70s Costumes

70s Costumes

The 1970s has been described as the decade that style forgot, but there were plenty of different looks and more than enough inspiration when it comes to a fancy dress costume. Punk was at its highest popularity so there will be plenty of ideas to take from this genre. A cheap and easy costume to make will be a punk costume, as a lot of it can be made out of old clothes. A few rips here and there, spiky hair and an abundance of safety pins, and you have the ideal example of 70’s costumes.

Keeping to the theme of music, there are other musical influences to imitate.  Abba won the Eurovision song contest and was one of the most popular groups of the decade. Saturday Night Fever was all the rage and a bright white suit with flared trousers and greased back hair would mean that you were Tony and everyone would know it. It does not just have to be white, as there are many other colored suits and as long as they have flares and are accompanied by shirts with large collars and are open to the neck then they fit the 70’s theme. Remember to add a large gold medallion just to get the full effect.

Sports brought Evil Knieval and a jump suit with the stars and stripes is an often chosen option when it comes to 70’s costumes.  Cartoon characters will remind us of our childhood and from the 70’s there was Hong Kong Phoey and George from Rainbow. They may not be the easiest 70’s costumes to move around in, but they will make a lot of people laugh and begin to reminisce.

Women will be able to select a costume from the hippie look or disco diva. The hippy will have long hair and often a large hat.  Colours will be bright and as with the men’s costumes, they will be complete with flares. Disco will be different as they will have shorter hair and more often than not it will be permed and back combed. Cat-suits came into their own, and a lot of 70’s costumes show this.

Sports stars and film stars will still be remembered and one of the easiest – if not most discrete, items will be a pair of shorts and nothing else apart from boxing gloves. Add a cape with one of his many sayings on it and there is an instant Muhammad Ali. There were many great films released in the 70.s and as a result there are plenty of characters to look out for when looking for 70’s costumes. Chewbacca will be fun but uncomfortable and even a Storm Trooper will not be as comfortable as a Star Trek character.