Fantastic post! Oh my. The good old days. In 1971, when I was 15, I saved money from my after school/Saturday job to buy a pair of powder blue corduroy shorts - I hated the term hot pants even then - with pink patch pockets. I also spent my money on a subscription to Ms. magazine, still quite young in 1971. I hated being whistled at but I wanted to wear what I chose. Never heard of these contests because we didn’t live in the continental U.S.
Thank you, Elizabeth! The totality of your experiences seems to perfectly capture the overall flavor of those times. Hot pants AND a subscription to Ms. Magazine? Wearing short shorts but hating being catcalled? Check and check. Authenticity certainly doesn't mean one-note, something I think a lot of people were grappling with as hot pants swamped the nation.
What I would have called "hip huggers" back in the day, red and white of course, flared, draw-string tie, with the damn Coca-Cola logo and "IT'S THE REAL THING" plastered all over (and I mean ALL over) them. For both men (supposedly straight) and women.
Time for our first giveaway here at Project 3.18. The cover image for this piece came from a 16-page instructional booklet called "Hot Pants to Knit or Crochet." Given the baseball theming I simply had to use it and I bought the .pdf to make it easier to use.
After I came in second-place in an espadrille-making contest thirteen years ago, I vowed never again to craft clothing with my hands, so unfortunately I have no use for "HPtKoC" at this point. If anyone would like this digital copy, send us an email at project318@substack.com and the first we receive will get a response with their prize!
I was 13 in 1971 and my family had just moved from New England to Atlanta in February that year. I don’t remember the Braves’ promotion but I do remember watching the Miss Georgia pageant on TV in 1971; it featured a number called “Pretty Miss Hot Pants” and kept my whole family convulsed with laughter! In the fall I attended a homecoming dance and wore a very dressy hot pants outfit which I got at Saks Fifth Ave. it had teal velveteen hot pants with a purple and teal “popcorn” material top attached. It actually was very tasteful considering it had hot pants! Lol! I did wear pantyhose.
Thank you for sharing this! My understanding is that velveteen is a perfect fabric for hot pants, and teal is teal, then and now--timeless. The things I find myself learning to write about baseball.
I do think the Braves probably felt they'd come out too early on HPN and were ashamed of it, so it got buried. Only when Charlie filled most of a very-large stadium did the dollar signs erase any reservations of taste.
Fantastic post! Oh my. The good old days. In 1971, when I was 15, I saved money from my after school/Saturday job to buy a pair of powder blue corduroy shorts - I hated the term hot pants even then - with pink patch pockets. I also spent my money on a subscription to Ms. magazine, still quite young in 1971. I hated being whistled at but I wanted to wear what I chose. Never heard of these contests because we didn’t live in the continental U.S.
Thank you, Elizabeth! The totality of your experiences seems to perfectly capture the overall flavor of those times. Hot pants AND a subscription to Ms. Magazine? Wearing short shorts but hating being catcalled? Check and check. Authenticity certainly doesn't mean one-note, something I think a lot of people were grappling with as hot pants swamped the nation.
Not a lot of people, alas. Women’s Lib was considered crazy, as was asking to be called Ms. Really enjoyed this post!
I can't get enough of this outside-the-lines history of our once and future national pastime. Keep up the great work, Paul.
Sadly, I remember Coca Cola beach pants. Not me (and I never owned a Nehru jacket, either) but I remember them (at a lake, not a beach).
Describe them for us, Mike! Not all of us were on that lake. I know I could look it up but that just seems less fun.
What I would have called "hip huggers" back in the day, red and white of course, flared, draw-string tie, with the damn Coca-Cola logo and "IT'S THE REAL THING" plastered all over (and I mean ALL over) them. For both men (supposedly straight) and women.
They were a thing. But no pockets, so screw that.
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/beach-pants-coca-cola-vintage-1971-ad-poster-63-c-739477ab12
Bravo, Mike! I hope it's okay if I include this in a round-up of reader contributions from this week.
Goodness those were ugly.
Butt-ugly for sure, and yeah, include away!
Time for our first giveaway here at Project 3.18. The cover image for this piece came from a 16-page instructional booklet called "Hot Pants to Knit or Crochet." Given the baseball theming I simply had to use it and I bought the .pdf to make it easier to use.
After I came in second-place in an espadrille-making contest thirteen years ago, I vowed never again to craft clothing with my hands, so unfortunately I have no use for "HPtKoC" at this point. If anyone would like this digital copy, send us an email at project318@substack.com and the first we receive will get a response with their prize!
P.S. as I recall now, I think that pageant number was called “Pretty Little Hot Pants.”
I was 13 in 1971 and my family had just moved from New England to Atlanta in February that year. I don’t remember the Braves’ promotion but I do remember watching the Miss Georgia pageant on TV in 1971; it featured a number called “Pretty Miss Hot Pants” and kept my whole family convulsed with laughter! In the fall I attended a homecoming dance and wore a very dressy hot pants outfit which I got at Saks Fifth Ave. it had teal velveteen hot pants with a purple and teal “popcorn” material top attached. It actually was very tasteful considering it had hot pants! Lol! I did wear pantyhose.
Thank you for sharing this! My understanding is that velveteen is a perfect fabric for hot pants, and teal is teal, then and now--timeless. The things I find myself learning to write about baseball.
I do think the Braves probably felt they'd come out too early on HPN and were ashamed of it, so it got buried. Only when Charlie filled most of a very-large stadium did the dollar signs erase any reservations of taste.