Ah, the late 60's and 70's. A time of experimentation, whether with recreational drugs, or with extreme decorating ideas. Such a bold stab at style (its creators might have tried some of those drugs, too) was the shag carpet.
Shag carpets came in a variety of colors, some of which were as extreme as the two-inch-long polyester monstrosity itself. Bright reds, blues, greens, and jet blacks were not unheard of. But earth tones were also big, to match those avocado green and harvest gold kitchen appliances.
My parents never went for shag carpet. They were in their forties and fifties when it came out, and it was more of a hit with the younger demographic. But I knew plenty of friends whose more youthful parents installed vast yards of the dirt-absorbing carpet.
Shag carpets came in different depths. You could go for a modest half-inch, or go all the way to the three inch thick Austin Powers variety. However, if you bought the deeper shags, you also had to purchase (and regularly use) the device to the left: a carpet rake.
Then, there was the embedded dirt. Had shag carpets maintained the 1970's popularity for a few more years, who knows what new life forms might have been discovered among those nylon depths where no vacuum cleaner could reach? The combination of organic and inorganic material buried at floor level among the polyester tendrils was sufficient that it was its own enclosed environment within your living room walls.
An episode I recall with particular cringing on my part was when my parents and I were invited over to a couple's home who also had a child my age. They had vast expanses of bright white shag carpet, much like the illustration to the right. They also served a salad for dinner that required VERY red Russian dressing to taste perfect. As I served myself some salad, I reached for the dressing bottle, which required shaking to mix. It also had a very loose cap.
I run into that couple once in a while, and they regularly assure me that they STILL remember the amazing amount of square footage that one bottle of Russian dressing could cover thirty-five years ago.
But let's face it, if you're crazy enough to buy a white carpet, you must also resign yourself to the fact that it's never again going to look as clean as it does that first day, Russian dressing notwithstanding.
Shags have made a bit of a comeback in our day. It's not unusual to see a new home with a shorter shag carpet installed. The pile is composed of a much more durable material these days than the 1970's era polyester. Remember how horrible a worn shag carpet looked?
But we who can recall even the vaguest glimmer of JFK can remember when every newer subdivision home had two features: a shag carpet, and a carpet rake.
Comments (4)
We had an ORANGE shag carpet in our den. Our ranch house had a 'den'. Remember when houses had dens? Anyway, I can't imagine having this kind of carpet today. It would look so dumb!
Posted by Rhea | April 27, 2007 8:45 AM
Posted on April 27, 2007 08:45
One of my "chores" to earn my allowance in the early 70's was raking the orange shag rug....and yes, we had an entire ecosystem growing in ours too...
came in handy when making slides for science class..so many fun 3-celled creatures..the volvox were my faves for sure!
Posted by scott | July 12, 2007 6:51 AM
Posted on July 12, 2007 06:51
We didn't have the shag carpet, but knew many who did! I remember many a van tricked out in shag carpet too! I didn't have shag carpeting in my van, but we did have gizell skin! Oh, I also had black panther (fake) on the dash board!
Posted by Rivers End | June 12, 2009 1:59 PM
Posted on June 12, 2009 13:59
Yes, shag carpeting was quite the thing. But I did not like it. It was a course texture. I liked a stuff they called plush, fine and soft. Spencers Gifts sold some foot carpets that had plush. But carpets mean vacuuming and it can get old fast. And there are those allergens and the like. I prefer hard wood. I saw shag as more of a 70s thing. I notice that what changed more was that they started putting more padding under carpets as time went on. That was nice. If you gotta carpet, then pad, too. But cleaning can be tough.
Posted by Scott Irv | June 13, 2009 12:47 AM
Posted on June 13, 2009 00:47