The 70s were a weird time. The flower-power era of the 60s was beginning to wilt, and the world was thrown into a decade of confusion. Much of the world saw the 70s as a decade of unrest and uncertainty. While much of the globe was thrown into continued conflict, western citizens were seeing drastic social changes, and many were seeing it for the better. Progress from the decades before strengthened even further in the 70s, with female and gay rights beginning to be a topic of discussion. In fact, the end of the 70s saw the first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, take office in the UK.
In the US, the Vietnam War came to a close, and with it, a decade of post-war festivities began. A new culture was emerging in the West, and with it came a subculture that embodied the 70s like no other—a subculture of late nights, wild music and dancing. Of course, that subculture was disco, baby!
Disco was a direct cultural response to the influx of rock music. It stood as a counter style for those who wanted to groove to a different tune. The genre was moulded by such pop bands as ABBA and the Bee Gees, African American groups like Earth, Wind and Fire and Kool & the Gang, and gay icons, the Village People. The genre was very popular among Black and Hispanic Americans, members of the gay community, and Italian Americans (depicted by John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever).
The community was rife with light night partying, drug use and promiscuity. The 70s dance clubs with the classic disco platform dance floor and mirror balls called for flamboyancy, and to answer the call, a new fashion was born. The staple of this new style was flared bell bottoms and the famous 70s platform shoes. The shoes would elevate the height of the wearer and allow them to tower over the dancefloor. Today, we’re going to go back in time and take a further look into this iconic 70s design and how it’s impacted us culturally.
A Step Into 70s Fashion
The 70s were very colourful and expressive in regard to style. For men, loose fitting and flowy collared tops unbuttoned almost all the way. For women, tank and tube tops and rayon strapless dresses. The aim was to signify liberation and freedom, as well as celebrate beauty, all of which were heavily inspired by what everyone’s favourite musicians were wearing, but we’ll get to that.
One thing both men and women had in common when it came to style was their bottoms. Below the fashionable belt, the trend seemed surprisingly unisex, especially for the time period. Flared pants/trousers in all fabrics were worn by both sexes in the 70s. These bottoms were usually tight-fitting at the waist and down the thighs but tapered off at the knee to become very loose. It is the perfect style to dance the night away, letting just enough air in to keep things fresh. Thank God it’s Friday!
The Disco Platform Shoes
While brands like Converse were the All Stars of the 70s basketball courts, and Dr Martens were leading the punk scene, the disco scene had its platform shoes.
The platform shoes of the 70s first gained their popularity in 67 and were worn mostly by young women. But when disco really started to take off, young men started to wear them too. It wasn’t long before the platform shoes became the official club shoes, used to attract attention while doing the YMCA directly under the mirror ball.
The shoes were chunky and made of leather, while the heels and platforms were made out of wood or cork. They came in a variety of colours, and some, in the spirit of attracting attention, had glitter covering the uppers. During the height of their popularity, they made it out of the disco scene and into the mainstream, with reporters documenting the whole thing. They came in different styles, from laces to slip-ons, and some had high enough toplines to be called platform boots and, of course, came in every size.
Elton’s Silver Platform Heels
The trend grew with the help of many performing artists following the footsteps of the ancient Greeks, who wore platform shoes to give them a greater stage presence. While the artists of the 70s had spotlights and microphones to aid in their performance, it could not be denied that the platform shoe gave them an extra flair!
Elton John was well known for his theatrical appearance both on and off stage. Notably, he had a pair of silver platform shoes, which he wore during several of his performances.
Another icon of the 70s was David Bowie, who at the time performed as his alter ego, Ziggy Stardust. During this period of Bowie’s musical career, he was well known for wearing red leather platform boots while in character.
Bowie got his boots custom-made by Carole Basetta, who created designer moulds for stars during this period. Much better than getting them at the local shop, and much more expensive!
The Platform Shoe Of Today
Online stores like ASOS and Schuh still offer these iconic shoes, though only women can really get away with wearing them these days. For custom shoes ripped straight out of the 70s, one can go to Etsy. The shoes may be a bit on the pricey side, but they are high quality and accurate to the time. Perfect for a nostalgia night or office Halloween party.
While the platform shoes of the 70s’ time have come and gone, they were just a footnote in the long history of height enhancing footwear. Heeled shoes are ever evolving, but it was not until recently that our shoes could be more discreet about adding to our height. Ladies platform shoes, while improving in comfort, have not had to change too much in silhouette. Men, however, must do their best to appear as if their height is natural, and they certainly can’t hide behind a trend, as it will eventually come out of style. This has pushed designers to develop better products. Most notably, discreet height boosting trainers.
Brands like Conzuri have developed such shoes that provide fantastic results to the wearer. From white platform sneakers to black dress shoes, perfect for wedding photos, suede Chelsea boots and all styles in between, these shoes are comfortable and true to size. Check out our Conzuri page for a 15% discount.
