Dusty

My husband and I have a term that encompasses all things earthy, western, brown, and 70’s – “dusty”.  The term “dusty” covers quite a bit and can be applied as a descriptor for people, styles, and elements of pop culture from the 70’s, as well as, the rebirth of the western-DIY-wilderness-pioneer -chic  which has surfaced in places like Portland, Seattle, and New York in recent years.


Dusty in the 70’s

There was a weird obsession with “country” in the 70’s.  The sphere of country was vast in that it included all things western, southern, pioneer, and the back-to-the-land.  In addition, pop culture at the time did not seem to make distinctions between the different factions of country as seen in TV shows like the Duke’s of Hazzard  or movies like Smokey and the Bandit– you have Southern friend hicks styled as western cowboys. 

This certainly qualifies as "dusty”.  

Dukes of Hazzard



Smokey and the Bandit



Allman Brothers



John Denver

In addition, you had the Earth Shoe-wearing, sprout eating, pure country types like John Denver which was almost a hippie-western crossover.  Throw in the popularity of spaghetti westerns (which border on psychedelic), shows like Little House on the Prairie, and the rise of Southern Rock via Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, and we are literally covered in dust.


Dusty in the 10's
Over the last few years, in urban communities like Brooklyn, Portland, and Seattle, interest in all things made by or with your hands has dominated the style scene.  This sensibility has lead to a hearkening for a simpler time, a more analog time, a time when craftsmanship was valued above mass production.  We see this reflected in places like artisan food movements, boutique brewing and distilling operations, the DIY and vintage fashion movement, gardening and food-raising, the new wave of folk rock bands, etc.  Low and behold, we have a new era of ”dusty” . 

Bands like Spindrift, Fleetfoxes, and the Moondoggies pull from the 70’s folk and southern rock sensibility. 


Moondoggies



Spindrift



Fleet Foxes






Beardos are everywhere and the men’s fashion in particular has a beatnik-meets hippie- meets southern rocker mix.  People are driving 70’s “super-vans”, if not their bikes.  Almost everyone I know is raising their own chickens and trying to move off of the energy grid.  No, the dust has not settled, but instead, it has reformed itself in a new era.





Super Van



Dusty Hipsters



The GTO's

I love reading Pamela Des Barre's books about being a rock groupie in the 60's and 70's.  Her stories are so much fun and you always learn something new about the rock gods of the time.  She and some other groupies started their own girl-group in the late 60's called the GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously ), under the watchful tutelage of Frank Zappa.  A mix of theatrics, singing, and dance were staples of their act. Their only album, Permanent Damage (Straight Records), was produced in 1969 

Their collective talent didn't result to much, but they sure were fun to look at.  I love their crazy get-ups - lace and chiffon, Victorian details, outrageous make-up.  Fashion is so boring these days.

Honky Tonk Wig Out

I have been obsessed with listening to my Loretta Lynn inspired station on Pandora lately.  The late 60's and early 70's was such a wild years for country music - the ladies reigned supreme and were enjoying their new found freedoms through the women's liberation movement.  Part of this was reflected in the more sexulaized images these singers manifested.  And, there were wigs - very, very big wigs - with curls, and bumps, and falls.  God, those were the days - where you could wear a wig, everyone knew it was a wig, and you were all the more glamorous for doing so.  Here are a few of my favorites:





Tammy Wynette

Autumn on Acid

Anyone who knows me knows that I love psychedelia.  The crazy swirling colors must appeal to my inner child or something.  I also used to love spinning myself dizzy in my dad's office chair as a kid, so let's just say that I have always had a penchant for "altered states".  I highlighted this love affair in another Etsy treasury called Tripping Through the Leaves: http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c9aa292f3d86d91465e6c95/tripping-through-the-leaves?index=0 

Some of my favorite items from the collection:


Abstract Op Art fitted
Ski jacket by ReallyTruly





Rising Sun Belt by viciouscyclevintage



60's wig case from vintagemimosette





Vintage Computer Geek Porn

I was originally looking for photos for a post about hairstyles in academia (the world in which I work) and came across this little beauty.  I could not resist, I had to share.  It's looks like an early 1970's honky tonk angel caressing a state-of-the-art-for-the-time first-generation home computer on the floor of a random office somewhere.  Perhaps that's what admin assistants used to look like and that would be the new fangled digi-box that they converted to after the death of the typewriter.  What was the premise for this photo?  I can only wonder.  And don't get me started on the two-toned hair - it's just too much!