Ah, the 1970s. If you weren’t alive then, you can’t quite imagine what they were like. But you’ve seen and heard about them from movies, your parents, and through other sources. You know they were a time of disco, protests, and interesting fashion choices.

Things were super relaxed in the 1970s — often, you could say, a bit too relaxed. Kids rode bikes without helmets and often in cars without seatbelts. Fashions had also developed in interesting ways. What people wore was a direct response to the formal and rigid fashions of earlier decades. In short, fashion in the 70s was all about redefining the word.

And that meant there were some, well, interesting choices. Maybe your parents were young back in the 70s. If so, you’ve probably seen some interesting photos of them. Perhaps they had oversized glasses or bizarre haircuts. Or maybe you found a photo of your dad wearing some painfully tiny shorts.

As for the shorts men wore in the 1970s, they were big. I mean metaphorically speaking. In reality, they were some of the tiniest garments ever approved for adult men. It was terrible and hilarious at the same time — and it makes you wonder what on earth men were thinking.