1980s in fashion
Encyclopedia
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
, the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom. This trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting trousers.
Men wore power suits as a result of the greater tendency for people to display their wealth. Men also grew mustaches due to the influence of television shows like Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
. Medium-length hair was common for men, while the longer haircuts of the 1970s went out of fashion. However, very long hair for men became fashionable in the late 1980s due to the influence of Heavy Metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
music.
Brand names became increasingly important in this decade, making Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren is an American fashion designer and business executive; best known for his Polo Ralph Lauren clothing brand.-Early life:...
and Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
household names, among others.
After the release of her single "Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin (song)
"Like a Virgin" is a song by American singer Madonna from her second album of the same name. It was released on November 6, 1984 by Sire Records, as the first single from the album. The song appears on the greatest hits compilation albums The Immaculate Collection and Celebration...
" in late 1984, Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
became a fashion icon for many young women around the world and copied her "street urchin" look with short skirts worn over leggings, brassieres worn as outer clothing, untidy hair, crucifix jewellery, and fishnet gloves.
The 1983 movie Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
made ripped sweatshirts popular. The television shows Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
and, in particular, Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
also had a similar impact, especially in the area of the increasingly oversized shoulder pads
Shoulder pads (fashion)
Shoulder pads are a type of fabric-covered padding used in men's and women's clothing to give the wearer the illusion of having broader and less sloping shoulders....
.
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the New Romantic
New Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
music and fashion movement exerted a strong influence over the clothing worn by both males and females in the early years of the decade.
Other influences on fashion came from films starring Brat Pack members like Judd Nelson and Rob Lowe. By the late 1980s, the influence of an emerging, materialistic, Yuppie
Yuppie
Yuppie is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession...
-influenced subculture was chronicled by writers like Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis
Bret Easton Ellis is an American novelist and short story writer. His works have been translated into 27 different languages. He was regarded as one of the so-called literary Brat Pack, which also included Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney...
. Hip-Hop culture and Rap
Rap
Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...
music also began influencing wider fashion trends, such as track suits (worn when not exercising), Kangol hats, including oversized gold jewelry on men and women.
New Romantic
New RomanticNew Romantic
New Romanticism , was a pop culture movement in the United Kingdom that began around 1979 and peaked around 1981. Developing in London nightclubs such as Billy's and The Blitz and spreading to other major cities in the UK, it was based around flamboyant, eccentric fashion and new wave music...
was a New Wave
New Wave music
New Wave is a subgenre of :rock music that emerged in the mid to late 1970s alongside punk rock. The term at first generally was synonymous with punk rock before being considered a genre in its own right that incorporated aspects of electronic and experimental music, mod subculture, disco and 1960s...
and fashion movement that occurred primarily in British and Irish nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s. New Wave, New Romantic, and gothic (Goth) fashion at this time was heavily influenced by punk fashion: the streaky eyeliner, the spiked hair, the outrageous clothing, some of which derived from bondage wear (goth) and some of which (New Romantic) was a nod to long-gone eras. New Romantics emerged in the UK music scene in the early '80s as a direct backlash against the austerity of the punk movement. Where some punk bands railed against life in Britain's council estates
Council house
A council house, otherwise known as a local authority house, is a form of public or social housing. The term is used primarily in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Council houses were built and operated by local councils to supply uncrowded, well-built homes on secure tenancies at...
, the New Romantics celebrated glamour and partied regularly at local nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s. The make-up was streaky and bold. The notoriously outlandish designer/club host Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery
Leigh Bowery was an Australian performance artist, club promoter, actor, pop star, model and fashion designer, based in London. Bowery is considered one of the more influential figures in the 1980s and 1990s London and New York art and fashion circles influencing a generation of artists and...
, known for his exuberant designs, became a muse for artists such as Boy George
Boy George
Boy George is a British singer-songwriter who was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the early 1980s. He helped give androgyny an international stage with the success of Culture Club during the 1980s. His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by...
and had grown a huge status in the early 1980s underground club scene. The early designer of the punk look was Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood
Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI is a British fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.-Early life:...
. Her early career was closely linked to the Sex Pistols. She also designed clothing specifically for bands, such as Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants
Adam and the Ants were a British rock band active during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The original group, which existed from 1977 to 1980, became notable as a cult band marking the transition from the late-1970s punk rock era to the post-punk and New Wave era...
, and later developed the "pirate look." The pirate look featured full-sleeved, frilled "buccaneer" shirts often made of expensive fabrics. Hussar-style jackets with gold-braiding were worn with the shirts as well as high-waisted, baggy trousers which tapered at the ankle. Colin Swift, Stevie Stewart and David Holah were also influential NewRo designers.One element of this trend that went mainstream and remained popular for most of the decade were short shirt collars worn unfolded against the neck (popped collars) with the top one or two buttons unfastened. Some people believed that, with the exception of business suits, to wear one's collar folded appeared awkward or stuffy.
