The 1970s - The Decade That Taste Forgot?

JupiterKid · 27-09-2020 2:38am #1

Now, I’m reckoning that that the vast majority on the boards here won’t even remember the 1970s - I myself only vaguely remember the very end of that decade as I was born half way though it - but does it really live up to its reputation as a decade of appalling taste?

The evidence:
Flares
Platform shoes
Bathroom carpet
Fabric/wooly toilet seat covers
Avocado, pink and chocolate colour bathrooms
Garish, bold patterned wallpaper
The all-electric house
Urban motorways
Mock Georgian style suburban houses
Wood paneled pub interiors
Bungalow bliss (blitz, more like)

Anyone else agree - or beg to differ?

bobbyy gee · 27-09-2020 2:45am

in years to come they will say the same about today

even now every other year platform shoes and flares are brought out no 70s no disco

https://people.howstuffworks.com/8-funky-fads-of-the-1970s.htm

ShatterAlan · 27-09-2020 4:05am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Now, I’m reckoning that that the vast majority on the boards here won’t even remember the 1970s - I myself only vaguely remember the very end of that decade as I was born half way though it - but does it really live up to its reputation as a decade of appalling taste?

The evidence:
Flares
Platform shoes
Bathroom carpet
Fabric/wooly toilet seat covers
Avocado and chocolate colour bathrooms
Garish, bold patterned wallpaper
The all-electric house
Urban motorways
Mock Georgian style suburban houses
Wood paneled pub interiors
Bungalow bliss

Anyone else agree - or beg to differ?

Platform shoes have stood the test of time...well especially the stilletto ones for women in porno movies.

I always thought that women's fashion in the 70's was very sexy. ABBA style blue eye-shadow, jeans inside suede knee-high boots, fur coats (I know....not cool), etc.

Also if you look at some of the sportswear from the 70's such as Adidas Rom or Adidas SL 72 trainers.....absolute class. More stylish than anything from the 80's, 90's or beyond. And the Cold War era tracksuits worn by the likes of Johan Cruyff and Nadia Comeneci were too cool for school.

Super Ser heaters were pretty decent and I even thought they looked kinda cool. Chopper and Grifter bicycles......Ford Cortina, Granada, Capri......taste on wheels.

I suppose taste is a subjective term. Does it mean refinement?

Plenty of things from the 70's looked really naff with hindsight but you could say that about the 80's too and even the 90's

JasonStatham · 27-09-2020 9:26am

Hah, last century, who cares. It's the twenties now.

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 9:58am

Men's hairstyles and facial hair in the seventies were absolutely hideous. More than the clothing, or interior design (only really, really posh people had the coloured bathroom suites) men's hair was truly awful, particularly in the earlier part if the decade. Women's hair wasn't much farther behind in ugliness. People looked like they'd been given punishment haircuts. How anyone managed to get laid is beyond me. Unlike the OP, I was born at the start of the decade so my memory that goes back to about 74/75. Apres punk (which deliberately tried to disgust but was probably more visually attractive than what it was trying to destroy) clothing and hair became much more appealing before the OTT styles and subcultures of the 8Os hit and if course music in the late 70s was fantastic. One of my favourite eras musically - post punk/ New Wave.

un5byh7sqpd2x0 · 27-09-2020 10:01am

What urban motorways??

TheValeyard · 27-09-2020 10:11am

Fabric/wooly toilet seat covers

How?

Why?

gammygils · 27-09-2020 10:12am

Agree 100%. Men's hairstyles and sideburns. And men's fashion. Flowery patterned shirts. And everything was big.
Big collars and lapels, bell bottomed trousers and big platform shoes and boots. Definitely the decade that taste forgot

whisky_galore · 27-09-2020 10:15am

At least the music wasn't shyte, like now.

Gregor Samsa · 27-09-2020 10:15am

I was born in the first third of it, so only have vague recollections of the tail end of it too. Looking back, though, it was a pretty shîte decade, and the only reason anything from came back in subsequent decades was for the irony factor.

It’s amazing the difference between the 70s and what came after. Since the 90s, there hasn’t been such a marked difference between neighbouring decades, despite the massive technological advances that have been occurring in the last 30 years. 1995 doesn’t seem as far away from now in terms of fashion and culture as 1985 did to 1975.

tabby aspreme · 27-09-2020 10:16am

Can't forget the Bay City Rollers, and the Red Tartan they inflicted on people

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 10:17am

TheValeyard wrote: »

Fabric/wooly toilet seat covers

How?

Why?

