Research into the late 70's

To research the 1970's I bought myself the 1979 August addition of the Vogue magazine. From this I could learn of the high fashion of the time, and get a feel for the era through their advertisements and the articles. Simply advertising cigarettes makes the magazine dated.  

This was the time when women were gaining more rights, yet the magazine has elements of the traditional attitude quoting; 
                                     
                            'Behind every beautiful woman there is a man.'


The magazine also includes an article on Margaret Thatcher. The article describes the disappointment at meeting her, describing the event as below par;


' The first meeting between a female head of state and a female short- to- be head of Government ought to have been a giant step for womankind, acclaimed by tumultuous crowds. But only a few mystified camera- girt Japanese were there to record the great moment.'


This article is written by a man as it seems quite alot of the magazine is. Nowadays womens magazines are primarily run by women writing gossip and fashion columns, demonstrating the vast difference between times. 


The magazine overall is concentrating on high fashion and allows me to see what the women in the play aspire to look like, as with magazines today where young girls want to look like the models in magazines, this would have been the case then, so affects my designs and the way the characters dress and act. Vogue magazines are known for their fashion forecasting so some of the clothing reflects the shoulder pad design that became fashionable in the mid to late 80's, although not to the extreme that it develops into.
This magazine supplied inspiration for most of my characters, through design but also helped me understand the news and issues of the time through the writing.