Valley girl
Headbands became fashionable in the early 1980s. The trend started in California and spread across the United States. Other associated trends were leg warmerLeg warmer
Leg warmers are coverings for the lower legs, similar to socks but thicker and generally footless. They were originally used as dancewear by ballet and other classic dancers in order to keep the leg muscles warm and to prevent cramping or other muscle injuries....
s and miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
s, especially "ra-ra" skirts, modeled after the short, flared skirts worn by American cheerleaders. Leg warmers, which had long been staple gear for professional dancers during rehearsals, became a teen trend at about the same time; their popularity, and that of sweatshirts with their collars cut off, exploded following the 1983 release of Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
. Miniskirts returned for the first time since the early 1970s. These styles became associated with the Valley Girl
Valley girl
Valley Girl is a stereotype leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking and materialistic...
trend that was popular at the time, based on the movie Valley Girl
Valley Girl (film)
Valley Girl is a 1983 romantic comedy film, starring Nicolas Cage, Deborah Foreman, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye, and Joyce Heiser. The film was the directorial debut of Martha Coolidge, and was the first film in which Nicolas Coppola was billed as Nicolas Cage.The American release of Valley Girl...
(1983) and popular song
Valley Girl (song)
"Valley Girl" is a song by the musician Frank Zappa and his 14 year-old daughter, Moon Unit Zappa. It was released on Zappa's 1982 album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch. Moon supplied Frank with much of the content, speaking typical "Valley girl" or "Valspeak" phrases she heard at...
by Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
and Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa
Moon Unit Zappa is an American actress, musician and author. She goes by the name Moon Zappa; "Unit" is her middle name.-Personal life:...
. The mid-80s continued the craze for designer jeans and saw leather become popular. Girls and women also fueled the lace trend. As the decade closed the various other fads soon spent themselves, but miniskirts remained in style and became an option for women's business suits throughout the 1980s and early 1990s with dolly shoes. Frequently, these mini skirts were worn with leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
. These styles are shown in today's fashion with stores such as American Apparel, whose main look is solid colors and simple patterns and the same shapes and silhouettes of the 1980s. In Britain and Ireland, leg warmers were often worn with tight jeans, long jumpers or sweaters, and high heeled [court shoes].
Power dressing
Shoulder pads (fashion)
Shoulder pads are a type of fabric-covered padding used in men's and women's clothing to give the wearer the illusion of having broader and less sloping shoulders....
, popularized by Joan Collins
Joan Collins
Joan Henrietta Collins, OBE , is an English actress, author, and columnist. Born in Paddington and raised in Maida Vale, Collins grew up during the Second World War. At the age of nine, she made her stage debut in A Doll's House and after attending school, she was classically trained as an actress...
and Linda Evans
Linda Evans
Linda Evans is an American actress. She is known primarily for her roles on television, and rose to fame playing Audra Barkley in the 1960s Western TV series, The Big Valley...
from the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
, remained popular throughout the 1980s and even the first three years of the 1990s. The reason behind the sudden popularity of shoulder pads for women in the 1980s may be that women in the workplace were no longer unusual, and wanted to "power dress" to show that they were the equals of men at the office. Many women's outfits had Velcro
Velcro
Velcro is the brand name of the first commercially marketed fabric hook-and-loop fastener, invented in 1948 by the Swiss electrical engineer George de Mestral...
on the inside of the shoulder where various sized shoulder pads could be attached.
The Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
television show, watched by over 250 million viewers around the world in the 1980s, influenced fashion in mainstream America and perhaps most of the Western world. The show influenced women to wear glitzy jewelry as a way of flaunting wealth. Synthetic fabrics went out of style in the 1980s. Wool, cotton, and silk returned to popularity for their perceived quality.
Men's business attire saw a return of pinstripes for the first time since the 1970s. The new pinstripes were narrower and subtler than in 1930s and 1940s suits but were similar to the 1970s styles. Three-piece suits gradually went out of fashion in the early '80s and lapels on suits became very narrow (similar to 1950s styles). While vests in the 1970s had commonly been worn high with six or five buttons, those made in the early 1980s often had only four buttons and were made to be worn low. Neckties also became narrower in the 1980s and skinny versions, some made of leather, briefly were stylish among men interested in New Wave music. Button-down collars made a return, for both business and casual wear.
Meanwhile women's fashion and business shoes revisited the pointed toes and spiked heels that were popular in the 1950s and early 1960s with. Some stores stocked canvas or satin covered fashion shoes in white and dyed them to the customer's preferred color. While the most popular shoes amongst young women were bright colored high heels, a trend started to emerge which saw 'Jellies
Jelly shoes
Jelly shoes or jellies are shoes made of PVC plastic. Jelly shoes come in a large variety of brands and colors and the material is frequently infused with glitter. Its name refers to the semi-transparent materials with a jelly-like sheen. The shoes became a fad in the mid 1980s, when a pair could...
