whatever - Part 3

Wow! You've heard the old saying about fashion - don't throw it out, it will be back in style again some day. Well, for all you fans of the 70s "body suit" (and I know that at lot of you ladies out there just adored them!), I've got great news.  They're Back!!! (more on that at the end of this post).  But first, let's review some classic body suits from the 70s!

Kay, Karen, and Kathy all in some really nice body suits / body shirts / whatever they are called.  Why is everyone so introspective and reflective looking?  Is body suit fashions really such a serious business? Where did all the big smiles go (I guess they saved the smile for the smile insert pic?)?  Still it is a great pic, perhaps the photographer was going for a more wistful look from the models.  You know, trying to be all artsy and all.

Still such a serious look from everyone!  I mean even the dog has his game face on.  What's up with that? What I really love is the fixed poses by all the models going off in different directions - classic catalog modeling shot (somehow only the dog ends up looking at the camera)!

And I just noticed the background (I guess I was distracted by the dog).  It looks like a prop from a science fiction set or something.  It really looks like they were trying hard to pull off the great artistic shot - perhaps a little too hard.

That's better!  At least Kathy has her smile going here.  And no wonder, who wouldn't be happy visiting the "Sears Body Suit Shop" (there's a bad joke in there somewhere, and I can't quite put my finger on it, probably for the best).

Okay, back to the serious look.  I mean how can you be all serious in a pink body shirt with gigantic ruffles, or the body shirt with the giant pointy collars?!?

Now everyone seems a little happier (and they are all looking at the camera)!  Kay has another ruffled body shirt on in the left pic, and let's face it - she looks super sweet in both pics (as do Dottie and Kathy)!  All these gals from that era certainly had the ability to pull off that very natural, friendly look, and they did it effortlessly. You don't see that so much these days from models.

Now at last we can see how these things we're supposed to be used!  The smaller pics of Kathy show off the versatility of the body suit.  You can wear them with a long skirt, short skirt, or even pants!  I still admit that I don't get it. Why the body suit?  Why not just wear a blouse with a skirt?  Of course I'm a little dense when it comes to things like that!

A virtual plethora of options to choose! Pink or blue body suits that go with pink and blue skirts, pull over dresses, and pants.  My, my, where does one begin to choose? Kathy looks uber cute in this pic, and everyone is smiling and looking at the camera (I know that I worry about these things too much).  Well everyone is smiling except for Colleen, but, hey, that's pretty normal.

Oh yeah, about body suits making a comeback.  Well, supposedly they are.  Check this out...

http://magazine.foxnews.com/style-beauty/style-obsession-bringing-bodysuit-back

I'm sure all you fans of the body suit are thrilled!

What to Expect When You're Expecting - Part 2

Yeah, I know what you're thinking "Hey dummy, don't you look at your blogger stats?  Don't you know that the first post on 70s maternity wear was the worst viewed yet on this bog?!?!  Hello?!?"  To that, all I have to say is this "Duh, I know that, but this is the KATHY LOGHRY blogspot and she did a heck of a lot of modeling maternity wear in her time.  Also, it's not like I can do swimsuit posts EVERY week, so what am I to do?" (1)

Oh wait, I see, I can post a pic of MATERNITY swimwear and kind of have it both ways.  Hey, let's face it, Kathy is absolutely smoking it in this pic - maternity or not.  I love the photo in the upper left with the bandanna.  It is like "Okay, I'll wear this to make me look like I'm suffering through pregnancy, but I know I'm still rockin' it!, yeah!"  The pic on the right is awesome, no more commentary needed.

Plaids while "waiting", yeah baby.  I love the title "machine washable partners make the waiting easy"  Of course!, like the main thing a pregnant gal is worried about is the "washability" of her clothes.  It's like "oh gawd, I'm miserable, but thank goodness for these JCPenney 'machine washable' maternity clothes, that make the waiting easy!"

Of course "Moms-to-be" enjoy the wait (who wouldn't) in "with-it" styles.  Yeah, that's the most important thing  to be "in style".  Still, like always, Kathy (and Kay) impress in their ability to pull off the cute look in any genre of clothing.

