K Club Special - Part 24 Barbara Elliot!!

If you liked your 70s catalog models brunette and cute, you needed to look no farther than Barbara Elliot.

Yeah, there's a whole lot of cuteness going on here!

Although she was always a favorite, I had no idea what her name was for the longest time.  I finally broke down and bought this issue of Seventeen just for that reason (well that and for the articles, just kidding.)

Let's take a closer look at that small pic of her.....

Very nice!!

Naturally Barbara was a regular in the Big Book catalogs of the 70s......

Here she is pointing the way towards all those groovy dresses from Spiegel!!

And also in Wards!

And again in Wards.

Barbara in a hoodie while chatting to Pat Miles with Kathy in casual repose.  A triple cuteness overload!  I think the cute-o-meter just exploded!!

I imagine that Barbara got her fair share of attention from all the men. However, the guy on the right is kind of creeping me out.  Hey dude, you gotta be a little more cool and laid back about the approach, even if it is a uber-cutie like Barbara!

Unfortunately like all good things from the 70s, this post has to draw to a close.  Even Barbara seems a bit sad in this pic (despite the groovy red hat!)  Well not to worry, Barbara will continue to appear in various posts in the blog for a long time to come.  After all, the blondes like Kathy and Karen are great, but let's not forget about the cute brunettes!

Random Weirdness: Gauchos - Part 2!

Gauchos - they're not just for cowboys anymore.  At least they weren't for the fashion craziness of the late 70s.  They hit the Bog Book catalogs big time in 1977 and then quickly faded away (perhaps they weren't suitable for the discotheques?)

Several of our readers have stated that Kathy could make anything look cute.  And this pic of her in the gauchos proves that!  Still, these gauchos are not really in the disco style.

Did I say that gauchos weren't right for the disco?  I stand corrected!  Just make them out of purple velvet and  BAM! you're disco ready!

Gauchos were to hot pants what the maxi was to the mini.  Why, oh why, do that?!?  Pam shows us some flashy striped gauchos while Shelley keeps it hot in the short pants!

Once again we have the contrast of the hot pants versus the gauchos.  I must admit that Kathy made them look good!

Like I said, gauchos in the 70s weren't just for the rodeo.  They came in all styles - even the more formal variety.

Even Spiegel carried them!

Sometimes called split skirts, sometimes they were referred to as boot skirts, and sometimes as culottes.  No matter, they were everywhere for a short period of time.

Gauchos are near and dear to me because they came on the scene when I was a young lad.  Naturally all I could think was "What happened to the minis and hot pants?"

Still the gals looked great in them like here with Shelley in coordinated khaki.

And here in coordinated blues as Kathy and Barbara show us here!  Yep, I may have missed the mini skirt era, but I'll always have those fond memories of the gaucho era!!

That's So 70s - The Long Look, Part 2!

Call it the maxi or the full length or whatever, the long dresses definitely made a comeback in the late 70s.

The look is long and elegant, perfect for a night out on the town (non-disco style of course.)  Kathy and Pam show us how to the wear the maxis with style.

By the late 70s, the minis were gone (sigh), and the long dresses were back in style.
All I can say is "That's So 70s."

It began in the middle of the decade.  However, one 70s fashion statement that remained was polyester.

Kathy and Barbara looking very elegant here out on the lawn.  One thing about some of these styles is that they look great for a formal ball - in the antebellum South that is!

Naturally, we need to zoom in on the little pics, like here......

...and here.

One place that you would have thought had a bunch of the maxis was Spiegel, and you'd be correct. They may not be minis but they looked very sexy anyway!

A lacy number from Spiegel couldn't be beat!

Of course Penney's had their share of elegant long dress offerings too.  Kay and Kathy look ready for an evening out!

Some more Penney's formals.  This time it's Karen and Kathy.

And a closeup is perfect way to end this post.  From the look of these ladies in their maxis, I almost don;t miss the minis....almost.

Sizzlin' By the Shore - Part 8, Bring on Summer!!

