Why did everyone wear denim in the 70’s-80’s?
Same reason everyone today dresses like they just laid on the couch for 12 hours in their sweatpants eating cheese doodles.
Wait. There’s cheese doodles? I’m going to need to see those.
They're a Cheetos type corn based snack food made by Wise. Technically they're Cheez Doodles
Not to be mistaken for Cheezy Poofs
The best ones are the originals: JAX Cheese Flavored Corn Curls
What’s a cheese doodle? In Australia cheese = cheese and doodle = penis.
Cheez Doodles are a “junk food” snack in the US. Crunchy like a chip/crisp and made “cheesy” with a hyper-processed cheese. It’s found at snack shops at gas stations on the highway but can be bought at supermarkets as well. cheez doodles
Thanks for the info. Looks like they could be similar to Twisties.
We’re all heroes here.
Yeah mate, dick cheese
What? No Cheese? You eat your penis DRY in Australia? /s
That's basically it. Cheezy penises.
Ok no need to attack me!
I’ve thought about this a lot. I’m horrified by young people wearing their pajamas everywhere, but my parents were (are) horrified by me wearing jeans everywhere. I can’t wait to see what people wear in 30 years. Maybe they will circle back around to to top hats and long dresses.
Exactly. Comfy and Casual clothes. Unless you're in a river, then jeans are like an anchor.
It was a backlash against the stuffy, uncomfortable clothes our parents wore.
It was the fabric of the proletariat.
Still is, says this working class hero. And thanks to John Lennon.
A welcome change from polyester!
Some, if not most of those jeans, were worn very tight. Definitely not as comfortable as high waisted pleated pants. I’ve worn both.
But my husband thought, and still thinks, that a female bottom looks the most entrancing when tightly clothed in denim. I hate wearing jeans and indeed any kind of trousers; but if I want to make his eyes sparkle, I know what to do.
Jordache?
Wrangler
Fancy Ass
I agree with him. I’ll take jeans over yoga pants anytime for look (no yoga pants for me lol). Not even close.
14 y/o Brooke Shields said “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."
Denim was big business and using a child to promote jeans proved people would stop at nothing to promote themselves and their jeans.
Jeans in general are the most uncomfortable trousers to me. Dress trousers, linen trousers, chinos are infinitely more comfortable and better looking unless you’re trying to go for the rugged look
We washed them several times before we wore them. I knew someone who tied his jeans to the back of his car and drove them up and down dirt roads to get them worn out and soft.
Not all jeans are created equal. I’ve owned some Italian jeans that were comfortable. It was a night a day difference from my Lee or Levis jeans. I guess you get what you pay for.
The right answer.
Polyester clothing had reared its ugly head, which didn’t breathe or mold to fit the body. Also, denim jeans made for women became a thing. Before that, women had to buy men’s Levi’s and often had to alter them to fit.
Because we thought it was cool, the same reason for any popular clothing trend throughout history.
501's were all I wore. They were cheap and durable.
Sadly, Levis are crap now. I have a pair of 550s from 20 years ago I still wear, but newer Levis fall apart.
They're more lycra than cotton!
Or they come already torn apart!
Have you seen the jeans that come with permanent dirt on them? Or the latest ones that make it look as if the wearer peed the pants?
I think I could get into a pair and those with the pre-peed in look. It just gives you an extra layer of freedom. Like you could pee if you were in a bind and really needed to
501’s is all I wear! Even more so since working from home
I gave up 501s when my waist measurement exceeded my inseam measurement.
That’s a very good reason
Yeah, 501s in my size just look like a funnel these days.
Ouch babe.
😂😂😂
So you go pantsless? Me too.
501's too big so they sat low, more holes or rips the better, and thrift store old lady soft cotton button up tops, and berkenstocks or combat boots.
Closer to 60 now I still wear 501's (and 505's too).
Same here! Just hit 60, and that’s all I still wear. Keep rockin’ ‘em!
I find them a lot less durable than Ariat these days.
Cool.
Soft & comfortable (esp. pre-washed). Durable. Matches w/ everything.
I’ve had @ least one garment-finished denim shirt in my closet since 5th grade.
The most tattered but still serviceable version (just roll up the cuffs) becomes my cooking shirt when I buy a new replacement…I may well die in one.
I still do.
I pretty much live in jeans (many differenttypes, buts and colors), or leggings. If its hot i am usually in denim shorts or some kind.
I have tons of dresses, but prefer the comfort of jeans.
I didn’t realize that it went out of style.
I have never paid attention to styles. I like what I like and will keep wearing jeans until I die.
The same reason I wear it today, it's both tough and comfortable.
Same, and much like myself
That's swell.