'—colorful, transparent plastic flats—become popular. The top fashion models of the 1980s were Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields
Brooke Christa Shields is an American actress and model. Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle....
, Heather Locklear
Heather Locklear
Heather Deen Locklear is an American actress best known for her television roles as Sammy Jo Carrington on Dynasty, Officer Stacy Sheridan on T.J...
, Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley
Christie Brinkley is an American model and actress best known for her three consecutive appearances on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in the late 1970s and early 1980s, for her long-running contract with CoverGirl, the longest ever of any model in history, and for her marriage...
, Joan Severance
Joan Severance
-Early life:Severance was born in Houston, Texas to John and Martha Severance. Her father was an IBM Systems Manager that had to move frequently around the world. According to Severance "by the time I was 11, we'd lived in 12 different places". Severance and her family also lived in Libya, but in...
, Kim Alexis
Kim Alexis
Kim Alexis is an American model and actress.- Career :Alexis was one of the top models of the 1980s, identified along with Gia Carangi, Carol Alt, Christie Brinkley, Kelly Emberg, Iman, and Paulina Porizkova...
, Carol Alt
Carol Alt
Carol Ann Alt is an American model and actress.- Early life:Alt was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of Muriel, an airline employee and model, and Anthony Alt, a fire chief. She was noticed waiting tables in her hometown of East Williston, New York. When she was 18, she decided to...
, Renée Simonsen
Renee Simonsen
Renée Toft Simonsen is a former model from Denmark, who currently works as a writer. Simonsen was one of the most successful models in the world during the 1980s.- Biography :...
, Kelly Emberg
Kelly Emberg
Kelly Kay Emberg is a former 1980s supermodel who appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour and Cosmopolitan magazines...
, Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz
Tatjana Patitz is a German model and actress who rose to international prominence in the 1980s and 1990s, representing top fashion designers, campaigns, and collections, and who continues to model today.-Modelling career:...
, Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson
Elle Macpherson is an Australian model, actress, and businesswoman nicknamed "The Body". She is perhaps best known for her record five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue beginning in the 1980s...
, and Paulina Porizkova
Paulina Porizkova
Pavlína Pořízková-Ocasek is a Czech model and actress. At the age of eighteen years, she became the first woman from Central Europe to grace the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim-suit issue. She was the second woman to be featured on the swim-suit issue's front cover consecutive times...
.
Leotards and dancewear
Leotards had been a fashion trend since the early 1970s, when were first used to add color and texture under the "layered look" popular in the middle of that decade. By the end of the decade leotards made from shiny spandexSpandex
Spandex or elastane is a synthetic fibre known for its exceptional elasticity. It is strong, but less durable than natural Latex, its major non-synthetic competitor. It is a polyurethane-polyurea copolymer that was co-invented in 1959 by chemists C. L. Sandquist and Joseph Shivers at DuPont's...
had become the standard feminine fashion of the "disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
era", partly for their form-fitting quality and the fact that they allowed flexibility and ease of movement. With the arrival of the aerobics craze of the early 1980s the classic leotard moved from the dance floor to the gym, accompanied by matching tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
, legwarmers, and elastic headbands. Leotards of the early 1980s boasted bright stripes, polka dots, and even elastic belts. The popularity of aerobics and of dance-themed television shows and movies, such as Fame, and Staying Alive
Staying Alive
Staying Alive is the 1983 film sequel to Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta as dancer Tony Manero, with Cynthia Rhodes, Finola Hughes, Joyce Hyser, Steve Inwood, Julie Bovasso, and dancers Viktor Manoel, Kate Ann Wright, Kevyn Morrow and Nanette Tarpey...
created a dancewear fashion craze, and leotards, legwarmers, and headbands were soon being worn as street wear. The 1983 film Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
popularized ripped sweatshirts that exposed one bare shoulder. Celebrity dancewear inspirations of the era included Olivia Newton John's Physical video and Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda
Jane Fonda is an American actress, writer, political activist, former fashion model, and fitness guru. She rose to fame in the 1960s with films such as Barbarella and Cat Ballou. She has won two Academy Awards and received several other movie awards and nominations during more than 50 years as an...
's line of aerobic videos.
Miami Vice look
The 1980s brought an explosion of colorful styles in men's clothing. The look of several popular TV stars helped to set fashion trends among young and middle-aged men.Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
was one such series, whose leading men donned casual t-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s underneath expensive suit
Suit (clothing)
In clothing, a suit is a set of garments made from the same cloth, consisting of at least a jacket and trousers. Lounge suits are the most common style of Western suit, originating in the United Kingdom as country wear...
jackets—often in bright or pastel colors. The t-shirt-with-designer-jacket look was often accompanied by jackets with broad, padded shoulders, and a few days' growth of facial hair, dubbed "designer stubble", a look popularized by the series' leading man Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
.
