Why Everyone Wore Gaucho Pants in 1971 (And Why They Are Back)

🔗 How We Used To Dress, My Complete Illustrated Collection: 📗 https://clarasamericanattic.com I go through the history of gaucho pants and explain why this wide, calf-length trouser took over women's wardrobes in 1971, and why it is showing up on racks again this year. In this video I trace the gaucho from its roots as working gear for horsemen on the Argentine and Uruguayan pampas through decades of American culottes, right up to the exact 1970 fashion issue where the shape got its name in the United States. I walk through why the midi skirt revolt, changing office dress codes, and the boot craze of the early 1970s all lined up to make this one trouser the answer to three separate problems at once. I also cover its decline by the mid-1970s, its brief 2000s revival in jersey knit, and its return this year on brands from Eileen Fisher to Chanel, along with practical ways to tell a true gaucho from a culotte just by looking at the seam. What's covered in this video: - I start by defining what a gaucho actually is, a wide-legged trouser cut full from the hip that stops around mid-calf, and I explain why it reads as a skirt when standing still and trousers when walking. - I trace the name back to the gauchos, the horsemen of the pampas, and describe their working garments, the bombacha, the chiripá, and the faja sash. - I show how the divided skirt and culotte were already being sold for campus, kitchen, and tennis wear decades before the word gaucho was used, including a 1937 advertisement and 1955 and 1960 culotte listings. - I cover the 1970 midi skirt revolt, including the Louis Harris poll for Virginia Slims and the protest groups FADD and POOFF, and how retailers were left holding mid-calf stock that same season. - I point to the August 30, 1970 issue of New York Times Magazine, where Anne Klein showed gauchos in grey flannel, and I explain why that fabric choice matters. - I read through the January 13, 1971 North Texas State University memo on "Propriety of Pants in the Office" and match its rules almost word for word to the gaucho silhouette. - I explain the boot rule, why Dingo and Frye tall leather boots were paired with gauchos in every catalogue photo from the era, and why the hem length only worked with a boot underneath. - I break down the fabrics used, wool flannel, crepe, cotton, denim, and especially corduroy, and why weight in the cloth made the wide leg hang correctly. - I go through home sewing patterns from 1971, including Vogue Patterns' "Everything About Sewing Pants and Jumpsuits," McCall's 2721, and Simplicity 9538, and use them to settle the difference between a gaucho and a culotte at the front seam. - I follow the gaucho's decline by the mid-1970s, when critics said the mid-calf hem broke the line of the leg, and I show how flares and full pantsuits replaced it. 00:00 The Trousers On The Rail 00:19 Pull Up The Footstool 01:03 One Sentence To Hold 01:23 What Makes A Gaucho 01:41 The Stride Test 01:59 Where The Name Came From 02:21 Bombachas And The Sash 02:42 A Long Way To Manhattan 02:59 The Divided Skirt 03:22 Campus And Kitchen 03:41 Pants Had A Place 04:02 A Singer In Gauchos 04:23 The Midi Of Nineteen Seventy 04:42 Women Said No 05:02 Scissors At The Store 05:24 The Trade Gives In 05:45 Anne Klein's Flannel 06:06 Same Length, Different Answer 06:25 Mass Market By Christmas 06:43 Propriety Of Pants 07:03 What The Memo Allowed 07:22 Loose Was The Rule 07:41 One University, Many Offices 08:02 The Workplace Alternative 08:23 Sitting Down At Last 08:43 Where The Boot Comes In 09:01 Boots At Their Height 09:20 The Hem Meets The Boot 09:37 A Rule For The Boot 09:54 Dingo Boots 10:15 Vests, Boleros And Hats 10:46 Not A Costume 11:05 The Fabrics 11:25 Corduroy Gauchos 11:45 The Sewing Table 12:03 Vogue's Pants Booklet 12:23 Pleats Or No Pleats 12:43 The Seam Tells The Truth 13:00 McCall's Twenty Seven Twenty One 13:19 Mothers And Daughters 13:40 Why It Was Easy To Sew 13:57 Tell Me About Yours 14:14 On The Catalogue Page 14:31 Denim Gauchos 14:48 The Hostess Gaucho 15:07 From Office To Living Room 15:27 Why It Faded 15:45 The Line Of The Leg 16:05 When The Boots Changed 16:22 Heavier Boots By 1976 16:44 What Took Its Place 17:04 Diana Ross Kept Them 17:24 The Blur Of Nineteen Seventy Seven 17:45 Honest Limits 18:04 Thirty Years Asleep 18:21 The First Comeback 18:39 Jersey Changes Everything 18:57 Faded Again 19:14 This Summer's Rails 19:32 Who Is Selling Them 19:51 What They Are Made Of Now 20:12 The Hem Today 20:29 Fifty Five Years Apart 20:51 You Need One Piece 21:09 Check The Front 21:26 Weight In The Cloth 21:47 Buying An Old Pair 22:08 A Word On Price 22:28 So Why Nineteen Seventy One 22:49 One Garment Answered All Three 23:08 And Why It Is Back 23:29 Funny In Photographs 23:47 Something For This Week 24:06 Your Gauchos 24:28 The Box By The Window