In the 1960s bell-bottoms became fashionable for both men and women in London and expanded into Europe and North America. Often made of denim, they flared out from the bottom of the calf, and had slightly curved hems.
In the 1970s, bell-bottoms moved back into mainstream fashion; Sonny and Cher helped popularize bell-bottoms in the US by wearing them on their popular television show. The pants were typically flared from the knee down, with bottom leg openings of up to twenty-six inches. Made from denim, bright cotton and satin polyester, they were so popular that they became a symbol of the outlandish and colorful style of the decade.
After the rise of punk rock in the late 1970s, bell-bottoms began to become less-fashionable as the decade drew to a close. By 1979, skin-tight trousers or 1950s-style drain pipes were much more in vogue, with bell-bottoms been seen as having had their day, remaining in fashion circa 1967-78.
These cool snapshots captured young people in bell-bottoms from the 1970s.