Similarly, another popular look for men beginning in the early 1980s was the Hawaiian shirt, as worn by Tom Selleck, star of television's enormously popular detective series Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I.
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network....
Thanks to Magnum, P.I., Hawaiian shirts sales soared (as did the numbers of men, of all walks of life, sporting mustaches), complemented with sport coats, often with top-stitched lapels for a "custom-tailored" look). In counterpoint to the bright shirt, jackets were often gray, tan, rust or white, donned casually and in sunny locales doubled even as business attire, in which case they could be seen worn with a tie.Easy-care micro-suede and corduroy jackets became popular choices, especially those with a Western style. Cowboy boot
Cowboy boot
Cowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a Cuban heel, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing...
s, in the early 1980s, became popular even among non-cowboys. Some boots were remarkably expensive, such as those made by Lucchese, which could cost $500 a pair. Also in vogue—and also expensive—were Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
loafers, as worn by Tom Selleck
Tom Selleck
Thomas William "Tom" Selleck is an American actor, and film producer. He is best known for his starring role as Hawaii-based private investigator Thomas Magnum on the 1980s television show Magnum, P.I.. He also plays Police Chief Jesse Stone in a series of made-for-TV movies based on the Robert B....
in a famous cologne advertisement.
Another off-the-charts look for young men that emerged in the early 1980s was the "Members Only
Members Only
Members Only is a brand of clothing that became popular in the 1980s with the Members Only jacket. The brand was created in 1975 and introduced to American markets in 1979 by Europe Craft Imports .Members Only was renowned for their brand of jackets, which were first introduced in 1981 and...
" jacket, its brand name conspicuously displayed on the front left breast pocket. It was a golf style windbreaker, with a slim mandarin-style collar.
Contemporaneously, there was a resurgence of another look, a throwback to the earlier 1950s collegiate look or Ivy League
Ivy League
The Ivy League is an athletic conference comprising eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern United States. The conference name is also commonly used to refer to those eight schools as a group...
look. Its wearers and advocates rallied against the more trendy styles cited above. This revival style held great snob appeal, and came to be definitively summarized in an enormously popular paperback: The Official Preppy Handbook. This "preppy
Preppy
Preppy, preppie, or prep refers to a modern, widespread United States clique, often considered a subculture...
" cultural backlash spread like wildfire, inspiring a deep-seated social sensibility that extended to and included all manner of consumables and socialization. Preppies eschewed micro-suede jackets, instead favoring a classic single or double-breasted blazer in navy blue or midnight blue seasonal weight wool or linen. The truly privileged favored an English bespoke shouldered pattern, double vented. All styles boosted gold-tone or actual gold buttons; ideally, for total snob appeal, the buttons were engraved with the owner’s initials or an alma mater’s insignia. Beneath the blue jacket, Preppies donned a variety of shirts; prized were candy-stripes and solid colors; flashy Hawaiian patterns or designs were to be avoided, at all costs, to protect one’s perceived upper-class status.
Significantly, then, it can be said that the 1980s men’s fashion scene was transfigured by a social class consciousness, whereto, expressing this tacit and exclusionary “code” for a man’s dress were parameters that determined his social status, as codified aptly in the Lisa Birnbach’s et al., The Official Preppy Handbook. Purportedly, such “in the know” standards came to be indicative of one’s background, education and upper class. Some sociologists would avoid or attempt discounting that pivotal, authoritative and tacit but insidious and fully dichotomous aspect of that American period in men’s fashion, which quickly came to far exceed in importance mere fashion statement.
However, that all said, by the mid-1980s European and US designers' popularity and re-focus on classical mens styles had captured yet another segment of the mens fashion market, which in a manner of speaking attracted a following from both the preppy and non-preppy haberdashery mindsets.
Thriller look
The Thriller look was inspired by Michael JacksonMichael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's record breaking album Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
. Teenagers would attempt to replicate the look of Jackson, which included matching red/black leather pants and jackets, one glove, sunglasses, and jheri curl
Jheri curl
The Jheri curl is a hairstyle that was common and popular in the African American community especially during the 1970s and 1980s . Invented by and named for Jheri Redding, the Jheri curl gave the wearer a glossy, loosely curled look...
. Leather jacket
Leather jacket
A leather jacket is a type of clothing—a jacket-length coat—usually worn on top of other apparel, and made from the tanned hide of various animals. The leather material is typically dyed black, or various shades of brown, but a wide range of colors is possible...
s popularized by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
and films like The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys is a 1987 American teen comedy horror film directed by Joel Schumacher and starring Jason Patric, Corey Haim, Kiefer Sutherland, Jami Gertz, Corey Feldman, Dianne Wiest, Edward Herrmann, Alex Winter, Jamison Newlander, and Barnard Hughes....
were often studded and left undone to create a messier look. Oversized, slouch shouldered faded leather jackets with puffy sleeves from Europe caught on. Gloves, sometimes fingerless, would also accompany the jacket. Late in the decade plain brown aviator jackets made a comeback, styled after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
fighter pilot jackets. Already popular aviators were joined by other forms of sunglasses. It was not unusual for sunglasses
Sunglasses
Sunglasses or sun glasses are a form of protective eyewear designed primarily to prevent bright sunlight and high-energy visible light from damaging or discomforting the eyes. They can sometimes also function as a visual aid, as variously termed spectacles or glasses exist, featuring lenses that...
or shades as they were known, to be worn at night.
Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
proved to be very influential to female fashions. She first emerged on the dance music scene with her "street urchin" look consisting of short skirts worn over leggings, necklaces, rubber bracelets, fishnet gloves, hairbows, long layered strings of beads, bleached, untidy hair with dark roots, head bands, and lace ribbons. In her Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin
Like a Virgin is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 12, 1984 by Sire Records. It was re-released worldwide in 1985, with the inclusion of the bonus track "Into the Groove". In 2001, Warner Bros. Records released a remastered version with two bonus...
phase, millions of young girls around the world emulated her fashion example that included brassieres worn as outerwear, huge crucifix jewellery, lace gloves, tulle skirts, and boytoy belts.
Gloves, sometimes lace and/or fingerless, were popularized by Madonna, as well as fishnet stockings and layers of beaded necklaces. Short, tight Lycra or leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
miniskirts and tubular dresses were also worn, as were cropped, bolero
Bolero
Bolero is a form of slow-tempo Latin music and its associated dance and song. There are Spanish and Cuban forms which are both significant and which have separate origins.The term is also used for some art music...
-style jackets. Black was the preferred colour. Another club fashion for women was lingerie as outerwear. Prior to the mid-1980s it had been taboo to show a slip or a bra strap in public. A visible undergarment had been a sign of social ineptness. In the new fad's most extreme forms, young women would forego conventional outer-garments for vintage-style bustiers with lacy slips and several large crucifixes. This was both an assertion of sexual freedom and a conscious rejection of prevailing androgynous fashions.
Track suits
In the 1980s, tracksuits became popular as leisure clothing and JogpantsSweatpants
Sweatpants are a casual variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes.In Britain, Australia and New Zealand they are known as "jogging bottoms" or "track pants".- Design :...
would become a general trend in the decades to come.
Doc Martens
Doc Martens shoes were worn by both sexes in the 1980s. They were an essential fashion accessory for the skinheadSkinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture that originated among working class youths in the United Kingdom in the 1960s, and then spread to other parts of the world. Named for their close-cropped or shaven heads, the first skinheads were greatly influenced by West Indian rude boys and British mods,...
and punk subculture
Punk subculture
The punk subculture includes a diverse array of ideologies, and forms of expression, including fashion, visual art, dance, literature, and film, which grew out of punk rock.-History:...
s in the United Kingdom. Sometimes Doc. Martens were paired with mini skirts or full, Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley
Laura Ashley was a Welsh fashion designer and businesswoman. She became a household name on the strength of her work as a designer and manufacturer of a range of colourful fabrics for clothes and home furnishings....
- style dresses. They were an important feature of the post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
1980s gothic
Gothic fashion
Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical Gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, black lips and black clothes. Both male and female goths wear dark eyeliner and dark fingernails. Styles are...
look which featured long, back-combed hair, pale skin, dark eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick, black nail varnish, spiked bracelets and dog-collars, black clothing, often made of gabardine, leather or velvet trimmed in lace or fishnet material. Corsets were often worn by girls. British bands which inspired the gothic trend include The Cure
The Cure
The Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Cult
The Cult
The Cult are a British rock band that was formed in 1983. They gained a dedicated following in Britain in the mid 1980s as a post-punk band with singles such as "She Sells Sanctuary", before breaking mainstream in the United States in the late 1980s as a hard rock band with singles such as "Love...
. This trend would resurge in the 1990s and 2000s.
Hair metal
By the late eighties, acid-washed jeansJeans
Jeans are trousers made from denim. Some of the earliest American blue jeans were made by Jacob Davis, Calvin Rogers, and Levi Strauss in 1873. Starting in the 1950s, jeans, originally designed for cowboys, became popular among teenagers. Historic brands include Levi's, Lee, and Wrangler...
and denim jackets had become popular with both sexes. Acid washing is the process of chemically bleaching the denim, breaking down the fiber of material and forcing the dye to fade, thus leaving undertones of the original dye evidenced by pale white streaks or spots on the material. This became associated with the heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
trend (called "hair metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
" in later decades for the large frizzy coiffures worn by both male and female enthusiasts).
Severely bleached and ripped jeans, either manufactured purposely or done by hand, become a popular fashion trend, being a main component of glam metal
Glam metal
Glam metal is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s in the United States, particularly on the Los Angeles Sunset Strip music scene...
music acts such as Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
. Tattooing and piercing began to enter the mainstream.