Well, it's the dead of Winter, but check the calendar.  Spring Break is only a few short weeks away and after that - Summer!

What better way to sizzle by the shore than with a picnic?  And with two bikini-clad beauties no less!!  Summer can't get here fast enough!

Kathy and Karen certainly appear to be happy that the cold of winter will soon pass away and that summer is just around the corner!

And what better way to wash down a nice picnic lunch on the beach than with a beer?  Especially a Japanese beer served up by Phoebe Cates. (1)

Ahhh, that definitely looks refreshing!

Of course, Phoebe was famous for one of the most iconic swimsuit scenes in cinematic history.

Yeah you thought I was going to post that pic.  Still this is plenty sizzling if you ask me. "Doesn't anyone around here knock anymore?!?"

Before this post really jumps off the deep end (ha, ha, get it?  Jump off the deep end like on a diving board, like in the movie scene? oh never mind), let's get back to the groovy swimwear fashions of the Big Book catalogs.  Very, very nice!!

More "Sizzlin' by the Shore" action in Sears swimsuits.  This time featuring Jane Cullen and friend. Yep, the bikinis are nice, but the one pieces could sizzle too!

The maillots look great - especially when Jane and Jayne wore them!!  Talk about turning up the heat to sizzling levels!!

Whether in two piece or one piece suits, Kathy and Karen could always bring some sizzling action to the beach in swimsuits from Sears!!

More proof that the one piece suit could definitely add some eye-catching heat to the beach!  This body hugging number is from Sears in the early 80s.

Speaking of eye-catching!  I'm not sure if it was the Japanese beer, the hot summer sun, or a combination of the two, but Phoebe seems to have finally flipped out!  She has taken "Sizzlin' by the Shore" to a whole other level!!


footnotes:

(1) All of the pics in this post, except for the first two, are courtesy of JJ's Playhouse.  Thanks!!

It's a Plaid, Plaid (Wintry) World!! - Part 3

Oh no, not again. Just when you thought the fashion world of the 70s was safe with its earth tone drabness, 60s hippie-ness, and disco craziness along comes the plaids.  Like some kind of alien, other worldly presence, they splashed across the fashion scene when you least expected them....

....like in Winter coats!!(1).   'UM-M" indeed, more like "OH-NO THE PLAIDS ARE BACK!!"(2)  And they threaten to take over the fashion world!!

Oh dear, apparently even Kay has fallen into the clutches of this plaid madness.  However, it appears that Karen has escaped the plaids for now.

Whoops, spoke too soon.  Here she is decked out in the plaid-iest of coats complete with plaid belt!! Colleen seems to be a bit concerned about all the plaid madness as she tries to quietly exit the scene.

Not so fast!!  Even she has succumbed to the Plaid, Plaid World.  Will this plaid madness cover the entire planet?  Is there no escape?

Well, it seems that Colleen has temporarily escaped the clutches of this alien plaid abduction.  And she appears quite happy about that!  The gal on the left, not so lucky.  You can see that faraway plaid, plaid stare in her eyes.

Yep here's another model assimilated into the plaid, plaid cult.  Shelley appears to be very content without the plaids, perhaps it's the beret.  Of course that's a 70s fashion madness all its own (however, "It's a Beret, Beret World" doesn't have the same catchy ring to it.)

Thankfully, Kathy seems to have escaped the clutches of the plaid, plaid madness engulfing the fashions of 70s Winter coats.  The other models are not so lucky!!

Once again I spoke to soon!! Kathy has again fallen prey to the plaid madness.  Oh when will this plaid insanity end?? (2)

With a nice, non-plaid, close up of Kathy modeling those groovy white mittens!!  A timeless fashion statement that has brought a merciful end to the madness of "It's a Plaid, Plaid World."






footnotes:



(1) For those of you keeping track, this is Part 5 of Winter Wear, as well as Part 3 of It's a Plaid, Plaid World.  I couldn't work all of that into the title of this post.



(2) These pics are courtesy of Blue Senshi.  Thanks!!