70s
Sophomore Year - 1975
When did you ask your date, and how? I asked her when we were home for Spring Break. She was a good friend from Raleigh where I grew up. We are still good friends and she married my best childhood friend.
Do you remember the timeline of the weekend? Her parents brought her up Friday and we went to the Wharf in Olde Towne for supper. That Saturday after class, we went into DC and went to the Hirshhorn and National Gallery, since she was an artist. Her parents were very cool and we got to make out a little! We were great friends and still laugh about it.
Do you remember what you wore? It was casual that year.
What was the music like? They had a band called the Fabulous Thunderbirds who were a blues rock band.
Jim Clardy ‘78
Harry Archer ‘78
The evolution of the “Finals Dress”
30s
looks like something out of a debutante club
very elegant
drop waists were very popular
fitted waist with a full skirt
“tea length” dresses, meaning it fell around 3-4 inches below the knee
gloves
flowier dresses
empire waist became popular
Formal dress style changed every year, with the most notable changes being in the 60s, while the sexual revolution went underway. Due to these social norms changing, the skirts got shorter, and more legs were bare. The dress code continued to stay strict, but got more lenient in these new times. From Debutante-style gowns to more trendy, shorter dresses, here is a look-book on the evolution of the Finals dress.
40s
50s
60s
70s
since Gone with the Wind had come out in 1939, many styles of dresses reflected the “Victorian” style
shoulders covered - large puff sleeves
full skirts
shoulders OUT!
dresses are noticeably shorter
lots of stockings
slim-fit dress
