Go look at any advertisement or any Hollywood movie, all of the white people were very tanned, almost orange in color. Does this have something to do with the autumn/earth toned color palette and the wooden aesthetic?

I think it has to do with the technology back then.

Not only that, but to me the 70s seemed very hairy and dirty.  Looking back on it mostly, but I do remember a little of it.  Also in these rural parts the 70s held out well into the early 80s.

It could be because being tanned was considered attractive then, and it was not widely known then medically that too much time in the sun (or tanning beds) is very dangerous. Not to mention that it ultimately results in that awful leathery and wrinkled look later in life. To me it seems like people today in movies and TV drown themselves in bronzer. Not to mention the unnaturally white chalky teeth and of course all the plastic surgery and botox. People look much more real in 1970s movies. Teeth aren't as chalky white and bodies are more natural looking.

It could be because being tanned was considered attractive then, and it was not widely known then medically that too much time in the sun (or tanning beds) is very dangerous. Not to mention that it ultimately results in that awful leathery and wrinkled look later in life. To me it seems like people today in movies and TV drown themselves in bronzer. Not to mention the unnaturally white chalky teeth and of course all the plastic surgery and botox. People look much more real in 1970s movies. Teeth aren't as chalky white and bodies are more natural looking.


I agree with this. Everyone back then looked much more attractive, though I am not a fan of tanned white women. As you said, this was the reason that many of them aged so badly because of tanning while not knowing the risks. Of course, there are exceptions such as women like Christy Brinkley or Michelle Pfeiffer. People look very unnatural now because they are willing to go through these cosmetic procedures and manipulate their pictures using photo editing software, but then again the 1970s was all about the natural look, including lots of body hair for both genders. Though, the tanned look remained pretty big up until the end of the 2000s. People back then also did a lot of drugs because they didn't know the side effects until later, this included steroids which exploded in use during that decade along with a whole bunch of other drugs that only became more dominant in the 80s and into the 90s, such as Cocaine. Not to mention the prevalence of tobacco and cigarettes. So, the good thing is people do fewer drugs than they did before, but people are fine with looking like a mannequin nowadays, which I despise.

In the UK, back in the 1970s, it was then cheaper holidays were made more readily available, so jetting off to the sunnier climates of Mediterranean and the Portuguese coastlines.