Apart from the sailor-cap-wearing captain of Captain & Tennille, there were no nautical elements to the YR uniform, nor any of the preppiness usually associated with the yachting life. These men—and the majority of YR musicians are male—lived much of their lives on the road in casual clothes that suited the lifestyle. The real hair bands that emerged later were glam and involved stretch leggings, super-low-rise cuts, and elaborate hair products. What I find charming about the YR style is that it feels so uncalculated when it comes to style and hair (unlike the more considered pilosity, decades later, of Freeman Alley acolytes and Williamsburg hipsters). There’s a softness to long hair and a look that is part folk, part regular dude.
Popular from the mid-’70s to the early ’80s, the YR uniform carried forward elements of hippiedom with lots of patched jeans. Cowboy shirts and belt buckles introduced a little bit of country, while flares and long-collar shirts continued some ’70s sleaze. It was, some said, “the decade that fashion forgot,” but not entirely, as the pictorial evidence below shows. Sharpest of the YR cohort was George Benson; cuddliest, Michael McDonald; and most adventurous, Steely Dan cofounder (turned defense consultant!) Jeff “Skunk” Baxter.
The Patched Jean
Yacht rockers kept the DIY hippie ethos alive.
