Long skirts: bold and bright

Many would consider the Maxi skirt as an excellent example, but that would be a bit inaccurate. Long skirts, and their dress equivalents, were very popular during the 1970s, and bed bug designs are still preferred today. They were designed with all kinds of patterns and every color imaginable, with large, flowery displays, bold abstracts in purples, blues, and reds, and the occasional tartan and tweed added just in case.

The long skirt also marked the end of the period when it was more common for women to make their own clothes from patterns bought on the street or offered in magazines. This did not last long, as the next era would be one of imported, mass-produced clothing at greatly reduced prices. So if you need some authentic 70s maxi action, visit a vintage clothing store and prepare to find some homemade items on the shelves, too. That’s not to say that haute couture design houses weren’t as interested as domestic goddesses in creating these popular long pieces; just don’t expect everything you discover to give you that commercial-grade sense of confidence that a recognized label can give you.

But let’s take a look at the elements themselves. Long skirts are a trendy property right now, so it’s time to search vintage stores for a skirt that has stood the test of time and goes native. Yes, the fresh ones are perfectly fine, but can you honestly say that you think the ones you’ll discover on Main Street will take you anywhere close to the vibe of Penelope Keith or Felicity Kendal in their Good Life roles? Unlucky. The collective consciousness that existed in the 1970s disappeared in the 1980s and copies no longer work. The seventies were not the lost decade of fashion and don’t let anyone tell you, it was perhaps the eighties when fashion earned a more superficial and greedy nickname. Okay, you might find something a little more thigh-tight than 70s designs would have offered, and maybe the fabric is more tactile and easier to care for, but you’ll miss the je ne sais quoi, the Authentic vintage feel that made the 1970s what it was.

And don’t let anyone fool you into believing that the sixties, when exposed thighs and kinky boots reigned, were the last word in sexy street designs. Yes, they laid the groundwork for a more casual and liberated future, but those fashions only really suited a small part of the population and most people couldn’t really see themselves in those daring designs. Today’s fashion is much more accessible to larger groups, something we perhaps learned from the 1970s. The generation of the 70s could be the true movers and shakers of today, they are the ones that helped broaden our horizons and created the connected digital world that we now enjoy. They were also the generation that the 80s rebelled against. And they did it all with their floral maxi skirts! Live the dream. Enjoy life to the fullest.