The seventies weren’t playing around with fashion. This decade delivered looks that demanded serious commitment from anyone brave enough to wear them.
The decade existed in that sweet spot between counterculture rebellion and disco excess, where looking good meant accepting that comfort was optional. Fashion became a form of personal rebellion that you wore on your sleeve—literally.
This content may contain affiliate links. If you wish to support us and use these links to buy something, we may earn a commission.
10. Tube Tops: Engineering Meets Optimism
If you’ve ever wondered how a simple band of fabric could stay put through dancing and general mayhem, tube tops were your answer. This strapless innovation used nothing but fabric tension and sheer determination.
Wearing a tube top required serious dedication because they demanded constant attention to posture and movement. Made from stretchy materials that moved with your body, they paired with everything from high-waisted jeans to flowing skirts. The tube top represented pure faith in both gravity and good times.
While tube tops drew both ridicule and reluctant admiration, there were even more wild 1970s fashion fads that pushed the boundaries of style and comfort.
9. Moon Boots: Space Age Optimism
Looking like you were preparing for lunar exploration became a fashion choice with Moon Boots. These puffy, marshmallow-like winter boots captured the lingering space age enthusiasm that still floated through seventies culture.
Their bulbous silhouette was futuristic, slightly impractical, but undeniably memorable. Slipping these on meant embracing the full experience of looking like you belonged in a science fiction movie rather than just trying to keep your feet warm.
8. Bell Bottoms: The Defining Shape
No garment captures the seventies silhouette more completely than bell-bottoms. These pants created a distinctive profile that’s instantly recognizable because they were narrow through the knee before dramatically flaring outward.
Available in every material from patched denim to sleek gabardine, bell-bottoms suited every tribe and scene. Their dramatic shape required serious dedication and often dragged on wet streets or created minor hazards on staircases. Wearing bell-bottoms meant choosing visual impact over convenience every single time.
7. Earth Shoes: Anti-Fashion Rebellion
Conventional shoe design got flipped upside down with Earth Shoes. These featured negative-heel technology that placed your toes higher than your heels, looking nothing like traditional footwear.
The brand promised better posture while signaling your allegiance to natural living and environmental consciousness. Wearing Earth Shoes was like announcing you made your own granola and preferred albums that challenged mainstream sensibilities. They were functional, earnest, and completely unconcerned with traditional beauty standards.
6. Polyester Suits: Synthetic Soul
Affordable sophistication became possible when polyester suits hit the scene. These miracle fabrics never wrinkled, barely weighed anything, and somehow managed to look expensive while costing less than a good concert ticket.
Leisure suits took this concept even further and created formal informality that worked perfectly for a decade that couldn’t decide if it wanted to be corporate or countercultural. These matched sets in pastels and earth tones became the uniform for men navigating workplaces that were loosening up but hadn’t quite figured out how far to go.
5. Gaucho Pants: Genre-Bending Fashion
Caught between skirts and pants, gaucho pants occupied experimental territory. These wide-legged cropped trousers drew inspiration from South American cowboys but adapted perfectly to seventies sensibilities.
Typically paired with boots and flowing tops, gauchos created a distinctive silhouette that worked across seasons and occasions. Their popularity demonstrated the decade’s willingness to challenge traditional categories in both fashion and music. They proved that the most interesting innovations happen when you refuse to stay in your lane.
4. Wide Collared Shirts: Maximum Impact Territory
Wide-collared shirts transformed your torso into prime real estate for fabric architecture. Nothing said seventies like dramatic wingspan that could clear a crowded room.
Men especially embraced these dramatic collars and often paired them with medallions that caught disco lights. The bigger the collar, the bolder the statement. You couldn’t wear one of these casually, and these shirts announced your arrival before you even walked through the door.
3. Dr. Scholl’s Wooden Sandals: Health Meets Statement
Every step announced your arrival with Dr. Scholl’s wooden sandals. That hollow “clop-clop” sound made these the seventies version of today’s wellness obsession, marketed for health benefits but really about making a distinctive statement.
These orthopedic wonders taught an entire generation that foot health apparently required constant calf engagement and the balance skills of a tightrope walker. They were footwear for people who believed that if something was good for you, it should probably be at least a little challenging to use.
Just like the clop of wooden sandals made a statement for an entire generation, iconic scents from the ’70s also defined how the decade was remembered—and smelled.
2. Satin Bomber Jackets: Shimmering Versatility
The perfect outerwear compromise arrived in satin bomber jackets. They were dressy enough for evening venues yet casual enough for daytime wear, often featuring embroidered designs on the back that turned wearers into walking art pieces.
Originally military gear that went civilian, these jackets became essential for everyone from disco dancers to early hip-hop pioneers. Their lightweight construction made them ideal for nightclubs where temperatures climbed with each extended dance mix, while their visual impact ensured you stood out in any crowd.
1. Jumpsuits: The Ultimate One-Hit Wonder
Getting dressed meant standing in your closet wondering if your top worked with your bottoms. The jumpsuit solved this problem in one zippered move.
Whether crafted in polyester that reflected stage lights or denim that moved with you through any venue, jumpsuits worked across every music scene. Studio 54 or garage band practice, these one-piece wonders adapted to your vibe while keeping you looking intentionally put-together.
