Image via Complex Original
Sure the '80s and '90s get constant shine for producing some of the most stylish dudes and awesome trends ever, but rarely are the style icons of the 1970s given proper credit for their contributions to the game. You might think the decade was full of nothing but bellbottoms and velour, but hey, after Vietnam, everyone was trying to get down on it and have a good time and it certainly showed in the decade's most stylish guys.
As classic American sportswear established itself, the '70s also produced several new trends like punk, glam, and funk that made this one of the flyest eras ever, as well as one of the kookiest. Since it must've been tough to navigate a sea of garish get-ups, the hip cats of the times turned to these 10 Style Icons of the 1970s.
15. The Ramones
The Ramones are widely hailed as the first punk band, and their style was like none other at the time. Before these kids from Queens came along, no rock band pared it down to ripped up jeans, leather jackets, and dirty manes of hair. As they became a mainstay of CBGB's in 1974, this instantly become the de facto "rock 'n roll" look that had no predecessor but has now survived longer than disco, longer than glam, and longer than grunge.
14. Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin Van Peebles was a true badass, and dressed the part. By personally funding and also writing, producing, scoring, directing, and starring in the huge hit Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song in 1971, Van Peebles ushered in, for better or worse, the blaxploitation genre, which put swagger and flyness on the national platform - a style pioneered by the man.
Van Peebles was the first certified movie star who got there by directly taking on The Man. Huey P. Newton loved the film, and made it required viewing for all Black Panthers. Van Peebles combined a black militant look with a smooth funkiness, providing a jumping-off point for much of black fashion of the decade.
13. Robert Redford
Splitting his time between Hollywood, NYC, and the Wild West, Robert Redford created a style in the '70s that was all his own. His look was at times polished, and he definitely sported the big collars, lapels, and ties preferred by powerful men of the time. But he also incorporated into his clothes a significant rugged mountain man element from the immense amount of time he spent in the wilds of Utah.
As a guy in the spotlight who looked like he could go from climbing a mountain straight to a swanky soiree, Redford was setting the bar for men who wanted to combine form and function in their clothing. If only his icon status stuck around long enough to see the likes of Nike Sportswear, Isaora, and Outlier.
12. Bruce Lee
Even though the most famous image of Bruce Lee is him shirtless with slashes across his stomach and chest, his style kicked as much ass off the screen as he did on-screen. Lee was instrumental in changing the perception of Asians in mainstream media, and he did the same with the notion of how Asian cats could dress. Whether he was chillin' in athletic gear or strapped up in lavish suiting that was typical of the era, Lee proved that he could hang with the big boys both on set and in terms of steez. Consider him the first Asian-American style icon.
11. Paul Newman
Similar to Steve McQueen, Paul Newman was another one of Hollywood's leading men in the '70s who embodied a classic American aesthetic before the notion even really existed. Printed shirts, turtlenecks under blazers, and a pre-NASCAR racing look were all ways in which the actor furthered the idea of being well-dressed without ever being stuffy or too formal - the very notion of American sportswear in relation to a more European tight-assness. McQueen was Newman's good friend, but they were also professional rivals in Tinseltown, and it seems like they're also chief competitors in Tumblr presence on the feeds of menswear nerds.
10. Barry White
Incredibly, Barry White was initially reluctant to start up a solo singing career. Luckily for numerous dudes in the '70s, his music ended up becoming a crucial assist when it came to wooing women, and his magnificently larger-than-life style and immaculately coiffed hair were signifiers of a decade that was known for its excess.
If you thought you knew what the big lapels of the 1970s were all about, check out how over-the-top Barry's lapels became as he achieved iconic status. As a big man, Barry had a lot to work with, and preferred luxurious furs, velvets, and the grandest collars possible. While he sang "Can't get enough of your love" to the ladies, smooth dudes of the decade couldn't get enough of his style.
9. Dennis Hopper
As the star and director of Easy Rider in 1969 in a role that made one critic say "no other persona better signifies the lost idealism of the 1960s than that of Dennis Hopper," the star was on everyone's radar in the '70s. Between this huge role at the beginning of the decade and his attention-grabbing performance in 1979's Apocalypse Now, Hopper strutted around Hollywood in rebel Western garb that originated during his upbringing in Kansas and Missouri.
The urban cowboy aesthetic was hugely popular in the late '70s and early '80s, and Hopper was definitely one of the main catalysts for this nationwide trend. We wouldn't recommend rocking cowboy hats in 2013, but back then Hopper was mining a look that was unique and naturally worked for him, and Western gear is definitely having its moment again. If you can look as good as this OG, then go for it.
