Historical note: The height of fashion when I was in high school, say from 1965 to 1969, is exmplified by the two young men at the :30 mark. A very neat look: the still-short hair parted on the side and falling over the forehead a bit; shirts tucked in, even when not in school; belt worn at the traditional waistline, instead of down around the hips; and tapered legs ending a couple inches above the ankle, the better to show off your cotton socks, which came in a rainbow of colors in the late 60s. It was extremely chic to have your socks match your shirt, so it looked as if you were poured into your pants. Though outside of school, it was de rigeur to wear your penny loafers without socks - and believe me when I tell you, there is nothing quite so enticing as the sight of a well-turned bare ankle, preferably tanned from spending weekends in the sun. Seriously.
Contrary to careless artists' depictions, men and boys and even hippies did NOT wear bell-bottoms in the 1960s, at least not in the Deep South where I grew up - but go study some movies made in the 60s and you will find confirmation. Girls started with the bell-bottoms in 1965 or so - a la Cher - but we guys had to wait until the fall of 1969, and even then, what the stores were selling were flares, not true bell-bottoms, which were hard to find, even in jeans. I remember all this distinctly, since I was at the age when fashion first becomes all-important to a young (gay) man.
The hair got a little longer year by year, and then in the fall of 1969, mustaches and mutton-chop sideburns were all the rage for those who could grow them. I was still shaving just once a week or so, bummer. Plus I was in a very strict, fundamentalist church which forbade long hair and all such sinful things (the Bible says!).
(O/T) But I made up for it later, after I left the church:
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Junior college graduate, 1977 |
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Ready for fun in the sun, spring 1979 - my arms and legs were hairier than they appear in the strong sunshine. |
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Another bright spring day in 1979, before I came out. Twenty years later, I was getting a cowboy buzz cut. (See photo under "My Story" in the sidebar > > >) Nowadays, it's anything goes, I guess. |
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