These lasted til well into the 80s. Not to forget the toilet roll covers which were dollies with large skirts that you placed over the bog roll that was kept on top of the cistern. Unless, of course, you still had a toilet with an overhead cistern that you flushed by pulling a chain. If you had one of those your bog roll sat on the floor. It took a long ime for toilet roll holders to become standard.

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 10:18am

gammygils wrote: »

Agree 100%. Men's hairstyles and sideburns. And men's fashion. Flowery patterned shirts. And everything was big.
Big collars and lapels, bell bottomed trousers and big platform shoes and boots. Definitely the decade that taste forgot

Shorts weren't big. *shudder*

o1s1n · 27-09-2020 10:22am

JupiterKid wrote: »

Now, I’m reckoning that that the vast majority on the boards here won’t even remember the 1970s - I myself only vaguely remember the very end of that decade as I was born half way though it - but does it really live up to its reputation as a decade of appalling taste?

The evidence:
Flares
Platform shoes
Bathroom carpet
Fabric/wooly toilet seat covers
Avocado and chocolate colour bathrooms
Garish, bold patterned wallpaper
The all-electric house
Urban motorways
Mock Georgian style suburban houses
Wood paneled pub interiors
Bungalow bliss

Anyone else agree - or beg to differ?

I don't think the 80s or 90s were exactly paragons of good interior design and taste either.

I know we're we've just gone through a bit of an 80s aesthetic revival and some of it is pretty cool with all the synth playing while Lamborghinis driving by neon sunsets, but Ireland definitely wasn't like that in the 80s.

In the 90s we were also wearing clothes about twenty times too big for us and houses were full of flowery patterns and pine wood, it was hideous.

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 10:26am

tabby aspreme wrote: »

Can't forget the Bay City Rollers, and the Red Tartan they inflicted on people

Three quarters length tartan flares. Sooo attractive.

bigar · 27-09-2020 10:28am

whisky_galore wrote: »

At least the music wasn't shyte, like now.

Absolutely! Also some very beautiful cars around.

BrianD3 · 27-09-2020 10:56am

I was born towards the end of the decade so don't remember it - but in general would Ireland not lag behind the fashion of the day. No doubt there were some attempts to be fashionable but I'd say that the 70s in Ireland weren't exactly the "decade that taste forgot" just as the 60s weren't exactly "Swinging". This was one (TV) channel land for much of the 70s. The Church was still massively influential. RTE 2 didn't start until 1978 and I'm not sure how any people would have had the UK channels.

I did grow up in a Bungalow Bliss house built in 1975 and yes the carpets were strongly patterned but that was probably because my parents thought they wouldn't show the dirt. The house wasn't well insulated and I well remember the cold during the cold winters of the 80s. Also, septic tank piped to the nearest drain which was common bad practice at the time and probably up until the 90s.

My impression of Ireland generally is that it was a miserable backward country until well into the 90s.

Gregor Samsa · 27-09-2020 10:58am

whisky_galore wrote: »

At least the music wasn't shyte, like now.

While there were obviously some exceptional classics, there was a lot of absolutely diabolical music in the 70s. There’s also some really good music being made now.

We only really remember the good stuff.

Rothko · 27-09-2020 1:15pm

Surely the 80's were worse.

JupiterKid · 27-09-2020 3:22pm

The music in the 70s was superb - Bowie, Elton John, Queen, T-Rex, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac all at their very peak - Billy Joel, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Suzi Quattro, Blondie, Kate Bush, Pink Floyd, brilliant timeless pop from ABBA, the biggest band of the decade, disco music etc.

But in terms of clothing fashions and interior design it was truly awful. I was born in March 1975 so I only have memories of 1978/79 - I just about remember the really ancient cash registers which were mechanical and cars with chokes that you had to pull out before driving.

And yes, Ireland was pretty miserable, repressed and poor - but it was modernising andindustrialisng and was far better than the utterly grim 1950s - there was a booming economy just before the oil crisis of 1973/74. Emigration was in reverse and the population grew very fast between 1971 an 1981 - coupled with a baby boom between 1972 and 1982. There was also a construction boom in housing and offices which peaked in 1974.

Inflation in the 1970s was through the roof and the post WW2 economic boom for most of the West came to an end with the oil crises. The telephone service was diabolical according to Dail debates from that decade.

corner of hells · 27-09-2020 4:25pm

ShatterAlan wrote: »

Platform shoes have stood the test of time...well especially the stilletto ones for women in porno movies.

I always thought that women's fashion in the 70's was very sexy. ABBA style blue eye-shadow, jeans inside suede knee-high boots, fur coats (I know....not cool), etc.