Because it was fashionable, like the hoodies are right now.
Aren’t we still wearing denim? If not, I didn’t get the memo.
Sweatpants, quiet luxury (soft fabrics, muted colors).
It's what was being sold at the time, for the most part, I guess. It was trendy. It was the very beginning of the rise of designer denim brands, like ads on TV and in magazines. Brooke Shields and her Calvin Klein ad, etc.
They didn’t. Lot’s of people wore other fabrics. I wore a lot of Corduroy and other non-denim. Sure people wore jeans but they do today as well.
Yeah I remember in middle and high school back in the day, if you weren't wearing jeans, you were wearing cords.
My cords were in rotation once a week, the other four days were Levi's denim.
Yep that was pretty much my rotation :)
edit: If I recall, you had to be wearing hush puppies with them
Yup, hush puppies were my daily.
What about Bass Weejuns? Did you wear them, too? With or without tassels? With or without a shiny new penny?
I had less money, so I bought Eastland loafers, no tassel, pennies from my birth year. I wore them so much I had new heels put on them. And leather clogs with the wooden bottom. Surprisingly comfortable.
Silk was too expensive
Why do so many 20 somethings have broccoli sprout haircuts nowadays?
The answer to both is it's a fad.
We don’t like those haircuts either
Apparently a lot of you do.
Yeah but that was popular in 2018-2020. Now, those haircuts are not popular anymore and we make fun of them.
If a lot of people are still wearing them, and they are, then they're still popular.
Forget about arguing. OP is a 20 something that takes the opinion of his/her 5 friends and applies it to his/her whole generation.
A few years ago I had a tenant who did the same thing. She's say thing like "Nobody separates their colors anymore in the wash, EVERYONE uses color catchers!"
It's just something some 20 somethings do, and a few 20 somethings never learn from and do it their whole lives. i.e. over-generalization.
God thank you. I knew something was off when reading their posts.
And 5 or 10 years from now people will be making fun of whatever’s trendy now. That’s just how trends come and go.
You're making the point for them, you get that, right?
Fads come and go, is the point. Not the specific example given--the haircut style.
Why are there any fashion trends?
There’s a really interesting documentary on PBS about the history of jeans, so it really caught on in the late 60s/early 70s because of marketing, and then the fashion trends and styles (cut, wash, etc.) changed from year to year or so.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/riveted-history-of-jeans/
The real question, is why is this no longer fashionable. I can tell you...The Man won.
Did? It's still the most popular fabric in the world, and growing:
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/denim-jeans-market
The principal wasn’t beating us for wearing pants at school anymore
Why not?
Lots of things in the 70s and 80s were done because they were different from what people did in the 50s and early 60s. Denim included. Up until the mid 1960s the only people that wore denim were actual workers that got dirty.
Denim? May I introduce you to polyester?
What I remember is that in a lot of outfits for 1976 bicentennial fashion the blue in red, white and blue fashions was generally denim or even denim printed, like I had this record player that looked like it was wrapped in denim. The bell-bottom jean got popular too, and it was considered a fashionable thing not just the work wear of the laborer or what people wore around the house. Denim really got big in the 50s so this was just a continuation of that trend.
I had that record player, too! I also had a purse made from a pair of jeans with the legs cut off. God, that bag was hideous.
YES I did too! lol I had a denim vest , pants and fat hat with matching studs and to finish the look I had the denim Dingo boots. :)
My Mom and I got the machine out and made those bags. We had/have big butts, so they were more totes than purses 😆
Because we could and because it bothered old people. Before that you wore trousers and leather shoes to school if you were a boy, girls were required to wear dresses. I was not allowed to wear pants to school until I was in 7th grade and girls still weren't allowed to wear jeans.
Because corduroy was too noisy
It was that or polyester. It was the obvious choice.
Wait, wait, wait ... Everybody doesn't wear denim today? I probably need to go outside more often
It was just a fashion trend at that time.
For the ladies: Nothing like a pair of skinny jeans coupled with a pair of Stiletto Pumps. And lotsa "diamonds". But only if your hair was big enough 😁😁
I wore it because it was cheap and durable. Levis cost more but they were durable. Then Wranglers became a more economical option. In those days they were well put together and would last.
In the 90's, instead of "mom jeans" I would wear carpenter jeans from the farm store I worked at. Well made, durable, and enough pockets to make leaving my purse optional. Changed my shirt, and off I went to the bar lol. Comfy all day and night!
We didn’t have yoga pants or anything really like them
Except those ugly poofy grey sweatpants
Now come on, there was Hot Pants 😂
Those were mostly for guys w/ big hair 🥸
Because they were dirty hippies.
