Vintage Coats - 1970s

Today, I continue our look at coats through the decades with the 1970s. As we saw last week, in the late 1960s, maxi coats and capes were hugely popular. These trends continue into the early 70s, but if there is one coat that defines the 1970s, it is the wrap coat.

1975

1972

No matter if they were made of wool, cashmere, tweed, or leather. No matter whether they had big fur collars or not, a coat that was belted with it's own sash was the look.

1974

As more casual clothing started to become popular, leather coats and denim jackets are seen more and more.

1973

The traditional poplin trench coat, a menswear style popular for decades, is translated for women.

1972

As pants become a mainstay of a woman's wardrobe, shorter jackets become stylish as an alternative to a longer coat.

1973

Knit fabrics are everywhere in the early 70s, and sweater coats, often with fur fronts or fur trim, are very popular. Long thickly knit cardigans that are belted at the waist are often worn as coats too.

By the late 1970s, belted styles are gone, and a straighter silhouette reigns. We start to see larger shoulder pads emerge, a harbinger of the 1980s.

Quilted, snap front coats are popular in the late 1970s. These are both reversible from one color to another.

By 1979, shoulders are dropping, big shoulder pads are in, and the oversized look emerges. We'll see more of this next week, with a look at coats in the 1980s.

Suits in the 1970s

This week, we've looked at suits in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. I'm going to close out the week with a look at the late 60s into the mid 70s. Fashion changed radically at this time, and it started with the Youthquake movement in London. In the above photo from 1965, you can see how different this Biba suit is from the suits I showed yesterday. Not only is the jacket much longer, but it has pants instead of a skirt! Pants had been fine for casual wear up to now, but they were not worn by women for business, streetwear, or dressier occasions.

Over the next 4 years, the ideas from young London designers began to take hold on the Paris runways and in American fashion. Here you can see clearly that jacket lengths have nose-dived to the hips or below, sleeves are full length again, and pants are acceptable. And while we don't see the sculpted tiny waists of the 40's and 50's, there is a bit of shaping in the jacket.

Skirts were shorter in length, and suits were often made of unusual fabrics with wild prints or textures. Here velveteen is used for a day suit. Jackets are often belted to shape the waist.

The convention of a suit having of a jacket on top is gone, and we see it replaced with vests, tunics, and coats.

By 1972, skirt lengths are all over the map, with minis, midis, and maxis offering women freedom of choice.

Jackets remain longer and collars are huge.

In the early 70's plaid is everywhere, and using a large scale, brightly colored plaid on top and bottom is not too much.

By the mid-1970's, the use of knits has made tailoring less necessary. Jackets are soft and belted for shape, and are often unlined.

I hope you've enjoyed this short history of suits. Hopefully, when you find a vintage suit, these posts will help you identify when it was made.

The Cloche Hat - Through the Years

From Fairchild's Dictionary of Fashion:

Cloche (klohsh) Deep-crowned hat with very narrow brim or brimless, fitting head closely, almost concealing all of the hair. Worn pulled down almost to eyebrows.



The cloche hat first became popular in the 1920's. Although cloches are most often linked with flappers, they actually started appearing in high fashion as early as 1917. Coco Chanel started her career as a milliner and is said to have invented the cloche style in the teens, although that distinction has also been given to milliners Reboux and Lucie Hamar. Cloches complimented the bobbed hairstyles of the 20's.

During the 1950's, cloches again made a brief appearance as cocktail hats. Most often made of satin with sparkling decorations, they also fit closely to the head and were soft in construction.

Cloches made another appearance in the late 1960's and early 70's, although they now most often had a small brim.

How do you tell if the cloche you're looking at is from the 20's or 60's? Almost all cloches from the 20's will be fully lined in lightweight silk.

Later hats will have no lining and an inner hatband of grosgrain ribbon.

If you see a cloche hat advertised as 1920's or flapper and it isn't lined or has an inner grosgrain hatband, be careful! You could be buying a 60's hat!