A 1970s Time Capsule from #AtoZChallenge – B is Bell-Bottoms

BLOGGING FROM A TO Z

 

A 1970’s Time Capsule

POP CULTURE

Thank you for visiting my take on the A to Z Challenge for 2016.  Where last year I brought you the most important aspect of the 1940s, World War II, this year I jump ahead a few decades and bring you the 1970’s.  Imagine that on December 31, 1979, a group of historians decide to bury a time capsule filled with news events and pop culture phenomena that were symbols of the 1970’s. What would be in this decades old time capsule? Get ready for a far out and groovy trip around the 1970’s?

Be sure to visit my News and Noteworthy post today as well.

Bell-Bottoms

Like many fashion styles, bell-bottoms come and go.  Although a staple of the 1960’s, by the end of that decade bell-bottoms had moved into a fashion staple synonymous with the hippie counterculture.  In the 1970’s, bell-bottoms found their way back to mainstream fashion. Celebrities popularize bell-bottoms in the US by wearing them on television.

 

The pants were typically flared from the knee down, with bottom leg openings of up to twenty-six inches. Made from denim, bright cotton and satin polyester, they were so popular that they became a symbol of the outlandish and colorful style of the decade.  The bell-bottom pant had some variants as well.  Loon pants (shortened from “balloon pants”) were a variant on bell-bottomed trousers, with an increased flare. They were worn occasionally by go-go dancers on the British television music variety show Ready Steady Go! in 1966.  Elephant bells, popular in the mid-to-late 1970s, were similar to loon pants, but were typically made of denim. Elephant bells had a marked flare below the knee, often covering the wearer’s shoes. The preferred shoes were platform shoes with soles at least 2 inches (5.1 cm) thick and heels 4 to 5 inches (10 to 13 cm) to keep the pants’ hems off the ground.

A to Z on the Music Charts

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel reached number 1 on Billboard Hot 100 on February 28, 1970 and stayed there for  six weeks.  It was the number one song of 1970.  One of my favorites of all time.  I recently saw a documentary about the development of the song and it was amazing.

A to Z At the Movies

Blazing Saddles from the uncomparable comedy of Mel Brooks was the top grossing film of 1974 (tied with Towering Inferno) and the 13th highest for the decade.  Mel Brooks was the king of the not-politically correct.

Blazing Saddles, 1974

 

All images in this article are in the public domain. For any YouTube clips embedded in my posts, I am not the uploader.