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This episode of The Big Six-O brought to you by Louis Carr Real Estate, helping people in the Hills District find their dream home since 1992. Ready to buy, sell or rent? Check out louiscarr.com.au for all your property needs. If you're old enough to remember when phones had cords and the only thing that went viral was a cold, then you're in the right place. Welcome to The Big Six-O with Kayleigh Harris and Guy Rawlison.

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Because who better to discuss life's second act than two people who still think mature is a type of cheese?

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Welcome back to another episode of The Big Six O. If you're joining us for the first time, welcome.  Or if you're making questionable life choices and a regular listener,  thanks for coming back.  Speaking of questionable choices, today we're diving into the most outrageous, ridiculous and slightly regrettable fashion trends of the 60s, 70s and 80s. And of course, I couldn't do it without my co-host and someone whose perm probably defied gravity.  I did.

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probably had its own postcode back in the day, the always stylish, always wonderful, and who is never questionable choice, Kayleigh Harris.  I love your intros, they're the best.  How are you? They're not accurate, but they're the best.  What, the postcode about the perm or what? Oh no, always fashionable.  Hey, listen,  and you probably had a perm back in the day and we'll get onto that a bit later, but I mean, how many cans of hairspray were probably sacrificed?

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In the name of hair, whether it was in the 70s or 80s. Oh, the hair and I guess we're to start on the big hair of the 80s. Is that where you want to start? We could. I know. I remember  even  going back to the 70s, the bangs,  like I don't think boys had bangs, did they? But it was just a girl thing where you'd get a curling wand. Everyone had a curling wand and you would curl these front bits of your hair.

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so that they would sort of flip back and they were called bangs. Where did that name come from? I have no idea.  No idea where that came from.  but  up until I think I was  up until I was about 17, I was still letting I was still going to my mother's hairdresser and letting my mother tell her how to cut my hair. And it just didn't seem  strange to me, you know, I just go and let me go, oh, can you cut it  really short, really short and all this and I  had terrible hair through high school.

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And it wasn't until I kind of left school and went, oh, you know what? I can actually grow this out and do something with it. Look, in your favourite list, it didn't involve a bowl. Yeah, well, that's true.  Did you have a bowl? So you're one up on way too many. I've seen your hair when we were in primary school and you had this  straight blonde hair that,  dare I say it, was a bowl cut?  No. Okay.  It was probably a very cheap bar below.

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You had such luscious locks. She had these really thick, beautiful, straight blonde hair as a boy. Oh, now that's just teasing. I don't think it changed much through high school. think it was blonde and sort of almost down to my shoulders and parted in the middle and sort of, know, when that was all very much the rage and you know. Very life, Garrett. Oh, do we want to go there? Not this episode. No. Hey, let's go back. Let's go back to the 60s. We were talking about the 60s earlier.

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What are your memories of some of the fashions from  the 60s? I  can remember  my mum's fashions  and she, you know, she, I  can remember boots but I think that came in the 70s but  back in the 60s, you know, was very young and mum used to make all of our clothes, my sister and I, and she would make the same thing for both of us but in different colours.

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And I remember we had matching safari suits  and cause dad had a safari suit and we wanted, we love dad, you know, we wanted to look like dad. So my sister had a bright pink safari suit and I had a bright purple one.  And yes, there is physical evidence of this, which I'll produce, but yeah, that's my memory of, I don't remember a lot about the shoes or the.

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fashions in the sixties. It wasn't until the seventies that I sort of started to become a bit more aware of what we were wearing. What about you? Look, I don't remember a lot about it, probably whatever your parents put on you and you think, know, you're too busy outside playing or doing whatever we were doing. But I remember that mum was a super keen knitter.  And so come winter time, you know,  it was always hand knitted jumpers and hand knitted cardigans and all those sort of things.

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And of course, these days it costs more to buy the wall  and the time that it takes, even though there was a lot of love that went into it.  It's so much cheaper and quicker just to buy your jumper  off the rack these days.  So yeah, I don't remember a lot.  I've probably got some  photographs  of some crimes that were committed as far as children's wear in the sixties that I had.  And particularly if we were going into town.