Dirty hippie agrees.
Because it looked cool and was incredibly long lasting. It was about the most rip-proof pants you could find
Much of this fad was caused by the well publicized demand for black market smuggled Levis in Soviet Russia.
Why not?
Back then (and even before), you either worked in an office and wore dress slacks, or you worked blue collar and wore denim (not necessarily blue). For young folks denim (pretty much all indigo ie, blue jeans) was the only alternative to corduroy or dress pants. Corduroy, by the way, was pretty popular too, with the cut and design usually a copy of what was popular with the denims at the time. There were a few other alternatives in the 70's and 80's but they were kinda subculture. Disco pants (70's) and parachute pants (80's) were out there too.
And you wore dress slacks, but only if you were a guy. For us girls and women, the dress codes often forbade pants. That made for slim pickings in the stores.
yep
Because we were cool.
Went with our wood walls
Late 60s early 70s was 501 jeans,white t-shirt and ofcourse Converse.
Do you know what a leisure suit is? They were made of polyester nylon. Slacks were popular too. Wearing those fabrics was a trip. It was like heavy silk but didn't have to coolness silk gives you. Hair would stand on end from the static electricity. Stretchy so much you could do splits and never fear your pants would split.
Denim meant your were practical and frugal. Long lasting and look better as they faded. Win win.
Because almost anything else was uncool. Nothing more to it.
Because Bruce Springsteen told us too! Plus we (and Bruce) looked great wearing buttonfly 501s!
Polyester and spandex weren't invented yet.
Polyester leisure suits were definitely a thing. But when spandex came along, oh boy!
It was the trend.
My husband and I wear denim almost daily. It’s comfortable and looks good if you style yourself. Why not wear denim?
You don't have to wash it every time you wear it.
To be different. Everyone was very much into individually expressing themselves to differentiate themselves from older folks and the "uncool" - but within rigidly defined dress guidelines, which included wearing jeans.
Because Neil Diamond said it would be forever.
It was that or 100% shitty polyester…what would you choose?
Cuz, it was cool.
Still is!
i still wear jeans every day, age 65. As do all the younger folks I work with.
People at the mall or at Wal-Mart in pajamas these days?!? Are we seriously getting straight out of bed to go to the mall now?
I was a kid in the 70s & 80s-- mid 80s were the first time I had jeans. They weren't Levi's, though-- they came from Towers or Zellers, or maybe the Met, and had red piping down the leg seams. I knew very few adults who wore jeans. Mostly they wore slacks/ dress pants (and were probably polyester), or cords. Work pants for folks who worked rough jobs were those green or blue ones you see mechanics etc wear now.
Because it was cool.
I still love denim. I'm outdoors a lot, and with a pair of jeans on I don't have to worry as much about 'ruining' my pants, or getting obvious dirt on them. Been wearing jeans since I was a kid---someone will probably be prying them off my cold dead..whatever.
Comfy, cool, durable, groovy..!
Did I ever not wear denim is the better question.
It was cool.
Rebels! It was the Suits vs the Dungarees.
Cuz it was hip, Baby!
Why not? First of all, we liked the look of it. Denim also has many virtues. It is sturdy and is easy to care for, and it actually looks, fits, and feels better as it ages.
In the 21st century, nearly everybody still owns and wears denim. I'm not sure if I can trust any adolescent or adult civilian who has no denim at all in their wardrobe.
It was denim or double-knit. Of course we also wore plaid pants & kilts. Khaki wasn’t really a thing until the 80’s.
Because of the cool bell bottom pants with the frayed hem line. Catch yourself on fire if not careful. They didn’t come with a warning label and weren’t flame retardant. Look cool as hell at the skating rink.
Denim jeans were blue collar work pants until James Dean made them cool in the 50's.
There weren’t the options you have today. First, no soft synthetics, Wool, corduroys, cotton blends that were not soft, khakis, terry sweat pants vs 100% cotton blues jeans that broke in to ultra soft. The fashions were secondary, unimportant to most of us. I had a sister that insisted on Jordache. The rest of us couldn’t care less.
It was the most casual thing you could wear outside the house
Because that’s what there was to buy. Also hippies from the ‘60’s made jean jackets popular.
What else was there? Even your shorts were cut off jeans either cut too long or short.
It was acceptable in the '80s...
It was acceptable at the time...
I don't know why, but personally, I love blue jeans: they go with everything. And I used to only carry denim purses.
In the 70s, we washed them a lot first to make them soft. And they were low rider, bell bottoms in my case. Not too tight, just comfortable and hard to wear out, easy to clean and lasted forever and we were poor so that was a factor. Jeans that are too stiff and tight are uncomfortable and can cause irritation and infections where you don't want them. Good fabrics are breathable for a reason. I still wear 👖 and I'm old.
