Shifts in society

Spoff

Another post on the board got me thinking.

I was born in the late 70's, so never actually saw any of the 60's

But when I watch Connery's Bond films, I am always stunned by the elegance and style of the era. Everything just looks great and far more stylish than nowadays. People dressed better just on a day to day basis (no arses hanging out of ill fitting jeans here).

Guys made an effort back then but were still "men's men" so to speak. The main attire was a suit, usually a hat as well. People in general seemed more refined and better behaved towards each other.

Maybe it's just me?

I would love to hear some real-life input from anyone who was around during the Connery Bond era.

Barbel

Around, but a schoolboy. Certainly men wore suits more than they do now.

Thunderpussy

As a kid I remember my Dad and men of the era, putting on suits just to
Go for a drink of an evening.

AlphaOmegaSin

Some old Fashions are coming back nowadays -{

hehadlotsofguts

Bond slapping women around to get information was acceptable during the 60's and seventies. You wouldn't get away with it now.

Peppermill

I heard someone say something about smartphones today that touches on this as well.

"There are a lot more opportunities to be rude today than there were 20 years ago."

Barbel

Smoking was a lot more common, cars less so, and food a lot less varied.

AlphaOmegaSin

The Driving License was only introduced because Cars were becoming more popular.

M 'n' M

I was a young 'un in the 60s but well remember my grandad and grandpa wearing their sunday-best suits for special occasions. This wasn't a sixties thing but a continuation of how society classed men's style through the 20th century - think Fred Astaire in the 30s and Cary grant in the 40s and 50s

In that sense Connery was lucky to be bond at the tail end of the fashion for sharp cut suits. The end of the 60s brought a more outrageous style leading to the horror of the 70s - wide lapels, platform shoes, flares, tank tops

Put it this way Roger Moore looked great as the saint and often awful as bond. Same actor, different styles

Thunderpussy

I also think drinking has become more a part of people's lives. As I can
Remember the time if someone was drinking during the day, they would
Have been talked about. As maybe having a problem !

AlphaOmegaSin

Cider down the Park on a Friday Evening when your 14 *ahem* ;% )

Thunderpussy

) oh, I did that too, but in secret, if my parents had caught me, I'd
Have gotten Hell over it! . Although I was more like 16 or 17.

Charmed & Dangerous

IMO drinking is less prevalent now - back in the 70s, Pubs were packed, with 'regulars' drinking there every night. Nowadays most pubs here are empty in the week - it's only bars which are busy on Friday nights.

There have been some seismic shifts in society in the last 40 years. Back in the 70s, you couldn't swear on TV - but the racism was horrendous. Thankfully now it's reversed: more inclusive communities are the norm, but there's plenty of imaginative and colourful swearing.

Re the clothes - that pared- back, slim-fit minimalist style really pioneered in the 50s and ran through to the early 60s, mostly because they were frugal times and men were no longer wearing that baggily cut 'de-mob' suits after the war. That minimalist style resurfaced in the 80s and again in more recent times - long may it continue. -{

Thunderpussy

The racism in those old programmes is cringe worthy, when you see them today,
On old repeats. The sexism though is still around, if you listen to the material
Of some younger " lads" comedians they are just as sexist as those old comedians,
Worse in fact as they can now do routines about rape etc.

AlphaOmegaSin

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

IMO drinking is less prevalent now - back in the 70s, Pubs were packed, with 'regulars' drinking there every night. Nowadays most pubs here are empty in the week - it's only bars which are busy on Friday nights.

There have been some seismic shifts in society in the last 40 years. Back in the 70s, you couldn't swear on TV - but the racism was horrendous. Thankfully now it's reversed: more inclusive communities are the norm, but there's plenty of imaginative and colourful swearing.

Re the clothes - that pared- back, slim-fit minimalist style really pioneered in the 50s and ran through to the early 60s, mostly because they were frugal times and men were no longer wearing that baggily cut 'de-mob' suits after the war. That minimalist style resurfaced in the 80s and again in more recent times - long may it continue. -{

I was born in 1991, but the looking at Pictures from the 80's it's easy to see how Fashion from that Decade looks cringe worthy nowadays )

Peppermill

So does fashion from the 90's (and for that matter, so will the suits in Skyfall in a few years).

Spoff

Whoa...The guy in the blue jacket knows he looks a c*ck. Even at the time!

Gassy Man

AlphaOmegaSin wrote:

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

IMO drinking is less prevalent now - back in the 70s, Pubs were packed, with 'regulars' drinking there every night. Nowadays most pubs here are empty in the week - it's only bars which are busy on Friday nights.

There have been some seismic shifts in society in the last 40 years. Back in the 70s, you couldn't swear on TV - but the racism was horrendous. Thankfully now it's reversed: more inclusive communities are the norm, but there's plenty of imaginative and colourful swearing.

Re the clothes - that pared- back, slim-fit minimalist style really pioneered in the 50s and ran through to the early 60s, mostly because they were frugal times and men were no longer wearing that baggily cut 'de-mob' suits after the war. That minimalist style resurfaced in the 80s and again in more recent times - long may it continue. -{

I was born in 1991, but the looking at Pictures from the 80's it's easy to see how Fashion from that Decade looks cringe worthy nowadays )

Early 80s fashion was actually a lot like now, which is to say heavily influenced by the early to mid 60s. If you were hip, you wore jackets with thin lapels and skinny ties, pants that were straight at the cuffs, and oxford shoes. Suede was actually in, and shirts had small collars, with the spread collar being popular. Tie bars and cuff links made a brief comeback.