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I remember we had to get dressed up before going into Sydney town. I'd go in with my mother and my grandmother and we'd have, we'd go to David Jones or, they'd have the cafeteria at David Jones. yeah, that was very posh. And I remember  my grandmother would wear gloves and a hat to go into the city.

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And I've got a photograph of myself with a little suit jacket and a little bow tie.  No.  And to go in on the train and the bus into the David Jones cafeteria to have lunch. It was a big deal. I remember it was a really big deal. really was.  So, you know, other than that,  I don't really recall. I think I was probably too busy, you know, rolling around in mud and doing all those things that kids do in there, you know, at that age.

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Yeah. But the seventies, different kettle of fish. Oh yeah. You're talking about knitting. Let's start off with crocheted bikinis. Oh, oh yeah. What does that mean? What does ooh mean? Does that mean you were a fan or you weren't a Oh, you kidding me? You, Okay. Not that I owned one. Not that I owned one. All right. But I mean, I had the tracker board shorts, which was super cool. But yeah, any girl who was worth their salt had the crocheted bikini, right?

06:54
Oh, I didn't know.  I wasn't allowed to wear one. They were a bit too rude.  know. What was going on with them?  Was it wool? What were they? They knitted out of wool? Crochet out of wool? were knitted, yeah, out of, so not knitted with the tight stitching. They were crocheted so they had like little tiny holes in them,  which is not a good thing.  Yeah, but I remember  in the 70s when I was growing up, we had a little one piece swimsuit.

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And then when I got to, when it got to the seventies and it got to the sort of mid seventies, it was bikini time.  And I felt so naughty wearing a bikini was like, Ooh, I'm a big girl now. Cause I've got a bikini on  and it was just, Oh my gosh, it was next level. remember seeing my first crocheted bikini. was at  Batto Bay. I think we were having a holiday there  and I think my jaw dropped. must've been 15 and I thought, my gosh.

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So I think that's when I sort of  there was a realization going on. But did you ever have one of those crocheted vest? It was like little  things and like a crocheted vest. No, I didn't have a crocheted vest, but I had a I had a knitted crocheted poncho in the 70s.  And it was ponchos because remember through the 70s and even into the 80s, the colors were very loud. And my poncho, mum made the poncho and it was blue and red and this really big zigzag pattern.

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And I thought I was the Bees knees. thought  I've got a poncho. I'm super cool. Ponchos. I'd forgotten all about ponchos. think I had one. I think doubles at a picnic.  Double as a picnic.  That's right.  They were so  trendy. know the thing that  knitting crocheting that I loved and this is late seventies and I thought I was the coolest kid. Not that I was the only kid, but there was a TV show, Stasken Hutch.

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Oh, Starsky's big chunk of Yes. Oh, that was the coolest. Yes. Everyone had to have one of those. I had one. Did you have one? Absolutely.  And wore it out like it didn't matter where it was, you know,  particularly if it was a school thing, whether it was a disco or a film nod or something, you just wore your Starsky jacket. Your Starsky jacket. I remember that so well. I was a huge Starsky fan.

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How cool were you? both of them were so cool with that car and anyway, we're not talking about cars, but I know. But yeah, I had one of those and mum knitted it for me  and I don't know what happened to it. If I had it today, I'd wear it today.  And you and I wouldn't be friends.  Well, given you didn't have a crocheted bikini, I mean, yeah, that's right. There you go. But cool. What about your Miller's Western shirt?

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Oh my goodness. Yep. The boys in their Miller's Western shirt with the press studs. little pearl studs. remember that. And remember there was a time there also in the 70s where the boys would roll up their Winnie blues in their white t-shirt sleeve. Do you remember that? Guys would walk around with a packet of Winnie blues in that rolled up in their sleeve of their t-shirt. You mixed with a crowd. Well, I can remember going to the disco, the under-80s disco and

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was the first time I was sort of allowed to wear clothes that were little bit risky. And the fashion at the time was pencil skirts. All the girls had pencil skirts and they had big splits up the side. And it was, oh, my mother was not happy at all with me going out. And I wore it to the disco with my white cork platforms and a boob tube. And didn't I just look a picture? I was, I thought I was the hottest thing on the dance floor. How big was this split? That's what I, no, I don't want to know.

