Words by Mikelah Rose

Equally influenced by their international counterparts in the British and American music scenes and by the heavy influence of Rastafarian culture via reggae music, dancehall fashion in the 1970’s was a mix of simplicity and over-the-top suiting. While reggae was gaining popularity through the Caribbean and all over the world in 1970’s, disco and R&B were also very popular in the islands. The defining fashions of the era such as polyester suits, bell-bottom jeans, mid-drift tops for the ladies and, of course, platform shoes were all in style in Jamaica, as they were in the US and Europe.