By the mid 80s, this had given over to the looks that most people think about when they think about the 80s -- the Michael Jackson and Miami Vice influences, the neon blues, pinks, and yellows, the shoulder pads, and later the gray power suits and two-tone shirts. Boat shoes, which have come back today, were big, though they were brown and not blue or pink like you see now.

By the late 80s, things had gotten pretty baggy, including khakis and jeans, and acid wash and button fly jeans were in, with lighter blues favored over darker ones. The miniskirt made a big comeback, as did the jean jacket and tie dye T-shirts.

Every decade will look silly in the decade that follows. The whole hipster thing looking like a costume in the first place notwithstanding, the shaved head/flat hair, tatted-up, face-ringed, no shoulder, and ultra skinny looks of the period we are now in are bound to be lampooned for years to come.

AlphaOmegaSin

I agree ) I've always personally worn Skateboarding Stuff, but I'll probably look back in ten Years and cringe

Lady Rose

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

IMO drinking is less prevalent now - back in the 70s, Pubs were packed, with 'regulars' drinking there every night. Nowadays most pubs here are empty in the week - it's only bars which are busy on Friday nights.

I would disagree with this. People drink more, but they just drink at home as opposed to going out. Why go out when you can buy a pleasant enough bottle of wine for £5 to take home, when it costs about £6 for a glass in a pub/restaurant ?? Women inparticular have increased their drinking.Youngsters 'pre-load' before they go out and hit the clubs because its so much cheaper to drink at home.

I don think drinking is less prevalent now at all.


Going back to the 60's in particular, older members of the family talk about flying as being something special in those days and everyone dressed up to fly as opposed to now where its 'comfy' clothes

Blackleiter

Thunderpussy wrote:

The racism in those old programmes is cringe worthy, when you see them today,
On old repeats. The sexism though is still around, if you listen to the material
Of some younger " lads" comedians they are just as sexist as those old comedians,
Worse in fact as they can now do routines about rape etc.

You're absolutely right, TP. {[]

AlphaOmegaSin

Lady Rose wrote:

Charmed & Dangerous wrote:

IMO drinking is less prevalent now - back in the 70s, Pubs were packed, with 'regulars' drinking there every night. Nowadays most pubs here are empty in the week - it's only bars which are busy on Friday nights.

I would disagree with this. People drink more, but they just drink at home as opposed to going out. Why go out when you can buy a pleasant enough bottle of wine for £5 to take home, when it costs about £6 for a glass in a pub/restaurant ?? Women inparticular have increased their drinking.Youngsters 'pre-load' before they go out and hit the clubs because its so much cheaper to drink at home.

I don think drinking is less prevalent now at all.


Going back to the 60's in particular, older members of the family talk about flying as being something special in those days and everyone dressed up to fly as opposed to now where its 'comfy' clothes

Me and the OH just Drink in.

Charmed & Dangerous

Perhaps I should have said, "Drinking in pubs" is less prevalent now - however people have always drunk at home, my parents had a drink most days at home as did most of their friends. So I'm not sure it's any worse now than it was.

CmdrAtticus

Spoff wrote:

Another post on the board got me thinking.

I was born in the late 70's, so never actually saw any of the 60's

But when I watch Connery's Bond films, I am always stunned by the elegance and style of the era. Everything just looks great and far more stylish than nowadays. People dressed better just on a day to day basis (no arses hanging out of ill fitting jeans here).

Guys made an effort back then but were still "men's men" so to speak. The main attire was a suit, usually a hat as well. People in general seemed more refined and better behaved towards each other.

Maybe it's just me?

I would love to hear some real-life input from anyone who was around during the Connery Bond era.

I was born when Fleming was writing the novels. Yes, people in general, even teenagers at that time dressed conservatively and neatly. There was always a "fringe" element in society - the motorcycle "rebel" and "beatnick" culture, but it was never the dominant style. However, after decades of conservative dress and thought, the youth of the sixties started the worldwide cultural revolution and rebelled against the conservative adults through their music and dress and protests. The pros of the revolution was a change in attitude towards racism, sexism and the questioning of any authority (which as it turned out was very corrupt in many ways). The cons of the revolution was when the youth threw out a lot of good moral order (and any assemblance of clothing or hair style over the fashion of the moment). With that they became more aware of civil rights but at same time allowed drugs and organized crime to flourish.

As with all revolutions, the positive aspects of the old order (dressing well, respect for others in manners and communication) was destroyed along with the negative aspects. We never really recovered as a society in many ways which is why I can't go anywhere in a public place and not hear graphic profanity and not see graphic tattoos, or not watch TV without seeing graphic, violent images advertised during the day or see people wearing their pajamas and flip flops on my air flights.

I really miss the days when people dressed as much out of respect for others as they did out of respect for themselves and when courtesy was the norm, even if it was at times only on the surface.

I have always actually been glad Fleming did not live to see these aspects of society rot away as it has and that he was able to live and create Bond before it all fell apart.

chrisisall

I was a kid in the 60's & 70's and I have to say ALL common clothing styles have been ridiculous all along for both men & women all through the decades.
Anything you can't run in, kick in, or easily climb over a fence in is and always has been useless transitory fashion victim mentality.
Bruce Lee in Game of Death. Now that was style I can live (and move) with.

AlphaOmegaSin

)

Charmed & Dangerous

chrisisall wrote:

I was a kid in the 60's & 70's and I have to say ALL common clothing styles have been ridiculous all along for both men & women all through the decades.

+1, chrisisall -{