1970s Eclectic Silhouette

The 1970s didn't have one silhouette. Several distinct styles ran side by side for most of the decade, each with its own audience, and hem lengths ranged from hot pants to the floor in the same year. Women could choose, perhaps for the first time, between very different ways of dressing without any of them being "out of fashion". What tied the decade together was less a shape than a fabric: FIT calls the 1970s the "Polyester Decade".

The main strands

Boho and prairie. Carried over from the late 1960s: long, full skirts and dresses in floral prints, with ruffles, puffed sleeves, smocking, patchwork, crochet and embroidery. Peasant blouses, maxi dresses and denim, often with handmade details, valuing a natural, craft-based look.

Disco and eveningwear. For the clubs, slinky, draped dresses that moved on the dance floor: satin, jersey, sequins and velvet. The American designer Halston dominated eveningwear, using simple, fluid cuts, bias and draped jersey, and soft fabrics; he won the Coty Award in 1971. Bianca Jagger and Studio 54 came to symbolise the look.

The wrap dress. Diane von Furstenberg launched her jersey wrap dress in 1974. FIT records that it sold more than five million copies in two years. It was simple, flattering, worked in an office or at dinner, and was held closed only by its tie.

Menswear for women. Trouser suits became acceptable for work and evening, and the 1977 film Annie Hall popularised a layered, borrowed-from-the-boys look of waistcoats, men's shirts, ties and wide trousers.

Punk. From the mid-decade in London: tight black trousers, leather jackets and Dr Martens boots, with clothes deliberately ripped and reassembled with safety pins, zips and studs. Punk treated construction as something to expose and break rather than to hide.

Other threads: Yves Saint Laurent's controversial 1971 "Libération" collection, which revived 1940s styles; flared trousers and bell-bottoms; platform shoes; and, by the end of the decade, athletic wear becoming casual fashion.

The polyester decade

Polyester and other synthetics made fashionable clothes cheap and easy to care for. Polyester double knit could be machine-washed, didn't need ironing, and held its shape, so it was used for everything from trouser suits and leisure suits to dresses. The prairie dress and the disco dress alike were often polyester. Cotton and natural fibres returned in the craft-influenced styles, and the 1970s also saw a lot of home sewing and handcraft, with patchwork, crochet and embroidery appearing on clothes.

If you're recreating 1970s clothes, it's worth remembering that much of the period's drape and sheen came from synthetics. Swapping in a natural fibre out of habit can change the look. Modern polyester crepes, jerseys and double knits are often closer to the originals. See Synthetic Fibers.

Sewing a wrap dress

The wrap dress is the most wearable and easiest 1970s garment to make:

• Fabric: a jersey with good drape and recovery. Cotton jersey is too limp, so use rayon, silk or polyester jersey, or a fine matte jersey. A woven version in crepe works too, but the original was a knit. See Knit Fabrics.
• Construction: a fitted bodice with front pieces that cross over, a skirt (often attached at a waist seam), long ties, and usually no fastenings. Some versions have a single snap or hook where the fronts cross, to stop gaping.
• Fit: the main risk is the neckline gaping. Fit the crossover so it lies flat against the body, and stabilise the neckline with clear elastic or a strip of stay tape cut a little shorter than the edge.
• Finishes: turn and topstitch the neckline with a twin needle, or face it. Hem with a twin needle or a narrow coverstitch.

Sewing other 1970s looks

• Prairie and peasant styles: gathering, ruffles and tiers, elasticated necklines and cuffs, smocking. Cotton lawn, voile and calico prints.
• Disco: bias-cut or draped jersey, halter necks, and fluid fabrics. Many of the bias techniques from the 1930s apply.
• Flared trousers: fitted closely through the hip and thigh, flaring from the knee, with a long, level hem worn with platforms.

The decade's mix of styles sets up the 1980s, when fashion swung toward bold structure and power dressing.