Category Archives: 1970s

Look for the Union Label across Generations

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Lynn

Although this is an advertisement rather than a real life snapshot, I love the contrast in clothing depicted between the generations.  The Library of Congress gives the date as 1965-1980, a very big range, and I couldn’t find it reproduced … Continue reading →

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Sewing and Chatting, 1970

Posted on September 20, 2020 by Lynn

Home sewing can be an isolating activity, but not if you take your work outside.  I wonder what the woman on the left is doing.  Darning? Hemming? Making a couture outfit by hand? Whatever it is, she has a friend … Continue reading →

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Honoring Mexican American Women, 1975

Posted on August 23, 2020 by Lynn

This photo shows six women honored by the Mexican American Opportunity Society, a non-profit devoted to education and economic assistance in California. It began in 1963 and still exists today.  What had these six women done to be honored?  Were … Continue reading →

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Stay Cool in Summer Shorts

Posted on August 11, 2020 by Lynn

What’s being featured here—the woman or the frig?  It must be hot, because she has on a short sleeved shirt and shorts.  That’s showing a lot of skin for an older woman, at least according to fashion advisors.  The clothes … Continue reading →

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Lucy’s Navy Blue Polka Dot Dress

Posted on July 11, 2020 by Lynn

In her memoir Don’t Sing at the Table (2010), the best-selling author Adriana Trigiani tells a wonderful fashion anecdote from her childhood.  When she was about eleven, in the late seventies, she noticed that her maternal grandmother, Lucy, only had … Continue reading →

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A Dress Made from a Sari, 1971

Posted on March 17, 2020 by Lynn

I was lucky that a year was printed on the back of this photo, since the dress itself would have been hard to date. The TV is most likely from the sixties, but people used to keep their sets for … Continue reading →

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Betty Ford in Pants, 1977

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Lynn

You can guess by this photo that Betty Ford, First Lady of the US from 1974 to 1977, was a former dancer for Martha Graham.  Apparently it was her idea to dance on the Cabinet Room table on the last … Continue reading →

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Bipartisan Fashion, 1977

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Lynn

Given today’s political contentiousness, it is reassuring to remember a moment in American history when Democrats and Republicans stood together to advocate for women’s rights.  In 1977, the federal government sponsored a National Women’s Conference to discuss the status of … Continue reading →

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On the Road with Gloria Swanson for Forever Young

Posted on December 27, 2019 by Lynn

In the 1951 contract that Gloria Swanson signed with Puritan Dress was a clause promising that she would make a month long promotional trip every year to promote her line of Forever Young dresses.  Her archive is filled with documents … Continue reading →

Posted in 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, General | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Grace Slick’s Mother

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Lynn

For you youngsters who do not know her, Grace Slick was a major rock star in the 1960s and 1970s, lead singer for the Jefferson Airplane.  We can wonder what her upper middle class parents made of her career as … Continue reading →

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