1970s Disco Fashion: Bell-Bottoms And Boogie Shoes

By | January 21, 2019

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When the disco craze hit in the 1970s, disco fashion was its sexy and outrageous look -- big shoes, bell bottoms, chest hair, and sparkles galore. To this day, it reminds us of the freedom and funkiness of the era. 1970s disco fashion picked and chose elements from the 1960s and expressed female and male sexual liberation. The keyword was glamour -- be glamorous, be fabulous, be chic. Put on your boogie shoes and your polyester, you're going to Funkytown.

In 1970s disco fashion, hippie looks got jazzed up, and the square got funky. John Travolta's white three-piece suit from Saturday Night Fever was a disco spin on very traditional men's attire. Both genders seemed to take style tips from each other. Men could primp and tend to their hair without seeming unmasculine, while women sought a stylish comfortability and freedom (better for dancing), epitomized by the Diane Von Furstenburg wrap dress. And if you didn't want to stick to one gender, that was ok too -- gender-bending and androgyny were always in style at the Mecca of disco, New York City's Studio 54.

The disco craze defined an era of anything-goes on the dancefloor, and as with any proper craze, fashion played a key role in completing the entire disco experience. The total picture included the venue, the music, and quite possibly most importantly… the fashion! Back in the day, the disco floor was a fashion playground.

Let The Fabulousness Begin

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Studio 54. Source: (vintage.es)

Disco fashion began in the gay underground nightclubs of New York. It wasn’t long before the outrageousness and sexuality spread to the dance-all-night heterosexual scene, on and disco and disco fashion went mainstream. 

By the time Saturday Night Fever was released in 1977, discotheque clubbers had defined the fashion of the disco era.