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Fashion Sense

I consider my mother my fashion icon. She always looks fabulous and considering she is almost 80 years old, she's still hot stuff!

Shopping was more of a sport for my mother than a task. And interestingly enough, the 70's seemed to be her fashion decade. She had fabulous platform shoes, super hip denim, velvet and chiffon dresses, outrageous purses and an array of 'falls' or hairpieces. My mother was one of the only people I know who made it through the 70's without looking like a clown. I remember her favorite places to shop - Fedway downtown, Rhodes, Car-Lin Casuals and Goldwater's at Coronado Center, Paris Shoe Store at Winrock, Redmond's on Louisiana and Kistler -Collister at San Mateo and Lomas.

I decided to look at some of my pictures from the 70's. It's interesting that I don't have many pictures from that decade. So to punish myself I cracked open my yearbooks from '74-'79. Ouch! How did I end up looking like I should have been in the don't category considering I came from such well-groomed stock? Was I following trends or was I just expressing my adolescent self? Did all teenagers look like this or was the way I dressed a sort of 'Burque dress code?

Of course I loved when my mom took me shopping, but sometimes she just didn't care for the places I wanted to go to - Lerner's and Margo's by the Highland Theater. There was a shop on Fourth Street called The Ram, sort of a precursor to The Gap. It was decorated in various shades of burnt orange and brown and sold Levi's Big Bells. I remember dragging my mom to shops around the University area to get that hippie/ethnic/groovy look, most especially from The General Store. They sold more than pipes there!

So, in the spirit of having way too much fun trying to find the right picture for this post, here were some standard looks for girls from those scary 70's:

Gloria Vanderbilt jeans in a multitude of colors, Candie's mules, cowl neck sweaters, gaucho pants, Famolare shoes, granny dresses, angel sleeve tops, Dr. Scholl's sandals, Gunne Sax dresses, toe socks, gypsy blouses, granny square crochet vests, Dittos pants, mood rings, and a Dorothy Hamill wedge or Farrah Fawcett hair.

And for the boys:

Angel Flight pants, platform shoes, tight jersy shirts with wing collars, leisure suits, puka shell necklaces, velour shirts, bandana hanging out of one of your back pockets and a big plastic comb in the other, Frye or Dingo boots, digital watch, earth shoes, down vests, Chuck Taylors, and feathered hair.

I hope your eyeballs are still intact. I haven't gotten to the eighties yet...

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Comment by missy on January 30, 2008 at 8:32am: and shark tooth necklaces for the guys! also, in my school at least, some of the guys would wear the "quien es mas macho" gold sperm necklaces--those were the guys i was told to stay away from...

(see http://www.chains-and-charms.com/charms/images/3726_large.jpg for the lovely golden symbol of masculinity)

Comment by ColoMichelle on January 30, 2008 at 9:06am: My grandmother used to work at Redmonds! Ask your mom if she remembers Helen. Oh, and I used to wear Dr. Scholls sandals year round and would keep them until the wood had worn down in front to a sharp edge! Had the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans too. Did you ever convert an old pair of jeans into a purse?

Comment by once banned twice shy on January 30, 2008 at 9:49am: Now there's a trip down memory lane. And I do mean TRIP. Heh. I was just reminiscing with a friend about Margo's Commode the other day...

Comment by Dr Dan on January 30, 2008 at 10:41am: Adelita,
once again you got my memory cells racing, nice job

In HS (DNHS ’79) I belonged to the freaks, I had straight hair, but my Aunt owned a beauty salon (anyone remember Hollywood Coiffures) so I got Perms (yes I know, go ahead an laugh). Wore blue jeans, Black Chuck Taylors, the digital watch with the timer to see how long anyone could hold their smoke, Concert t-shirts, and any shirt that looked like it was designed by the Devil or bought at the General Store, I had the comb in the back pocket and bell bottoms. In the memory of my good friend Little John I must tell his tale of wearing bell-bottoms, even into the eighties. I don’t know where he found them, he told me I needed to go with him to get some of my own but I declined. We all told him that by 1984 or so that they had gone out of style, but he liked them, thought he looked good in them (he did), and he could take off his pants without taking off his shoes, which is kind of important in college I can’t remember why. But he felt he was a rebel, stating his independence by continuing to wear bell-bottoms. One day he was chatting up a very pretty coed at a party, doing quite well until she started giggling and asked him why was he still wearing bell-bottoms.
He never wore them again, I guess that is the day the seventies died from my stand point.

Comment by Diego on January 30, 2008 at 10:45am: I remember you and Steven wearing matching hats a la Captain and Tenille like across between a Captains hat and a Greek fishermans hat. whith similar heeshee's. I was too young to really "get the fashion" at that time but i remember going to Rhodes or Goldwaters and my dad buying my mom a fur hat a la Liz Taylor. I wish I had a picture but I know she still has it. My brother had some very large hair back then and he reminded me of MS Jay from the last season of America's Next Top Model. I got some funny pictures from the 70's i have a great one of my Mom and Dad at the Stardust casino in Las Vegas she also had her hair extention going on...looking fabulous my Mom and Dad looked like Sonny and Cher with my Moms gorgeous long straight black hair and my Dad's bushy moustache. My Mom like yours has always been a Fashionista. when I was a club kid I found a treasure chest of some of my moms outfits: silver bell bottoms (BOB MACKIE) a dog fur Mini skirt, leather and seude vests and matching pants, an orange leather dress, a printed jumpsuit with river rocks as the pattern. Do you remember the way they used nature scenes as patterns for clothes? Where do you think I got all that fashion forward from????? My mom! Your mom and of course aunt Sandy I think thats why I am a label whore now...LOL

Comment by jeff on January 30, 2008 at 10:49am: i have no recollection of earth shoes but vasque hiking boots were essential...

Comment by jeff on January 30, 2008 at 10:55am: oh jeez dr. dan.....my mom and sister convinced me ONCE to get a perm in 78 or 79....i still cringe at the memory. hopefully there's no photographic proof that it ever occurred.

Comment by Diego on January 30, 2008 at 11:20am: What about glasses there was no LASIK back then... who had the funkiest pair of glasses or where they all metal frames? I remember seeing a picture of your mom looking very Jackie O in a pair of shades...I remember yours were square silver metal frames...very ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM A ZOOM

Comment by Amanda Redmond-Neal on January 30, 2008 at 11:40am: adelita, after hearing you talk about what a fashion plate your mom was, i want to see pictures of her at the time!

Comment by Dr Dan on January 30, 2008 at 12:25pm: Jeff
At least you only had to get one, although at the time it looked better than long hair hanging straight down. Looking at old pictures I look like a chicano Harpo Marx

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