Déjà Vu all over again

February 23, 2016 /

By Sandra Burk

Hello, 70s alumni:

Have you been experiencing a sense of déjà vu lately? If so, don’t worry, your mind isn’t playing tricks on you – the 70s are back, and with a vengeance! Seventies fashions are everywhere these days:

  • miniskirtfringe on suede jackets, purses and boots
  • crocheted tops, vests, hats and purses
  • maxi-dresses
  • mini –skirts
  • jumpsuits
  • tie-dyed T-shirts
  • ponchos
  • leather jackets and skirts
  • denim jackets
  • fur collars, detachable, on coats, jackets and sweaters
  • jeans
  • gaucho pants (seriously, does anyone really look good in those?)
  • platform shoes, cork-soled shoes, wedge shoes, clogs
  • hobo bag purses
  • long, straight hair (male and female)
  • bangs
  • chunky jewellery

Vinyl records are making a comeback. Big 70s rock acts such as the Rolling Stones, Black Sabbath, Kiss, AC/DC, Peter Gabriel , Sting, the Moody Blues and Fleetwood Mac are still touring. Elton John, Rod Stewart and David Bowie have recently released new albums.  Even Canadian politics is reminiscent of the 70s – a Liberal government with Trudeau as our Prime Minister! As the saying goes, “Everything old is new again”.

Feel free to share some of your favourite (or not-so-favourite) memories of 70s fashions, concerts, etc… Here are a few of mine: in Grade 12, I had a pair of wedge platform shoes that I thought were the height of cool. However, I recently saw a photo of myself wearing those shoes and it looks like I was wearing orthopaedic footwear!   On my 16th birthday we had floor seats at Maple Leaf Gardens for a Johnny Winter concert. Slade was the opener. It was a blast – literally – as I couldn’t hear a thing for days afterwards.

CNN recently ran a documentary series entitled The Seventies, co-produced by actor Tom Hanks. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth watching and taking a walk down memory lane. Also, you might want to catch the new HBO series Vinyl, co-produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger and starring Bobby Cannavale and James Jagger. For an interesting read, try Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY, and the Lost Story of 1970 by David Browne.

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