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I don't want to know. high but I was yeah.  I was probably wearing my Bogarts  if I was at that same disco. Oh Bogarts. Bogarts yeah. They the pants? Yes the pants and they had like the sonin seam down the front and I don't know I mean obviously from Humphrey Bogart I'm sure he would have rolled over in his grave knowing that  something like that was named after him but I would have had the Bogarts on having gone to the maxis under 18.

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disco at the local YMCA or whatever it  of course, probably, you know, before that, you know, the flares on your pants, which probably could have hidden a small dog in them.  Oh, exactly. refugee family could have gone in there. Yeah. They were huge.  Yeah. They were wider than a Boeing 747. Sometimes some of those flares in the early seventies. They really were, but  yeah, they worked at the blue light disco. I'm sure they did back in

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Oh they did and I remember having a pair of jeans that that they were not only flared but they had a big red stripe down the side each side and and then but one day I decided to I put put a pair of shorts I would have been a wall of 13 maybe 14 and it was school holidays I was at home and I put a pair of do you remember the lace-up shorts the girls used to wear they'd lace up at the side and they were super short and then I went and borrowed I say the word lightly my mother's thigh high boots

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that had a super big heel and my mum is two sizes smaller than me, right? So I put these things and I squeezed into them and I did the zipper up and decided I'd walk up to the milk bar  and  super shorts and thigh high boots and I was 13 or something and I walked up the milk bar.  These tradies went past in a ute and started whistling at me and yelling at me. I was so scared.  I ran home.

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I ran home and I was so scared because it was the first time in my life I'd got attention from like an adult male. were you thinking? I don't know. think, you know, like little girls, you think you're growing up, you wear your mom's clothes and your mom's shoes and everyone tries on their mom's heels. And I just thought I'd be really cool if I go out the shop in them. And mind you, I couldn't walk for three weeks afterwards because they just destroyed my feet. it was, remember that distinctly that, yeah, it was a

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got this attention and was very scared. Yeah I didn't ever get dressed up in my dad's suit going up to the milk bar thinking that different story situation. It's a girl thing. It must be a girl thing but the safari suits go back to the safari suit and I know yours was pink? Mine was purple. Purple. Because I loved purple. Okay. My sister had the pink one. How many teachers at high school

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would be wearing the safari suit with the long socks and the shoes, brown shoes. Every male teacher seemed to have a safari suit. weren't they But not teachers. mean, all the used car salesmen had them as well. you remember? were a fashion statement. Weren't they? They were a fashion statement. Almost as much as tie-dyed t-shirts, which were very big for a while there. You know, put the rubber band and you put them in. You could do it yourself. That's right.

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Yeah, I remember doing it at school. I think I was in year five and we did it. Everyone did a tie-dye t-shirt and you put the little rubber bands on them and then you dunk them in the dye and see how they'd come out. Yeah, and you thought you were just the Anne's pants. But  when you're talking about pants,  70s  and probably early  80s, did every man have a pair of stubbies that were just way too tight? Oh, definitely. Definitely. And for some reason, the AFL players shorts were way too tight.

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Or maybe they still are. Hello, Warwick Capper. you're listening. Exactly. That's exactly what I'm thinking of Warwick Capper. Stubbies have got a lot to answer for. Even the ads. I was having a look at an ad only a couple of days ago and I thought, yeah, there's not a lot left of the imagination. No, no, there's not. Stubbies were, yeah, definitely. And for girls though, I remember the other big fashion item we all had to have was a pair of Corfu jeans. Corfu jeans. Okay. Corfu jeans. That was a brand and we all.

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we all wanted our Corfu jeans and you had to have a felt hat like a big brimmed felt hat we used to wear to the disco as well. I don't know why that maybe it was a Stevie Nicks thing I don't know. Wow I remember the Amco jeans and  Levi sort of went a little bit out of favor but Corfu jeans and then there was Peaches jeans. Girls had Peaches as well. were a few  bands jeans  and  girls used to say they used to and you'll know this I don't know if it's a urban myth

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get them on you'd lay down on the bed with like a...  and you'd get  a clothes hanger, metal clothes hanger and you'd pull them up the tighter the better but you needed a clothes hanger to pull them up because they wouldn't do up otherwise. Was that is that a real thing? Yeah  that was a real thing yeah but wait a second I got the piece of fashion that was just the best.  I had a Sean Cassidy blue satin  jacket and had his face on the back and it was blue oh

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and sent away for it, mum got it for my birthday or something and I wore it everywhere. Went out to the shops with it, went shopping with it, went everywhere with this and I've got a photo of it too, I'll have to share it with you. You really were an influencer weren't you? Influencing what though, I don't know. The Blue Light Disco which ours was called the Maxis Under 18 Disco and you know that was just a reason to...

