'70s Costumes for Couples

Couples looking for easy and creative costumes to wear can find inspiration from some of the iconic duos of the 1970s. Fashion from this era was expressive, colorful and fun, and nobody wore it better than some of the decade's most famous couples. Prepare to comb through thrift stores and raid your grandparents' closets to find tight-fitting, polyester bell bottoms, skin-tight, flower-patterned dress shirts with butterfly collars, leisure suits and platform shoes.

Gather These Materials:

• Long, black wig for Cher's hair
• Synthetic hair and spirit gum for Sonny's mustache
• Bell-bottom pants
• Dashiki shirts
• Beading wire, 18- or 20-gauge
• Flat-nose jewelry pliers
• Crimp beads
• Connector charm
• Beads in various sizes, shapes and colors

Both Sonny and Cher wore hippie-inspired outfits with bell-bottom pants and dashiki shirts. Cher's long, black locks are a must, as is Sonny's shaggy, brown mustache. To bring home that hippie vibe, create sets of love beads. Cut a 54-inch length of beading wire. Tape one end to a tabletop to keep the beads from sliding off as you string them. Put the beads in a random pattern on the wire. Once all the beads are strung, place crimp beads on each end. On each end, string the wire through the connector charm and back through the crimp bead and the next few beads. Pull the wire taught, crimp the crimp beads with the pliers, and trim the wire.

Things You'll Need for Marcia:

• Long, blonde wig
• Brightly colored mini-skirt and top
• Platform shoes

Assemble These Materials for Greg:

• Shaggy, brown wig
• Bell-bottom pants and a button-down shirt in bold, contrasting prints
• Suede jacket from the thrift store
• Chalk
• Scissors

Marcia and Greg both wore typical outfits of the era. Greg's attire was hippie-inspired in later episodes, so make a fringed suede vest to wear with his costume. Remove the collar, sleeves, waistline hem, button placket, linings and any shoulder pads from the jacket. Turn the jacket inside-out and draw a horizontal guideline with chalk all the way around the jacket 8 inches from the hem. Starting at the back of the jacket, draw a vertical line with chalk from the guideline to the hem. Continue to draw vertical lines 1/2-inch apart all the way around the jacket. Cut on the lines with scissors to create the fringe.

Gather These Items:

• Red men's track suit and blue women's track suit
• Blonde, feathered women's wig
• 2 sheets blue craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
• 1 sheet white craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
• 1 sheet red craft felt, 9-by-12-inch
• White paint pen
• Fabric glue

For the Six Million Dollar Man, wear a red track suit with white socks and red sneakers. Steve Austin was an astronaut, so the hair is conservatively styled, and his face is clean shaven. For the bionic woman, wear a blonde, feathered wig to copy Farrah Fawcett's iconic hairstyle, and wear a blue track suit. Make NASA patches to put on the track suits. For each patch, cut a 5-inch circle from the blue felt. Paint an oval and clusters of white dots on the patches with the white paint pen. Cut long strips from the red felt and glue in a "V" pattern to the patch. From the white felt, cut out capital letters that spell NASA and glue to the patches with fabric glue. Attach the patches to the front of each track jacket with fabric glue.

Things You'll Need for Tony:

• Three-piece white suit
• Black dress shirt with butterfly collar
• Black dress boots

Assemble These Materials for Stephanie:

• Red, off-the-shoulder chiffon dress
• Red dancing shoes
• 2 packages of silver Swarovski crystals, 1.7-by-1.7-mm
• 2 fish-hook earring wires, 19-mm
• 2 open jump rings, 4 mm
• 2 hat eye pins, 21 gauge
• Jewelry wire side cutters
• Modeling clay

Tony wears the white suit, black shirt and boots, and he wears his hair slicked back. For Stephanie, dress up her dancing clothes with a pair of DIY disco ball earrings. Roll the modeling clay into two 1-inch spheres. Cover the spheres with the Swarovski crystals, and insert the hat eye pin through the center. Trim the hat eye pin with the wire side cutters. Bake the clay according to the manufacturer's instructions. Once cool, attach the jump rings and earring wires.