"Great, new sportive" look while expecting.  Why of course! no reason to not be "sportive" during this "special" time!

"The look is bright", why are they always trying to cheer these gals up, like they've done something wrong?  Oh wait, maybe they did, my bad there.

"The look is natural", what the heck is that supposed to mean?  Once again, standard maternity stuff.  Why don't they just come out and say "Hey, you're pregnant, good luck with that!"

Finally, because we are always looking for the most awesomeness fashions...

Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean yo can't wear groovy 70s "gull wings" on your formal dress!  Imagine stepping out in this creation at the local country club party.  With those wings, nobody will notice that you are wearing maternity clothes!

footnotes:

(1) Also, I would like to remind my gentle readership of the important mission of this blog - that of the proper historical chronicling of all fashion trends from the 70s Big Book catalogs (including maternity wear) for future scholarship and research into this important, and defining, time period in the ongoing evolution of human civilization.   That, and having a good time checking out the groovy fashions!

That's So 70s: Fashion as Couples Therapy - Part 3!

See last weeks poll results at bottom (1)!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Shows you what I know!  What started out as, I thought, a single post on the subject has become one of the most popular subjects yet on this blog.  Well I SHOULD have known, dag nab it!  After all, nothing quite says 70s fashions as much as "His N' Hers" matching outfits!  So let's get to it!

I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free....Okay, since it IS the 4th of July week, let's start off with a little flashback to the summer of 1976 - which was the big Bicentennial year.  I remember that as a "sort of" big deal (2).  However, and I make this comment purely as an apolitical, dispassionate observer, when I peruse the catalogs of that year, what  I see is a rather subdued (by today's standard anyway) set of offerings on the event.  This pic here is about as "rah, rah" as you can find and even this focuses more on heritage than pure "USA, USA".  Like I said, not making a judgement either way, just saying...

Serious stuff aside, now this is more like it.  Kathy is with a guy who has pigs on his shirt?!?!?!? Say what?!?!?!  I can't really tell what the picture is on Kathy's shirt, but I really don't want to know at this point .  The gal in the upper pic is Jayne Modean who was a big model in the mid to late 70s and, I do believe, that this is her first appearance in this blog - congrats, I guess?  As far as the three guy "couple" n the lower right, no comment,  not that type of blog.

I'm sorry, but this pic disturbs me greatly.  Why is the couple in the groove-o-delic shirts holding a baseball bat?  Otherwise, it looks like an ordinary 70s "key party" scene except for that odd fact - images of the cult movie "Eating Raul" somehow come to mind.  Like I said - disturbing, subliminally disturbing.

While we are on the "fun-a-delic" theme...

Fun Fare! Yeah Baby!  Check out the happenin' hats, vests, and booties here!  Yep - that's so 70s!, but wait there's more!!!!

You want "rustic", yep we can "Make it Rustic" and Kathy can pull that look off too!  The lesson here is that, if a guy wears flannel, expect to be single - even in a catalog.

Finally, to round out this summer edition of couples fashions....

Eke gads, summertime stripes to the max baby!  Let's roll to the beach in these smashing sand n' surf fashions with mega stripes!  Let's shoot the Bonzi Pipeline in style baby!


Footnotes:

(1) Well, in a bit of a surprise (At least from my perspective) the results of last week's poll are thus: Sears walloped JCP, winning 2 of the 3 rounds with the third round ending in a draw.  Congrats (35 years after the fact) to Sears.

(2) I know, I know, you can't delve into any kind of comment that is remotely political without pissing someone off.  However, these comments were made PURELY in my role as a historical blogger - you can read your own political prejudices into them, whatever.  If you MUST know my political affiliation, it is this - a pox on all of them (okay NSA, I mean Skynet, I mean The Borg, just kidding - really, just kidding around here, just a silly little blog, no harm no foul, right, RIGHT, I know resistance is futile, AHHHHHH!).