How Sexy can You Get?

Dressed in a floral shirt with a sharp-edged collar, bell bottomed pants and platform shoes, our host had invited us for supper. He filled each of our glasses with wine. In contrast we sat wearing our jeans and T-shirts. This sums up the fashions of the seventies. You were either part of the disco crowd or you weren’t.

The Humble T-shirt becomes Sexy:

It wasn’t until Marlon Brando, the hunk of the 1950s, donned a white T-shirt in the movie, A Streetcar Named Desire that the T-shirt became outerwear as opposed to something your dad wore under his work shirt. One look at Marlon in that T-shirt and the women swooned. In 1955 James Dean donned a white T-shirt in Rebel Without a Cause. The women swooned again. The market for T-shirts sky rocketed and the humble T-shirt never looked back.

A Walking Bill-Board:

Who would have known that the T-shirt would evolve into a tool for self-expression. The birth of screen printing pushed the T-shirt into a whole new direction. By the 1970s, T-shirts with logos were everywhere. People living on remote islands in the South Pacific could be seen sporting T-shirts displaying Disney characters.

Jeans Become Sexy:

Marlon Brando and James Dean not only made the T-shirt a fashion statement they were instrumental in popularizing blue jeans. Another icon of the fifties was John Wayne. Wearing jeans while sitting astride his saddle he dripped with sex appeal. In the 1952 Marilyn Monroe squeezed her curvaceous bottom into a pair of jeans in the movie “Clash by Night.” It was the men’s turn to swoon.

How Sexy Can You Get?

Jeans continued to evolve through the 70s. Remember the cut-offs? We would take a pair of old jeans, clip them just above the knee and rip the bottom half off. We liked how they frayed along the bottom edge. In 1979 Catherine Bach in the TV show The Dukes of Hazzard donned a pair of what became known as “Daisy Dukes.” Instead of ripping the jeans off just above the knee she ripped them off at the crotch. I’ll bet that put the ratings up! When super model Brooke Shields at 15 downed a pair of Calvin Clines with the caption “Nothing comes between me and my Calvins, we knew that big money and big-time marketing was the order of the day. By the time our daughter began high school, designer jeans, along with their high price tag had hit the market. We were horrified to hear that some children were being bullied for wearing ordinary jeans.

How Much is Too Much for a Pair of Jeans?

In New Zealand in the 70s a stretchy pair of jeans cost the equivalent of a week’s groceries. I couldn’t resist trying on a pair but quickly put them back on the rack. Looking good is great. Eating is better!

If the Wind Blows Through, They Are Too Clean:

My Uncle Wilf, a life time prairie farmer insisted that a modest layer of dirt and grease covering his jeans added an extra barrier against the prairie wind. He jokingly said his jeans were winter-ready if they could stand up on their own. He saw jeans as utilitarian wear not as a fashion statement. The cattle could care less how sexy you looked while tossing them hay. Wilf would have been horrified to hear that jeans became so expensive that you had to mortgage the family farm to pay for a pair.

Those God-Awful Low Rise Jeans:

Finding a pair of jeans that didn’t feel like they were about to fall off was an undertaking in the 90s. I especially felt sorry for the teen-age boys. Most teen-age boys don’t bulk up until they become men. Hence, we ended up with a whole generation of teen-age boys slouching about in their hoodies wearing jeans that looked like they were about to tumble to the floor.

You’ve Come a Long Way Baby! 

Jeans in 2026:

Not only are stretchy jeans now affordable but when it comes to comfort and style, we can have our pick—skinny jeans, wide-leg, straight-leg, boot cut or flare. Evolving from utilitarian wear to rock star status, jeans remain as a staple in both work wear and fashion in the 2026.