Metalhead style
In the first half of the 1980s, long hair, leather rocker jackets or cut-off denim jackets, tight worn-out jeans, and white, high trainers and badges with logos of favourite metal bands were popular among metalheads, and musicians of heavy metal and speed metal bands. In second half of the 1980s, this clothing style was popular among musicians and fans of more extreme and niche (often underground) metal bands - thrash metal, crossover thrash, early black metal, and early death metal bands. It was popular particularly in European nations, but it was also popular in the USA, Canada, and Brazil.Punk style
Throughout the 1980s, although especially apparent in the first half, the punk style was popular. Characterized by multi-colored mohawks, ripped skinny jeans, worn band tee-shirts, and jean or leather jackets, it was practiced by people who listened to punk music such as The Sex Pistols and later, (despite the bands self-pro-claimed rock'n'roll image) Guns N' RosesGuns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. Usually the jean jackets (which became an identity of the group) were adorned by safety pins, buttons, patches, and several other pieces of music or cultural memorabilia. Often people of the punk style would take random bits of fabric and attach them with safety pins. This soon became a popular way of attaching clothing, and now in young women it is known as "pin shirts". The shirts are essentially rectangular pieces of fabric that are pinned on one side with safety pins.
Rap Music and designer sneakers
Converse shoes were popular in the first half of the 1980s. Air JordanAir Jordan
Air Jordan, also known simply as Jordans, are a brand of shoes and athletic apparel produced by Nike originally designed for and endorsed by NBA Hall of Famer and Six Time NBA Champion Michael Jordan. The Air Jordan line is now sold by the Jordan Brand subsidiary of Nike...
basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
shoe
Shoe
A shoe is an item of footwear intended to protect and comfort the human foot while doing various activities. Shoes are also used as an item of decoration. The design of shoes has varied enormously through time and from culture to culture, with appearance originally being tied to function...
s (named for basketball player Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan
Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...
) made their debut in 1984. Athletic shoes had been worn as casual
Casual
In the European tradition, casual is the dress code that emphasizes comfort and personal expression over presentation and uniformity. It includes a very wide variety of costume, so it is perhaps better defined by what it isn't than what it is...
wear before, but for the first time they became a high-priced fashion item. The NBA banned these shoes from games when they first debuted, which increased their cachet. Soon other manufacturers introduced premium athletic shoes. Adidas
Adidas
Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...
sneakers took the decade by storm, popular amongst teenagers and young men; the Adidas sneaker was popularized by the Run-D.M.C.
Run-D.M.C.
Run–D.M.C. was an American hip hop group from Hollis, in the Queens borough of New York City. Founded by Joseph "Run" Simmons, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, and Jason "Jam-Master Jay" Mizell, the group is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop culture.Run–D.M.C...
song My Adidas. Nike had a similar share of the market with Air Max and similar shoes. High-tops, especially of white or black leather, became popular.
Ensembles featuring the colors of Africa (green, yellow and red) became wildly popular among African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
s, as did kente cloth
Kente cloth
Kente cloth, known locally as nwentoma, is a type of silk and cotton fabric made of interwoven cloth strips and is native to the Akan people of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.- Etymology :...
. In the urban hip-hop communities, sneakers were usually worn unlaced and with a large amount of gold jewelry as well as headwraps.
Preppy
Conservative teenagers, especially in the United States wore a style that came to be known as "preppyPreppy
Preppy, preppie, or prep refers to a modern, widespread United States clique, often considered a subculture...
." Preppy fashions are associated with classic and conservative style of dressing and clothing brands such as Izod Lacoste
Izod Lacoste
Izod Lacoste was a brand name of sportswear licensed to Izod by Lacoste from 1952-1993.-Success:In 1953, David Crystal, the owner of Izod, bought 50% of the rights to market Lacoste in America. The "Izod" brand was already established there. "Lacoste" was added to enhance the brand's prestige and...
, Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers
Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier chain in the United States. Founded in 1818 as a family business, the privately owned company is now owned by Retail Brand Alliance, also features clothing for women, and is headquartered on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, New York City.-History:On April 7,...
, Polo Ralph Lauren
Polo Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren Corporation is a luxury clothing and goods company of the American fashion designer Ralph Lauren. Ralph Lauren specializes in high-end casual/semi-formal wear for men and women, as well as accessories, fragrances, home and housewares...
and clothing from The Gap. An example of preppy attire would be a button-down Oxford cloth shirt, cuffed khakis, and loafers. Also popular were argyle sweaters and vests. It was also considered "preppy" to wear a sweater tied loosely around the shoulders.In the 1980s, preppy fashions featured a lot of pastels and polo shirts with designer logos.
