ELISA is wearing a 1970s hand crocheted sweater, a Wayne Rogers (not MASH) leopard t-shirt, Missoni metallic scarf, a 1979 No Nukes belt buckle, Fornarina Denim, and a spray of cascading gold chains (see detail). DAVID is wearing mid-70s from head to toe, including a pair of Boeing Carrera aviators and deadstock denim.
In New York City in the mid 1970s, wearing layer upon layer of fine gold chains became the rage for fashionable women. The goal was to have at least five cascading around your neck. They HAD to be 14 karat and they HAD to be different lengths and styles: “s” (snake), herringbone, box, link, rope…the selection was endless. Paradoxically, the city was in the midst of a severe urban crisis – recession, inflation, high unemployment, potential bankruptcy – and crime was rampant. Women risked their precious chains (and lives) by riding the buses and subways, where the chains were commonly snatched right off their necks. Although you could hide your chains under your clothing in the winter, chain-snatching was a summer threat we all endured, along with blackouts, Jaws and serial killer, the Son of Sam. -ELISA
