The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Hot Pants for Men?
A leggy stroll around Launceston reveals the uptake of hotpants for men.
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter Del Cooper is in Launceston in Cornwall modelling the latest fashion for men in the skimpy shape of the hot pant. The reporter chooses a quiet Cornish market town to unleash the sight of his legs on unsuspecting shoppers with some surprising objectifying comments! Several designers and fashion houses launch short shorts including Dorothée Bis, Krizia’s Mariuccia Mandelli and Mary Quant.
Hotpants as a must-have fashion item really take off in 1970 and help symbolise the decade. They have made a fashion appearance in most decades ever since but after a seventies heyday of hotpants for men, mostly the cut-off jean version, they never really returned as short as the originals and always remain more popular as an item of clothing for women. The fashion did spill over into sportswear with shorts getting tighter and shorter. The advent in the eighties of low-rise baggy long shorts thought to have come from children in the USA wearing second hand clothes or oversized hand-me-downs took hot pants for men off the fashion agenda.
Related
Good Strong Coffee Good Strong Coffee
Advert 1968 2 mins Silent
Far-out guys and groovy gals drop doses of good strong coffee in this psychedelic 1968 ad for the hot black stuff.
Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage
Current affairs 1971 5 mins Location: Glastonbury
Glastonbury ley lines for iconic pyramid stage to heighten a festival-goer’s experience
Punk In 60 Seconds Punk In 60 Seconds
Promotional 2016 1 mins
Anarchy in the UK… This rare footage presents a short blast of the punk energy that took over the streets of Britain in the late 1970s.
Burn Your Bra! Burn Your Bra!
Current affairs 1968 2 mins Location: Truro
The Women’s Liberation movement’s burn your bra campaign hits Truro.
Discomania Discomania
Drama 1979 24 mins Location: London
Nerdy teenage mummy's boy David dreams of wowing the girls with his disco dance moves - but alas he was born with two left feet.
Dr Turner's Mental Home Dr Turner's Mental Home
Amateur film 1929 8 mins Silent Location: Ham Spray Ho
The wilder fringes of the Bloomsbury Group are exposed in this dark amateur film starring Dora Carrington.
Cornish Kilt? Cornish Kilt?
Current affairs 1961 2 mins Location: Launceston
Cornishmen don’t wear plaid or do they? Michael Piper asks the locals in Launceston.
Long-Haired Layabouts Long-Haired Layabouts
Current affairs 1964 4 mins Location: Launceston
Long hair gives impression of laziness
Launceston's Werrington Park hosts Plymouth Motor Hill Climb Club Launceston's Werrington Park hosts Plymouth Motor Hill Climb Club
News 1978 6 mins Location: Launceston
Rev and race! Plymouth Motor Club gears up at Werrington Park Launceston
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.