Because fashion goes In and out and back in
Because stretchy pants had not been perfected as much as they have been recently. I am currently wearing black stretchy pants. They have pockets. They come up over my belly. I love them.
Because it was groovy and bitchin'!😎
Levi’s were a trend back then. Plus kids were getting the freedom at schools to wear jeans
Mainly 70's, with the trend slowly declining through the 80s.
In the 60s and 70s, they were our uniform. No decisions. They had pockets. They were tough. They lasted a long time. They didn't hold stains and odors. You could wear them several times. Wrinkles were not an issue. The longer you had them, the softer they got. You could patch them and, if so inclined, make a creative and interesting one. They make a nice ass look nicer. And sitting a bit below the waist, they were comfortable. They went with everything (every sort of top, jacket, or shoes EXCEPT heels). But they were essentially democratic. An equalizer. Not anti-fashionable but a-fashionable. It wasn't until disco in the 80s that designer jeans became a trend.
There weren’t a lot of other choices.
They didn't cost that much (Levi's was the designer of choice), they were durable, low maintenance, and could be dressed up or down. I've never stopped wearing them; I wear them every day.
Yes, those too.
Lotta people talking about jeans. Sure they were a thing.
And they still are. So what I get from the question, is what about the denim skirts, jackets, shirts, etc.?
Well for one thing, girls in denim skirts were quite hot. And for those of us into rock, it was cool because denim's what the rock stars wore. The jackets and shirts were tough and looked even better with the sleeves ripped off, some pins and/or patches, and you could draw on it in sharpie.
Then my mom got a denim trench coat. And I had mixed feelings about it. Because she did look cool in it, and nobody else's mom wore a denim trench coat. But when a teen's parents start wearing the style, well...
Pretty much immediately after that the style switched to flannel shirts and earthtones (grunge) and/or leather jackets (rock) and the hot girls switched to black goth skirts or black jeans and pants. Jeans live on of course, but the denim-all-over look was out.
There was a brief trend in the 90s of denim bib overalls in the hip-hop crowd. Which I think were later replaced with cookie monster pajamas for some reason(?) As like a counterpoint to the country kids wearing Taz and Bugs Bunny stuff maybe? I don't really know what was behind those. I myself was aging out of keeping up with the teen trends at that point.
But the denim on denim look basically faded out like most teen trends do, when our parents started wearing it.
I wore a lot of Levi corduroys in the 70's.
Like synthetics now?
To c0ver their naughty bits
Because it was comfortable
So you could sit down anywhere and not worry about getting your nice pants dirty.
Denim was summer attire. In the winter it was leather and corduroy.
Honestly, I likely wore it because everybody else wore it and it was commonly available. Further, it wears like iron and lasts forever practically. That’s why I still wear denim. I’m a jeans and flannel shirt Kind of guy and always have been.
Wait… we were…uh…supposed to STOP wearing denim!?
Denim hasn't ever gone away. My standard uniform is Levi's 501 jeans and T-shirts mostly from J. Crew.
If you mean denim pants (jeans), people were wearing them here in Texas when my parents were young, and still wear them just as much today. Those are the only pants I ever wear, unless I have to dress up for something.
If you mean denim jackets and other things, it was just a fashion thing for a lot of the country. Here in Texas, though, you still see them with some frequency. My main coat in the winter is a jean jacket.
Better than those horrid stirrup pants in the 80's.
It was affordable.
It was cool, it endured and the shabbier and more faded it got, the cooler it got.
Well, I wore denim in the 50s. I wore denim in the 60s. I wore denim in the 70s. I wore denim in the 80s. and so on and so on and so on, and I'm wearing denim right now.
It's comfortable, it cleans easily, it goes with sneakers or boots or barefoot, with teeshirts or collared shirts, or no shirt at all. It is the perfect fabric for pants.
My dad wore denim, my uncle wore denim, my granddad wore denim (overalls).
Because dressing stylishly meant you were part of your parents' "establishment" materialism. Denim was perceived as working class. The dopes at Woodstock really believed that Bob Dylan et al were really "of the people." Nobody knew the musicians were flown in by helicopter from their Malibu mansions.
Fads never die. They just mutate.
Not everyone wore denim. Polyester was huge. Possibly bigger than denim. Polyester suits and tuxedos with big lapels, obvious stitching, and textured fabric in wild colors were all the rage. Underneath was a polyester shirt that wicked the body odor so the whole world could enjoy. Some covered that up by smoking multiple packs of unfiltered Camel cigarettes. It was a smelly time.
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