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Thursday, May 24, 2012

CULTURE

Style Stalking: '70s Cher

Cher

Cher returns to Los Angeles from her Cleveland tour, 1977 (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage); Cher in a poncho, 1973 (Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images)

Lingerie as outwear. Headdresses. Bodysuit and fishnets for day. Bandeau bikini for evening. Bare midriff anytime. Cher's fashion has been there, done that. She didn’t push fashion boundaries; Cher invented them. Does she straddle the precarious line between good and bad taste? Sure. Do we care? No. Because unlike some of today’s self-serious pop stars (a few with solo monikers themselves, but no need for name calling here) Cher is self-aware—and often tongue-in-cheek. She's also an expert at transformation—Cher's evolution from '60s mod to boho hippie to big-haired glamazon, biker, Goth and everything in between is worthy of admiration and has kept us riveted for decades.

Not one to rest on her laurels, Cher has tackled Broadway, music, television, and film, accumulating numerous Golden Globes, a Grammy, an Emmy and an Oscar along the way. This year she added another notch to her trophy belt with a Golden Globe for Best Original Song from her new film "Burlesque." The song also gives Cher bragging rights as the first artist to reach a number one on the Billboard charts for six decades straight. And at 64, Cher shows no signs of slowing down. Though her two-year run at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas comes to a close this Saturday, she will soon embark on a world tour.

But let’s get back to Cher's fashion.

Before the sheer bodysuits, the chains, the garters, the wigs, the leather and the eventual nips and tucks there was Cher, the girl from California, born Cherilyn Sarkisian, who spent portions of her childhood in a foster home and never finished high school. Yet Cher managed not just to survive, but also to thrive, and to continually titillate the most fickle of industries.

As part of the Sonny and Cher duo in the 1960s, Cher sported beatnik bangs, baby doll dresses and bellbottoms—a signature look that record producers and fashion photographers adored. By the 1970s, the look gave way to lavish, usually risqué stage costumes compliments of top fashion designer Bob Mackie, who still designs for Cher and will costume her forthcoming tour. Throughout that decade, Cher dazzled us on stage and off with her showgirl-meets-cowgirl style, adding heavy doses of Native American Indian style and disco diva into the mix. She could rock an afro with a printed maxi dress and platforms or leave her long black locks natural and parted down the middle while donning head-to-toe Navajo leather accented with pounds of turquoise and a sun-kissed California glow.

So although we loved Cher with Sonny in groovy matching getups and later with her edgy Silkwood shag, it’s the 70’s look of Cher, thanks to a fashion runway season heavily influenced by that decadent decade, that feels right, right now. 

Shop eBay for Cher Style

Roll over items for details
NEW Foley and Corinna White Snake Bag
(buy it now price, $525)
Zuni Turquoise Necklace
(buy it now price, $850)
NEW Mara Hoffman Silk Maxi Dress
(buy it now price, $206.10))
NEW Seven for Mankind Jeans
(buy it now price, $79)
Copper Rox Upper Arm Bracelet Kim Craftsmen
(buy it now price, $28.95)
NEW Norma Kamali Keyhole Bandeau Maillot
(buy it now price $18.99)
NEW Sigerson Morrison Wedge Sandals
(buy it now price, $279)
1970’s Marwitz Zeiss Sunglasses
(buy it now price, $143.65)
Style Stalking: '70s Cher

 

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