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Anyway,  yeah, I remember mum made a velvet sort of after this whole Saturday night fever thing came out. I wanted a I wanted a vest and she made this blue velvet. Looking back now, gosh, that was just a that was a disaster. Yeah, really, that was just a fashion disaster because  you needed the platform shoes to go with it, too. And,  know, whether it was.

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you know, platform shoes, or there was so many more girls sort of stuff. There was something called clonks.  think they were like, they were wooden sort of shoe that we had a bit of a platform and there was platform thongs and there was JCs. saw someone wearing them the other day and I was like, but they're not called gym boots. No, no, they'd have a, something way more trendy and like probably three or $400 to put them on.  way too many sort of styles of shoes and

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all that sort of thing before you 80s came into being and you had your pump Reeboks and all of a sudden, which, know, all those sort of things. But, and a mate of mine actually couldn't afford pump Reeboks in the, I think they were in the 80s, I'm not sure, 80s. And so he, he got a pair of volleys like Dunlop volleys and cut it. And cut a squash ball in half and stuck it to the tongue of the shoe and would tell people he had a pair of Dunlop volley pumps.

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Isn't that great? Which is just very inventive of him.  That's amazing. Things we went through to to sort of fit in but the 80s  like I think the 80s were amazing from a fashion sense because when you think about the 80s being louder and bigger and brasher and everything was big and loud and the fashion reflected that and I think there was lots of really bright colours. I had this lime green suit I wore to work with the biggest shoulder pads you've ever seen. It was a skirt and a jacket.

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and it was a satiny kind of thing.  But yeah, we had big hair, we had  loud clothing and we had loud shoes. And I think I lived in a pair of white patent leather court shoes with a super high heel. mean, these days I wouldn't be caught dead in white heels because I've got very big feet and that just makes them look bigger. But yeah, back then it was,  the clothes were  so  loud. But even some of the guys had

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shoulder pads right when some of those  80s bands like Duran Duran and Block of Seagulls those guys they were they were wearing shoulder pads. Yeah you had to walk sideways through doors sometimes I think the wider the shoulders it was more a power dressing thing because they were huge because I remember was it Grace Jones and people like those had massive shoulder pads and you're right whether it was I think it was Whitesnake was one of the bands and all those big power bands of the 80s. But I think it was women were doing it because I think they were

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really making headway in the workspace. And there was a few movies that came out at the time, like Working Girl and Nine to Five and all that kind of stuff. And I think women were making their way in the workspace  and they were showing that they could shoulder a lot and that, you know, like don't mess with us because we've got these really big shoulder pads and we've got a really big hair and we're going to make a statement. So I think it kind of went with the time.  Yeah.

19:31
And the fellas plainly did copy if you're in a band, if you're in a rock band and the bigger the hair, the better. And the shoulder pads under the leather jackets, all those sort of things. Yeah. It was a thing. But also in the 80s, don't forget Princess Di was a huge influence on a lot of people. And when she got married in that puff up, like princess fairy tale kind of dress, everyone wanted to get married in a dress like that. But when you look back at it now, it was so puffy.

20:00
so loud but it was was typical of the time you know everyone wanted Di's hairstyle everyone wanted whatever she was wearing but  yeah it was it was just  we sort of looked to people like that she was a huge fashion influence I think on a lot of people not just the British. I thought I saw her with white court shoes very similar to Kayleigh Harris once I think you made the implements to her did you?

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Yeah, I think she follows me. Leg warmers. Did you ever used to wear leg warmers? Leg warmers I did. Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Did that become a thing when the movie Fame came out? Fame  or Flashdance  or? Flashdance or whatever it was. your legs warm, was that the design? Yeah, they did. Yeah, they did keep your legs warm. Why you needed your thighs, your calves warm, I'll never know. Yeah. But also I had a pair of,  remember the  Bay City Roller socks.

