Mad Men, you guys, Mad Men. Did you watch it last night? Don’t worry, there will be no spoilers here, except to observe that 1970 was evidently the beginning of the Great Moustache Era. So many moustaches! And I confess, from my 2015 viewpoint, I immediately assumed that the first glimpse of Roger Sterling was some kind of circus-like dream sequence, entirely due to his ridiculous moustache and puffy shirt. Then I realized no, that was merely the style.
He reminds me of a ringmaster in a circus, although those ladies look kind of fabulous.
COME ON. And yet as we all know, styles often look ridiculous, looking back. I’ve worn my fair share of stupid-looking styles, most notably the vertically-teased bangs of the Eighties, the puffy pirate shirts of the Nineties, and the flowy clown pants paired with fitted blazers of Y2K. We’ve all worn styles that we’ve regretted, so I’m not sure why I find thick moustaches and ruffled tuxedo shirts to be quite so hideous, but I do.
Everything about this look is regrettable.
Even as I write this, I look like I’m about to audition for a Flashdance reboot, so I feel hypocritical criticizing menswear circa 1970, and yet.
All I’m missing is a sweatband and leg warmers.
Hoo boy, those are some roots. I need a colour job, stat!
The other thing that last night’s Mad Men made me think about (I promise, no spoilers) is how promiscuous the Seventies were. I remember excitedly watching Saturday Night Fever for the first time – and I was an adult – and I was completely shocked by the amount of rampant sex in it: back seat of a car sex, bathroom sex, anywhere sex. Then I read Fear of Flying and was completely grossed out by the promiscuity and corresponding venereal diseases – and I was in my early twenties at the time. YOU GUYS, USE A CONDOM, EW. But that was the Seventies, I guess. As Mona Sterling said in last season’s Mad Men:
Margaret, darling, these people are lost, and on drugs, and have venereal diseases.
Ladies and gentlemen: the Sexual Revolution, summarized nicely.
How was your long weekend? The kids decorated eggs twice – once at my parents’ place, and once at home. There was also a LOT of chocolate. The chocolate combined with two weeks of vacation and vacation-related imbibing has had a negative impact on the fit of my clothes. My skinny jeans are feeling a bit too skinny, if you know what I mean. But that is what vacation is for, and so today I grocery shopped and came home with a plethora of spinach for green smoothies; I’m also congratulating myself on not buying any more Mini-Eggs – it’s a lot harder to sneak the kids’ chocolate when that chocolate is in the form of individually-wrapped chocolate chicks and bunnies.
Aren’t they pretty?
My kids both have a carrot-shaped bag of Reese’s pieces. I have been unable to steal any because neither of them have opened them. What is wrong with these children?
I LOVE Reece’s Pieces!
So, I was born in 1969 and these horrible mustaches and facial hair and clothing on MM this season are horribly recognizable to me from my young childhood. The 70s have a lot to answer for on the clothing and facial hair front.
I had the same reaction to Saturday Night Fever. I was a teen in the 80s, the era of just say no and neo conservatism and AIDS awareness. As I said to one of my friends when we were talking about this at one point, I’ve never had sex without being aware of AIDS. There was no casual, unprotected sex happening for me. The attitudes and “freedom” of the 70s never cease to boggle my mind.
Saturday Night Fever, I thought, was a kitchy fun movie with lots of dancing…which it WAS…but the flagrant sex – the girl who was a virgin – I felt like I was going into shock watching it!