8. Sid Vicious
While The Ramones may have invented punk rock, the Sex Pistols took it to its extreme, and no one acted or dressed the part more than bassist Sid Vicious. Before joining the Sex Pistols, Sid used to hang out at a clothing shop called SEX, owned by future band manager Malcolm McLaren and designer Vivienne Westwood. It was here that he met his future bandmates and developed a style that matched the filth and the fury that defined the Sex Pistols.
And lucky he did, since his bass skills were not at the level of his bandmates, and it was his image alone that propped him up as a punk rocker. Vicious was committed to his look 'til the very end, when his suicide note read, "Please bury me next to my baby in my leather jacket, jeans and motorcycle boots."
7. Steve McQueen
If you're known as The King of Cool, chances are pretty good that you're a style icon. While Steve McQueen first made a name for himself in the 1960s, it was in the '70s that he secured his signature anti-hero cool as he turned away from Hollywood superstardom to focus on racing his motorcycles and touring the country in his mobile home.
McQueen could seemingly make any garment look cool, from the leather berets that will probably never see life after the '70s to suede bombers and Barracuda jackets that he helped cement as timeless garments. If you're still unsure of his icon-status, just cruise through Tumblr to see the proliferation of #menswear nerd love that McQueen receives on the daily. Yeah, we thought so.
6. Walt Frazier
While we may laud the stylish gains of current NBA stars, none of them even come close to the level Walt Frazier was on at the time of his NBA supremacy in the 1970s. When he wasn't leading the Knicks to their only two championships in 1970 and 1973, the seven-time all-star was also one of the city's most fashionable members.
Frazier was even given the nickname "Clyde" because of hats he wore that were similar to ones Warren Beatty wore as the stylish outlaw Clyde Barrow in the film Bonnie & Clyde. Frazier dominated the game from the backcourt, but it was his hats, furs, bellbottoms, and fashion-forward looks that allowed him to dominate the sport's style.
5. Marvin Gaye
Chances are you have this man to thank for either being conceived or getting some ass of your own. And it wasn't just his voice that made this man perhaps the most recognizable sex symbol on the planet; guys who copied his style back in the day definitely got jiggy.
Gaye perfected what we would now call vintage American style by frequently rocking denim on denim and knitted hats, but he would also occasionally rock opulent pieces like the pictured leather jacket with fur trimming. Even though his life was taken prematurely, Marvin Gaye created a whole new sensual sound that still influences today, along with a personal style that people still look back on for inspiration.
4. David Bowie
Glam rock reared its flamboyant head in the early 1970s, and David Bowie was the vanguard of this movement that filled the void after the Beatles' break-up in 1970. He found immediate success while wearing insane outfits that adorned the glam character Ziggy Stardust - a rock 'n roll star from outer space. Even though glam rock and its frontman Ziggy were both huge successes, Bowie ditched the make-up and the glitter in both style and sound, and transformed himself with slick British tailored suiting. Bowie would continue to re-conceive both his sound and his manner of dress, but the '70s were the decade he went from one extreme to the other without missing a beat.
3. Curtis Mayfield
Widely credited for pioneering funk and politically conscious African-American music, Curtis Mayfield also paved the way for funky-fresh style that developed from the psychedelic steez of the '60s. His music was meant to inform and educate, and his very unique style did the same. The OG SuperFly had a style that was equal parts soul, funk, and hippie. There are definite influences from the 1960s, but you'd be a turkey to think that this dude didn't directly inspire style in the '70s, '80s, and beyond.
2. James Brown
Adding to all his monikers - The Godfather of Soul; The Hardest Working Man in Show Business; Soul Brother No. 1 - James Brown is now known as a serious style icon of the 1970s. His initial commercial breakthrough came in the previous decade, but it was in the '70s that he earned his nickname titles and his musical dominance and incredible style took off.
JB is undoubtedly one of the most entertaining frontmen of all time, and his wardrobe was on par with his unique dancing and off-stage fast lifestyle. As a founding father of funk, it's pretty obvious that his wardrobe had to be at a level beyond what anyone else was doing at the time, inspiring copycats and imitators for years to come.
1. Mick Jagger
As quite possibly the greatest frontman of all time for quite possibly the greatest rock 'n roll band of all time, it is no surprise that Mick Jagger was a huge style icon. Even though his career has spanned more than 50 years, it is the 1970s in which Jagger set a very high bar in style that very few others could achieve. Even today, there are very few frontmen who can claim their moves and style don't invoke Jagger.
Set in contrast to the relatively tame Beatles, the Rolling Stones entered the '70s as dirty androgynous weirdos who were led by Mick and despised by anyone who believed in sex-less decency. But as they dominated the sounds of rock infused by the genres of blues, disco, and glam, Mick also developed a sense of style that touched on all these subcultures to create the archetype of rockstar. Essentially, Mick invented the notion of swagger.