Call the Fashion Police!

I wore a light blue 3 piece velvet suit to my high school graduation in 1976.  

Let me repeat that:  A powder blue, flared leg suit with matching vest all made of velvet!  Stretched over my portly 18 year old frame. Thankfully there are no remaining photos of my take on 1970s fashion.  And I’m even more thankful that social media didn’t exist.

The overarching trend of fashion in the 1970s was individuality. I certainly extolled that!

Early in the decade, Vogue proclaimed 

"There are no rules in the fashion game now"

Due to overproduction flooding the market with cheap synthetic clothing, common items included mini skirts, bell-bottoms popularized by hippies, vintage clothing from the 1950s and earlier, and the androgynous glam rock and disco styles that introduced platform shoes, bright colors, glitter, and satin. 

Accessories in the early '70s riffed on Hippie outfits: Chokers, headbands, scarves, and jewelry made of wood, stones, feathers, and beads.

And for a certain teen in Mississauga, velvet!

Oh…and the music that inspired much of this look?

Ziggy played guitar

Jamming good with Weird and Gilly

And the Spiders from Mars

The opening lyrics from Ziggy Stardust, the 2nd track on the 5th studio album from David Bowie with the title:  ‘The rise and fall of ziggy stardust and the spiders from mars’.

Mississauga is a suburb west of Toronto.  Neither it or Toronto were fashion mecas in the 1970s.  The clothing that we wore could have been a little dated to be sure.  But we wore it proudly.

High school dances were a rite of passage back in the day.  They were held on Friday nights in the cafeteria or gym.  They usually included a live rock band made up of our fellow classmates.  They played loud and hard!  

In between sets a DJ spun rock tunes and this was when the dancing took place.

Dressing up for these dances allowed us full teenage fashion expression.  

Back to the velvet!

My typical look went like this:

• Skintight jeans tucked into knee high platform boots
• Tight floral print shirt
• Topped off with a…wait for it…navy blue velvet jacket!

I never danced much at these high school dances…I wonder why?

Pushing these fashion trends were the superstar celebrities of the 1970s:

• David Bowie of course in his ziggy stardust persona
• Elton John - glam rock extreme!
• Diana Ross - disco queen
• Cher - at the height of her sequins
• Elvis Presley - power blue ‘onsies’ as he prowled the Vegas Stages late in his career

And where best to see and be seen:  Studio 54 in New York City!

Toronto had it’s own version of hot night clubs, one of which was in the basement of the Hilton Hotel on the Airport Strip in…Mississauga!  

It was called Misty’s.  DJ Vicky Watson ran the console.  There was a raised dance floor of plexiglass with lights above and under the floor.  

Sirens, glitter balls, strobe lights and of course dry ice added to the atmosphere of decadence.

Away from the dance floor, booths and tables were tucked into dark corners…’What happened at Misty’s stayed at Misty’s’

People lined up for hours to get in and the place didn’t get rocking until late.

The night was over when Vicky put on ‘Last Dance’ by Donna Summers.

I have fond memories of Misty’s:  I was the bouncer there for one glorious summer before heading off to university.

In the immortal words of Donna Summer:

Last dance

Last chance for love

Yes, it's my last chance

For romance tonight

Until next time…