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tartan socks and but also the socks that came there was socks that came out at the time where each individual toe had its own little sock.  Oh. And I had those and I remember thinking they were the coolest thing too. I've seen those somewhere recently and  it might have been with kids wearing them with their crocs or something but. Maybe yes.

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thought, who came up with that idea? They're probably sitting in the Bahamas now with a very small umbrella in their drink and thinking that people will buy anything. Because they're all very colorful, weren't they? The toe socks and everything was neon. Whether that's symptomatic of the era or whether that's reason Miami Vice and Don Johnson, all those colors and being... I mean, that was a...

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That was a staging post for fashion that particular program, wasn't it? But I also think there was a bit of the a bit of the preppies with Don Johnson, because remember the thing there was to wear for guys to wear like a  Ralph Lauren polo shirt with a light colored knitted jumper wrapped around their shoulders and tied at the front. Remember that was a that was a huge thing for guys.  Yeah. And it was it was like all the Harvard boys did seem to do in you watch them on television shows and it was the rich kids, the preppies that

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the yuppies. I've got a mate that still does it. Oh really? Yeah he'll go somewhere and have his have his polo on and he'll have the the jumper tied around with the angel in the front. I'm thinking you're not fooling anyone. It's no. You've probably just been watching. Yeah you've been watching Revenz of the Nerds and this is like the preppy boys out of that and it's not fooling anyone fella. Parachute pants. I remember having a pair of what they used to call parachute pants. Were they like um yeah like the really big puffy ones that you'd

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You can still get them in Bali, I think. Oh, can you? I think can't remember. I think I bought them.  We went on a family holiday to Hawaii and remember thinking these are crazy and bought a couple of pair anyway. within six months,  everyone was wearing them over here. Yeah. And I thought, oh yeah, I'm just one step ahead. But at the time I thought, wow, these are and I think I used to  go to the gym back then and I used to wear them down there.

23:05
But yeah, they caught on. It's like that time lapse that, you know, all of a sudden six months later Australia catches on to some of the fashion trends. Yeah. And by the time we're done with them, the world's moved on. So I don't know whether that's smart thinking because we wait to see what works and what doesn't and we pick and  So but we're so far away from all the other countries that it took that long for it to get here.  One of my favourite things in the  80s and it was the hyper colour T-shirt. Oh, yeah.

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And like it was the heat activated thing. So, yeah, the heat activated. That's right. like you put your hand on there and all the time you come and they've got the handprint on there, which, was a reason for a lot of inappropriate behaviour when you're you're 16 or 17, just for the sake of science to see whether that shirt actually works or not. So I remember having one thinking this is really great. And so yeah, I'm sure there was an inappropriate sort of

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Yeah and I don't know if this I don't think guys were into this were guys into Bartik? No.  You were talking before about tie-dye so it was kind of similar it was a Bartik pattern that was very I don't know Southeast Asian  kind of a  pattern Bartik clothing maybe only the girls remember that. Did you get involved in the whole Bartik  scene?  I think I had I think I had my when you talked about puffy pants that made me think of it because I think the Bartik pants were quite puffy as well. a variation on the theme right?

24:30
Yes. You got your toe, you got your toe. So did you ever go down the whole fingerless gloves? I think that was hold the Madonna sort of. Yeah. Michael Jackson. Oh, no, he had a full glove. He had a full glove. It's a sequin, but this was the fingerless gloves. think it was like, was it, I don't know, was it the movie desperately seeking Susan or something? And she went in the whole fingerless glove and all of a sudden those 13 year old girls are prepubescent girls were dressing up like Madonna. Yeah.

25:00
with cone bras. you going down the shops with your mum's boots and everything going on and it was revisited then because there were all these young girls just dressing up wanting to be like their idol  and entirely inappropriate. And like Madonna  she used to wear like lots of really big pearls like big necklaces that would come  down past her waist and

25:23
there was like lots of jewellery going on for girls as well. And I think that Madonna did a lot of that. So that was, that was the thing as well. Tons of jewellery. I think if you're going to emulate someone, you were much safer doing it being probably a Bay City roller and wearing all the tartan gear back in  the 70s. We had a couple of girls across the road who were massive Bay City rollers and they had the whole  big

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carton pants and socks and scarves and a lot more demure to look like Woody or Les from Basity Rollers. Darren or whatever his name was. Don't pretend that you didn't have some. I wasn't really into them I've got to say. I told you many times it was Sean Cassidy or nowhere for me. A bit of Blathegarrett, yeah I liked him. I liked the music of the Basity Rollers but I didn't find them that attractive.

