Disco Costume
The disco era certainly played a role in the clothing industries during the 1970’s and early 80’s. Disco clothing for women included mini skirts in loud colors and hot pink leather pants. The leather pants came in lots of colors. Tie-dye clothing was also very popular. Shirts often came with long, wide sleeves. For the men, it was tight pants with collars shirts. The pants often had wide leg bottoms and they were very tight around the waist. The pants were often black in color and the shirts were silk or another shiny material. The most common material used for this clothing was polyester. Platform shoes were worn by both men and women.
Disco clothing was very different than what people wore to work. The fashion industry went into overdrive trying to meet the demands for disco clothing. Women’s clothing was selling at a much better rate than men’s. High dollar fashion designers including Ralph Lauren spared no expense on these designs. When ‘Saturday Night Fever’ with John Travolta was released in 1977, disco clothing became hard to find in some locations because the demand was so high.
Big hair was a popular part of the disco costume, for both men and women. Afros were very popular. This is mainly because the disco era was made up of mostly African American’s. For some women, long straight hair was also popular. Covering yourself in glittering colors and makeup was also part of the costume. Lots of fake gold jewelry is also part of the ensemble.
With the disco era coming to an end so soon in the early 80’s, many vintage disco era costumes can be purchased at a very low price. Most are in great condition. They are great as part of a collection, as memorabilia, or as a Halloween costume. The big hair lasted longer than the disco costume, lasting until the early 1990’s.