Also if you look at some of the sportswear from the 70's such as Adidas Rom or Adidas SL 72 trainers.....absolute class. More stylish than anything from the 80's, 90's or beyond. And the Cold War era tracksuits worn by the likes of Johan Cruyff and Nadia Comeneci were too cool for school.

Super Ser heaters were pretty decent and I even thought they looked kinda cool. Chopper and Grifter bicycles......Ford Cortina, Granada, Capri......taste on wheels.

I suppose taste is a subjective term. Does it mean refinement?

Plenty of things from the 70's looked really naff with hindsight but you could say that about the 80's too and even the 90's

Adidas Rom , jayzus that's after bringing back some memories.

humberklog · 27-09-2020 4:29pm

Rothko wrote: »

Surely the 80's were worse.

Definitely.

The 90's are looked back on well and fairly stand the test of tíme. But the 90's took so much of the good stuff from the 70's.

The 80's fashions however are mostly best forgotten.

Charles Babbage · 27-09-2020 4:33pm

What's not to like

Badly Drunk Boy · 27-09-2020 4:42pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlbunmCbTBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8e2CTB9oeQ

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 4:49pm

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlbunmCbTBA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8e2CTB9oeQ

Marquee Moon - absolute perfection

If anyone wants to give a child nightmares show them a picture if Dave Hill from Slade. He looked horrifying. And he was a schoolgirl heartthrob! God knows I loved Slade and still do but when they came on Top of the Pops I hid behind the couch. He was like something off Dr Who.

Badly Drunk Boy · 27-09-2020 5:02pm

I'm sure you're not from there, but I read your last post in a Wolverhampton accent!

I'm a Wolves fan, by the way...

And I agree about Marquee Moon.

27-09-2020 5:06pm

I think the 2020s are worse..

Have you seen the state of the young lads these days with the tracksuit bottoms that are too small?..

And the women with the eyebrows?..

And as for the music..

27-09-2020 5:07pm

People will look back on the interior decor now and be like "absolutely everything was grey.. what was with that?.."

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 5:09pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I think the 2020s are worse..

Have you seen the state of the young lads these days with the tracksuit bottoms that are too small?..

And the women with the eyebrows?..

And as for the music..

D'ya know, I was only thinking recently that this decade will be looked back on like the seventies in terms of style. The short trouser, no sock combo on men and some of the clashing women's clothes and yes, the eyebrows and the collagen trout pouts on 22 year olds....

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 5:12pm

Badly Drunk Boy wrote: »

I'm sure you're not from there, but I read your last post in a Wolverhampton accent! I'm a Wolves fan, by the way...

And I agree about Marquee Moon.

I do hail from the Midlands but not a place where they say 'yow' for 'you'.

I shoukd have said Dave Hill looked liked something off Dr How!

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 5:14pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

People will look back on the interior decor now and be like "absolutely everything was grey.. what was with that?.."

I'd take a bright pink bathroom suite over a grey living room any day.

27-09-2020 5:15pm

I kind of think the 70s were a kind of zenith in terms of style Tbh..

Flares and blazers on the gentlemen..
Those short skirts and knee high boots on the ladies..I mean like, damn...

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 5:17pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I kind of think the 70s were a kind of zenith in terms of style Tbh..

Flares and blazers on the gentlemen..
Those short skirts and knee high boots on the ladies..I mean like, damn...

But you'd have to put paper bags over everyone's heads to hide the terrifying hair.

27-09-2020 5:19pm

Sardonicat wrote: »

But you'd have to put paper bags over everyone's heads to hide the terrifying hair.

The ladies were foxy..

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 5:25pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

The ladies were foxy..

We still are...

27-09-2020 5:48pm

I was a teen from 1974 onwards, and the young men's hair was a big turn off for me. There were the odd funky items to wear. I well remember the orange kitchens. My aunt in Bray got her large kitchen painted orange, her older teenage children pinned those orange and yellow flying fish to the ceiling, and I asked could we paint our small kitchen orange, so I was given a paintbrush. Before that kitchens were absolutely featureless, so it was the first ever real attempt to make something out of a typical suburban kitchen. We couldn't afford to stretch to the avocado bathroom, but they were typically being fitted to new builds.

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 6:00pm

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I was a teen from 1974 onwards, and the young men's hair was a big turn off for me. There were the odd funky items to wear. I well remember the orange kitchens. My aunt in Bray got her large kitchen painted orange, her older teenage children pinned those orange and yellow flying fish to the ceiling, and I asked could we paint our small kitchen orange, so I was given a paintbrush. Before that kitchens were absolutely featureless, so it was the first ever real attempt to make something out of a typical suburban kitchen. We couldn't afford to stretch to the avocado bathroom, but they were typically being fitted to new builds.

