Everyone loves reminiscing about the retro 1970s shows they grew up with. We all make fun of the dorky hairstyles, the out-of-date cars, and the insanely wide collars.
But did you ever stop to think about the colors?
What really scared the crap out of me besides remembering the harvest gold cars, avocado green ovens, and burnt umber sofas of my childhood was realizing that it hasn't gone away. Oh no; the global shortages of earth tones reported in '77 were just a cover story—they've been slumbering these past three decades, growing bolder and tackier by the month.
I first noticed the trend at Starbucks: the trendy walls covered in caffeine-inspired scrawls seemed at first to have a sensible Mediterranean color palette, but when I looked closer, they've literally lifted the colors of the 1970s, Soul-Glo and all, and dumped it into suburban strip-malls across the world. In California at least, it seems to be state law that all newly constructed condos and row houses must be painted in green, gold, and brown. I'm not the only one to have noticed the hideous Starbucks color palette!
Worst of all, the scourge seems to be returning. Don't believe me? Check out this page from the 2004 Williams-Sonoma catalogue:
Yipes.
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