70’s Hair Gone Wild

The up do, the down do, the Farrah do. When you think of 70’s hairstyles, the Farrah “flip” is probably the first style that comes to mind. And with good reason; the Farrah Flip was a cultural phenomenon that promoted itself weekly on our ‘boob-tubes’, thanks to a certain TV show. Even if you didn’t watch Charlie’s Angels, you knew about the Farrah Flip.
But with all the feathered hype, a very 70’s hairstyle was quickly forgotten – the “Dorothy Hamill”.

Yup, before Farrah there was Dorothy Hamill, complete with a supremely cute, subtle ‘feather’ cut. Short, sassy, easily maintained, the Dorothy Hamil was a precursor to the extreme feather Jill Munroe sported on Charlie’s Angels. Of course, now we call Dorothy’s cut a ‘wedge’ cut, but let’s be honest here – it WAS feathered. In fact, I do believe that most 8^th grade boys sported this look in the 70’s. Shaun Cassidy comes to mind, and even better, his brother. Nothing to be ashamed of boys – Dorothy Hamill DID win a gold medal at the Olympics, after all.

TV and its impact 70’S style, Part II – KICK ASS, CRIME FIGHTIN’, LIBERATED WOMEN RULE!

Whether it was a result of women’s lib or the feminist movement, no one can deny that 1970s TV had an abundance of kick-ass women on the tube. Wonder Woman, The Bionic Woman, Police Woman, Charlie’s Angels – badass babes taking out the bad guys and making the world a safer place for you and me. Oh, yes, these crime fightin’ foxes could take on you, me and all the fumbling villains that crossed their paths. Girl Power!

And then there were the smart, hard working, fast talking, take-no-shit women of prime time – Maude, Alice, Ann Romano of One Day at a Time, Rhoda, Phyllis. Most of these characters were women trying to make their way and find their own voice in a new world – a world where economic times were hard and being an independent woman was, at the very least, a challenge. These characters inevitably showed girls and women throughout the USofA that we really could make it on our own – complete with sassy dialogue.

As a testament to the draw of girl power on TV, three of the top five TV shows during the 1975-76 season were The Bionic Woman, Maude, and Laverne and Shirley.

Given, there was a lot of T&A involved in the success of some of these shows. But inevitably, for a young girl like myself, watching these empowered women kick butt and make it on their own gave me the notion that I too could take on the world – maybe not in the same manner as The Bionic Woman – but none-the-less, I believe ultimately they were positive roll models.

How to look (and smell) good, 70’s style

Oh, the things young teenage girls bought (or in my case, shoplifted) in the late 1970’s. My ‘looking good’ obsession started with Bonne Bell Lip Smackers. My personal favs were grape, Dr Pepper and watermelon. They sold big fatty versions too. And then there was the highly addictive Maybelline Kissing Potion. What a gooey liquid mess these were! But with flavors like bubble gum and kola, how could I resist? The Kissing Potion came in a clear liquid with a roller ball applicator.

Besides the ever-popular Loves Baby Soft, I also wore a fragrance called Blue Jeans. I can still smell the light, musky scent. And yes, I most definitely wore the cologne while skating at our local roller rink in an attempt to drive the boys wild. Then there was Babe by Faberge. Not only could you buy the fragrance, you could get soaps, lotions and deodorant too! And what girl didn’t want to be a Babe?

Last, but not least, one of the easiest items to um, lift. Eyeliner pencils. Small and easy to conceal, an enterprising young girl could lift 4-6 of these pencils at a time. Along with lipstick and nail polish, I’m sure I amassed a large collection of popular cosmetics. What? We were bored and we wanted to look good, and our measly allowance wasn’t nearly enough to keep us in style!

We All Love Avocado Appliances!

Ahhh, avocado. What an AMAZING marketing invention! Who knew that burnt green-colored appliances would be such a hit! The frenzy started in the mid 60’s, but didn’t really take hold until the early 70’s. Along with Cornflower Yellow and Brilliant Orange, these 3 color combos could be found in almost any kitchen, bathroom, or in my case, bedroom in America. Of course, my mom added her own flair to the color fad – white daisies! Our bathroom, our kitchen (my bedroom)  – all Avocado Green, Cornflower Yellow, Brilliant Orange and White Daisies everywhere! Oh, yes, along with gold fixtures. Gaudy much? Love that Avocado appliance!

I Love . . .

In the summer of ‘77 I was in love with, well, a few boys – three if which were brothers, triplets in fact. Which one I loved the most seemed to change by the hour. Even I got confused so I had to keep a log on who was #1, moment to moment.

. . . it was a very good year . . . Teen ramblings from a suburban kid in the late 1970’s

. . . the late 1970s suburbia  . . . young kids full of angst and hormones – what are they to do? I’ll give you a hint – it WASN’T bowling. Roller skating yes, bowling NO. Bowling was for the old man, not the young kid.
Curious? Well, you’ve come to the right place. This is a true-blue teenaged drama blog, complete with the diary entries and goofy stories from one young kid growing up in the quiet suburbs in the late 1970’s.
Leisure time for young teens in the burbs during the late 70’s was a hotbed of stupid fun. So sit back and enjoy the buzz of one teens’ experience as it plays out through diary entries, photos and journal musings.