Kitchens were only starting to change from totally functiontal areas for cooking, cleaning and storage. Our kitchen in the seventies only had a fitted unit under the sink, there was a free standing dresser from the 50/60s for non perishables and crockery, a fridge (no fridge freezer til 1977), a twin tub that was heaved into the middle of the room once a week (Friday)and was in operation from dawn til dusk (chippy dinners on wash day) and was used as a work surface the rest of the week, a formica table with foldable wings and two stools that were stored under it when not in use, three chairs and a cooker with a grill up top. Nothing matched. Lots of buckets and basins here and there for use on wash day. The idea of the kitchen needing to be a pleasant place visually was still quite 'notiony'.

Kylta · 27-09-2020 6:14pm

You can look back on any decade and you'll find nightmarish style. The one piece of clothing I hated from the 70s was the tank top. A woman in our flats used to knit the bleeding things and they were gross. About style in general one person idea of style can be another persons version of monstrosity

Edgware · 27-09-2020 6:16pm

How can you criticise a decade that gave us flared trousers, Gary Glitter, Noddy Holder AND Showaddywaddy?

Kylta · 27-09-2020 6:21pm

Edgware wrote: »

How can you criticise a decade that gave us flared trousers, Gary Glitter, Noddy Holder AND Showaddywaddy?

Ah Lsd will do that for you. Glitter should've been castrated

the purple tin · 27-09-2020 6:22pm

Sardonicat wrote: »

But you'd have to put paper bags over everyone's heads to hide the terrifying hair.

We've gone back to that again.
The dyed blonde hair, neo-mullets and weird bouffants on lads in their teens and 20s nowadays are cringeworthy.

Charles Babbage · 27-09-2020 6:27pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

Edgware wrote: »

How can you criticise a decade that gave us flared trousers, Gary Glitter, Noddy Holder AND Showaddywaddy?

And Sally Carr.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPPx55UxCUA

whisky_galore · 27-09-2020 6:37pm

Architecture here at any rate was urban concrete brutalism or rural bungalow blight, not much better now with architects with a horn for boring glass boxes everywhere.

Overuse of carpet, esp in places where carpet wasn't practical, pubs and toilets. Disliked the "busy" wallpaper favoured at the time, would give you a headache just looking at it.

Coloured bathroom suites date very quickly. Best stick to timeless white, can't go wrong.

Edgware · 27-09-2020 6:51pm

Kylta wrote: »

Ah Lsd will do that for you. Glitter should've been castrated

Large bottles of Harp made everything look rosy especially while smoking a few Woodbines.
And how could a decade that gave "Oh no its Selwyn Froggit" starring the late great Bill Maynard be called lacking in taste

Hamsterchops · 27-09-2020 8:01pm

Those ABBA outfits were cringeworthy alright, but sexy as hell.

Other fashion crimes included platform shoes, giant sideburns, bell-bottoms & shiny white boots!

freshpopcorn · 27-09-2020 9:47pm

I often wonder what will people thinkof Dermot Bannon houses in forty years time!

Mr Meanor · 27-09-2020 10:18pm

Most giving out in this thread about the 70s were born during the 70s, memories of five year olds!
Those in the threads who actually remember the 70s as teens or adults, say that particular decade was generally OK

Who to believe?

Spanish Eyes · 27-09-2020 10:21pm

I do remember Vesta curries, but was too young to eat them, the DA loved them, so exotic lol.

Mam was delighted, all in one pack, as far as I remember they were boiled or something. No mickeywaves around then.

Sardonicat · 27-09-2020 10:43pm

Spanish Eyes wrote: »

I do remember Vesta curries, but was too young to eat them, the DA loved them, so exotic lol.

Mam was delighted, all in one pack, as far as I remember they were boiled or something. No mickeywaves around then.

I loved vesta currys! Boiled - the rice was in a bag and the 'meat' sauce was in a type of tin container. Used to have them in the 80s.

Kylta · 27-09-2020 10:57pm

Edgware wrote: »

Large bottles of Harp made everything look rosy especially while smoking a few Woodbines.
And how could a decade that gave "Oh no its Selwyn Froggit" starring the late great Bill Maynard be called lacking in taste

There a memory, I used to rob my grannys woodbines when I was small, and my da smoke players. Do they still sell harp?

donegal_man · 27-09-2020 11:11pm

I don't get the hate for men's hairstyles. Looking at photos of myself as a boy I have to say I think the cuts I had then and evev my '80s mullet look better than the Kim Jong Un meets original Blackadder style sported by many young men today

The 1970s - The Decade That Taste Forgot?

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