26:13
And yet not too many girls wore the two cat outfits that the girls from ABBA wore on. That's true. What about those jumpsuits, eh? Oh, well, yeah, for the guys and the girls. think the boys actually wore a jumpsuit as well. They were outrageous, some of the things that the ABBA guys actually wore. But just as outrageous, it has come back, the mullet. Oh, did it ever go? I don't think it's ever gone. I mean, was huge in the 70s.

26:42
and there's still people, I think it's come back. It's an art form now. Like in the seventies, I think it was a style thing. Now it's just an art form. You look at it you think, my gosh, even if you watch the NRL and there's some seriously bad haircuts with footballers these days, seriously bad. But the whole mullet thing has just been reinvigorated and there's certain pockets of, you know, Sydney, I guess, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane.

27:12
where these just breed a lot. The mullet rules. Yeah, the mullet rules. But back in the 70s though, my mother wouldn't have let me have dated someone with a mullet. You know, like when I was starting to date boys and stuff and if you had a mullet, it was a no-go zone. But now people with mullets are fated. They're held up to high esteem because they've got some amazing business at the front party at the back. Really? Yeah. Yeah. There's like mullet competitions. Who's got the best mullet?

27:41
and hey dude, you're rocking that mullet.  Mullets are a big thing now. Like they're looked upon favorably. Have I left my run too late? that what? I think you might've. I remember, I remember getting a haircut  and I had,  I was influenced while I was at the hairdresser and someone had suggested I have tracks  shaved into the side of my hair. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. And of course it seemed like a good idea at the time until I got home  and  not such a good idea. was like,

28:10
Your mum wasn't Not happy. No. Not happy. But anyway, it's the things that we do, the things that we do. I was talking to someone the other day and we were going through some photographs about, I don't know if you remember this, midriff tops for men. Oh, no, I'd thankfully forgotten that. But now you've, you've me. look, and a lot of them seem to have

28:38
like the American football jerseys connected with it, you know, might have number 77 or something on and just a midriff top. Now, great if you're probably, you know, 15 or 16 and can carry it at the time. Yeah. Not so good if, you know, you're just following a trend and think, yeah, no, they don't look good on certain people. Yeah. And not a good thing for like your 40 or 50 year old guy that's, you know, looking in the mirror, but not really seeing. that's right.

29:06
know but then again we're stubbies. I know we've talked about stubbies but there are a lot a lot of things that just were criminal and I think we've sort of dotted a lot of eyes and crossed a lot of teeth. have. I think we've covered it all haven't we? Haven't even got to the 90s yet. No I don't. You know. Do I even mention jelly sandals? Did you have jelly sandals? Oh no I didn't. No I didn't have a pair. They look so uncomfortable. Yeah. And I didn't want a pair.

29:31
I didn't want any shoes that drew attention to my feet because I've always had big feet.  And as a girl growing up, don't want big anything.  I  got to the 80s and put those white court shoes on. yeah. Okay. So I'll take you to a word that in the 80s, a girl didn't want big anything, whether that was hair, shoulder pads, but definitely not white court shoes, right?

29:57
or jelly shoes. Exactly, or jelly shoes.  Hey, I'm gonna go, I'm gonna get my volley pumps, see if I can sort of  create a pair for myself  and we'll talk next time. I'll go find my poncho. I'm looking for the photographs too.  See ya. Bye.  The views and opinions expressed on the Big 6O are personal and reflect those of the hosts and guests. They do not represent the views or positions of any affiliated organisations  or companies.

30:24
This podcast is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only and should not be construed as professional advice. Please consult with a qualified professional for guidance on any personal matters.

30:38
Ah, and before we go, let's give credit where credit is due. Kaylee Harris and I came up with all the genius content for this week's episode.  Our producer,  Nick Abood,  well he keeps the lights on and makes sure we don't accidentally upload a cat video instead of a podcast. thanks for keeping us on track, Nick.  Nick?  Nick?