Casual wear
In the 1980s and continuing through the mid 1990s, casual wear became a fashion trend. LeggingsLeggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
were a big part of this trend. They were usually worn with oversized sweaters and sweatshirts in the cooler months and with oversized tee shirts in the warmers months. It was also popular to wear slouch socks and sneakers with leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
. Plaid skirts with leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
were also worn with sneakers and slouch socks or with flats or Boat shoes as part of the preppy look. Also bike shorts were popular under baby doll dresses and short dresses with sneakers and no socks or sneakers with slouch socks. Many girls in every Grade K through 12 for gym class would wear black leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
with white slouch socks, athletic sneakers or sneakers and oversized tee shirts. Many women also wore this style as exercise wear. Many college girls wore the leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
and slouch socks with sneakers and the dresses with shorts to classes and around campus. It was also not uncommon to see mothers dressed along with their daughters in the slouch socks worn over leggings
Leggings
Leggings are a type of fitted clothing covering the legs, which can be worn by both men and women.Originally leggings were two separate garments, one for each leg....
or sweatpants, an oversized shirt or sweater, and sports shoes.
Soccer shorts were popular with children and teenagers in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s.
From the late 1980s to the late 1990s, shortalls, a version of overalls in which the legs of the garment resemble those of shorts, were popular.
Champion sweatshirts became popular for guys and girls to wear in the late 1980s through 1997. In colder weather the sweatshirts were worn over a colourful turtle-neck.
Leotards, body suits, and body shirts also became popular in the late 1980s to late 1990s. They were worn as tops with jeans and skirts.
Opaque tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
were very popular in the late 1980s to mid-1990s and could be worn as part of casual wear or formal wear. A common outfit was a skirt, baby doll dress, or short dress with black opaque tights
Tights
Tights are a kind of cloth leg garment, most often sheathing the body from about the waist to the feet with a more or less tight fit, hence the name....
, white slouch socks, and white sneakers. Others colors of opaque tights, such as all shades of blue from sky blue to navy and purple, were popular with all females from children and teenagers to adults. Opaque were also popular worn under dress shorts.
Hairstyles
Sideburns of the 1970s saw a massive decline in fashion in 1980, while big and eccentric hair styles were popularized by film and music stars, in particular amongst teenagers. There was generally an excessive amount of mousseHair mousse
Hair mousse is a hairstyling product added to hair for extra volume and shine. It is often dispensed in an aerosol foam spray or in a cream form. Hair mousse adds volume to hair and often provides both conditioning and hold, without any clumps or buildup. Hair mousse is a purple color while in the...
used in styling an individual's hair which resulted in a desired shiny look and greater volume, some mousse even contained glitter. Hairsprays such as AquaNet were also used in excess such as hard rock band Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
. In 1984, sideburns made a comeback but were slightly thinner and shorter, and better groomed than those of the 1970s, lasting until the end of 1986. These sideburns were usually (but not always) used as an add-on to the Mullet haircut. The Mullet existed in several different styles, all characterized by hair short on the sides and long in the back. Mullets were popular in suburban and rural areas among working class men. This contrasted with a conservative look favored by business professionals, with neatly groomed short hair for men and sleekly straight hair for women. White collar men's haircuts were often shaved at the nape of the neck to create an artificially even hairline. Women's hairstyles became increasingly long in the latter part of the decade and blunt cuts dominated. Unlike 1970s blunt cuts, which were often longest at the spine, late 1980s long hair reached an equal length across the back. During the middle and late 1980s it was unfashionable to part either men's or women's hair.
Scrunchie
Scrunchie
A scrunchie is a fabric-covered elastic hair tie, commonly used to fasten long hair. Large, elaborate styles and diminutive, unassuming forms are available in many different colors, fabrics, and designs....
s and headband
Headband
A headband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal...
s in all different colours, styles and patterns were popular. Scrunchie
Scrunchie
A scrunchie is a fabric-covered elastic hair tie, commonly used to fasten long hair. Large, elaborate styles and diminutive, unassuming forms are available in many different colors, fabrics, and designs....
s were very popular in the side pony tail hair style. Bangs were another popular hair style during this time.
Frizzy hair was cemented as a common fashion style and was complemented by the attire of the times. "Banana" clips were another favorite. Young women wore wild earrings, often long or of peculiar design, and not always matching. A single earring was often worn. Shoulder length earrings often contrasted with hair that was chin length or shorter. Crimped hair, and contrasting colour streaks were the trends in the 1980s popularised by teenagers. Many young women in Europe and North America dyed their hair a rich burgundy or plum-red in the last half of the decade.
Jewellery
Earring
Common locations for piercings, other than the earlobe, include the rook, tragus, and across the helix . The simple term "ear piercing" usually refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are often referred to as "cartilage piercings"...
s became a mainstream fashion for male teenagers. Jelly or thin metal bracelets (also known as bangles) were very popular in the 1980s, and would be worn in mass quantities on one's wrist. Designer jewelry, such as diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
s and pearl
Pearl
A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue of a living shelled mollusk. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is made up of calcium carbonate in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other...
s were popular among many women, not only for beauty, but as symbols of wealth and power.
