70s Men’s Fashion: Groovification of Counterculture to Disco

Men’s 1970s fashion was big and bold. Here’s everything you need to know about this well of style we’re always dipping back into.

Source: @gentlemanmodern

The 1970s are an important time for me. Sure, it’s when James Bond started wearing flared trousers and a Seiko. That wasn’t a highlight for everyone, but it was certainly memorable. 

Beyond that, a lot of important things happened in pop culture. The Godfather and ESPN, anyone?

And you can’t discuss the culture and the art of the era without remembering ‘70s men’s fashion.

It was bold, sometimes brash, and mixed patterns and textures. It did it with a combination of late-stage counterculture and Brady Bunch-esque optimism. This tension between edgy and traditional, with an overlay of sparkling loudness, would bring us into the ‘80s via Studio 54.

Even today, classic men’s style isn’t exempt from this special era. Here’s everything you need to know about the sartorial world of the 1970s.

There were many 70s men’s fashion trends, and they continued to pour in throughout the decade. One thing they all had in common was that men’s fashion in the 1970s was all about the silhouette.

There was particular attention to cut: bell bottoms, giant shoes, bigger hair in the African American community, and bowed neckerchiefs.

Everyone was just a little more shaggy. Even the clean-cut golden boys of the time, like Robert Redford or Freddie from Scooby Doo, were a touch more relaxed. At least, they echoed the good boys of the past, such as the ones sporting crew cuts in the 1950s.