Flares, Florals, and Layers: these trends are extremely popular, but where did they come from? Several of today’s fashion trends come straight from the 1970s. The clothes we see around our communities are reminiscent of another, groovier time. The comeback of past trends is not uncommon, and can even be predicted. 

The cycle of fashion trends is widely accepted in the industry to function like a circle with four stages: The introduction, the rise, the decline, and the rejection. Trends begin small and later become extremely popular, then they slowly go out of style and eventually become outdated; then the cycle starts again. Some trends move through the cycle faster than others, ripped jeans came back after ten years whereas color blocking took almost sixty. The seventies are no exception to this rule.

The ’70s are back and in the ‘rise’ phase of its current cycle. You’ve probably seen women wearing bell-bottoms and sporting Farrah Fawcet hairstyles. The iconic hairstyle features a backward curl that makes the hair look like it’s floating, the lighter than air and flowing looks have made it back into the American pop culture. Bell bottoms paired with a tighter fitting shirt was one of the iconic silhouettes of the time, now we see it walking down the street every day. Men have been wearing their hair longer and some are rocking sweaters and long collared shirts. Male celebrities are starting to dress like a modernized Michael Kelso from “That ‘70s Show”.

When asked about how the ‘70s influenced her style, junior Mollie Banstetter said, “It’s my favorite music era, and a lot of celebrities I look up to were in their prime in the ‘70s”. With bands like ABBA and Fleetwood Mac back in the mainstream, young people dress like them out of admiration. “The phase fashion is in right now takes stylistic choices from the ‘70s. There are so many cool pieces from the ‘70s and now that thrifting and sustainable fashion are more important to me, it’s making items from the ‘70s more accessible to me”.

Let’s face it, we all dress like our grandparents did in the ‘70s, and man, we look good.