Designer underwear
Underwear became a more important fashion accessory for both men and women. Women's looks tended to be in a wide array of pastel colors, with lacy trimmings. Camisoles with built in bras became popular for women, especially visible in the neckline of jackets worn for work. Men became more fashion conscious as well. Underwear was also colorful for men, and boxer shorts were "tapered", or styled after the side-vent running shorts, with a trimmer cut.Both sexes were wearing stylish undies such as those modeled by celebrities and on television. Women began to favor polyester satin fabrics for lingerie, and the Jocks company, long known for its men's line, began manufacturing lace-trimmed, French-cut styles of g-bangers aimed at more conservative men. The teddy, or all-in-one camisole and tap pants, was often worn on television, by stars such as Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd is an American actress, singer and former model. Her best known roles include starring as Jacy in The Last Picture Show, as Betsy in Taxi Driver, as Madeleine Spencer in Psych, as Maddie Hayes on Moonlighting, as Cybill Sheridan on Cybill, and as Phyllis Kroll on The L...
in Moonlighting
Moonlighting (TV series)
Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
, and was very popular as a more modest garment that nearly eliminated the need for a slip. Bright jewel tones to match the silk charmeuse and satin blouses shown on Dallas
Dallas (TV series)
Dallas is an American serial drama/prime time soap opera that revolves around the Ewings, a wealthy Texas family in the oil and cattle-ranching industries. Throughout the series, Larry Hagman stars as greedy, scheming oil baron J. R. Ewing...
and Dynasty
Dynasty (TV series)
Dynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard & Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
were the rage. With baseball star Jim Palmer
Jim Palmer
James Alvin "Jim" Palmer , nicknamed "Cakes", is a former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played his entire 20-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in .As of 2008, Palmer and his wife Susan have homes in Palm Beach, Florida, and...
the new Jockey pitchman, focus on skimpy bikinis and bold prints worn by the athlete in print ads became popular. Fashion underwear was influenced by Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox
Michael J. Fox, OC is a Canadian American actor, author, producer, activist and voice-over artist. With a film and television career spanning from the late 1970s, Fox's roles have included Marty McFly from the Back to the Future trilogy ; Alex P...
's lilac Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....
briefs in Back to the Future
Back to the Future
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science-fiction adventure film. It was directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Zemeckis and Bob Gale, produced by Steven Spielberg, and starred Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover and Thomas F. Wilson. The film tells the story of...
, and Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
star Howie Long
Howie Long
Howard "Howie" Matthew Moses Long is an American former National Football League defensive end and actor. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000...
in colorful Hanes bikini and colored brief ads. Colored, patterned, and figured men's bikinis or low-rise briefs, for the trim pant silhouettes, were available and widely popular with men of all ages.
Watches
At the beginning of the decade, digital watches with metal bands were the dominant fashion. They remained popular but lost some of their status in later years. Newer digital watches with built-in calculators and primitive data organizers were strictly for gadget geeks. Adult professionals returned to dial watches by mid-decade. Leather straps returned as an option. By late in the decade some watch faces had returned to Roman numerals. In contrast, one ultramodern status symbol was the MovadoMovado
Movado is a Swiss luxury watch company whose name is Esperanto for "continuous movement". Movado was founded in 1881 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland by Achilles Ditesheim....
museum watch. It featured a sleek design with a single large dot at twelve o'clock. The Tank watch by Cartier
Cartier SA
Cartier S.A., commonly known as Cartier , is a French luxury jeweler and watch manufacturer. The corporation carries the name of the Cartier family of jewellers whose control ended in 1964 and who were known for numerous pieces including the "Bestiary" , the diamond necklace created for Bhupinder...
was a fashion icon that was revived and frequently seen on Cartier advertisements in print. Rolex watches were prominently seen on Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
TV show. Teen culture preferred vibrant plastic Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
watches. These first appeared in Europe and reached North America by the middle of the decade. Young people would often wear two or three of these watches on the same arm.
Eyewear
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Glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
with large, plastic frames
Glasses
Glasses, also known as eyeglasses , spectacles or simply specs , are frames bearing lenses worn in front of the eyes. They are normally used for vision correction or eye protection. Safety glasses are a kind of eye protection against flying debris or against visible and near visible light or...
were in fashion for both men and women. Small metal framed eyeglasses made a return to fashion in 1984 and 1985, and in the late 1980s, glasses with tortoise-shell coloring became popular. These were smaller and rounder than the type that was popular earlier in the decade. Throughout the 1980s, Ray-Ban Wayfarer were extremely popular, as worn by Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
in the 1983 movie Risky Business
Risky Business
Risky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
. Sales of Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses jumped 40%, following the release of the 1986 film Top Gun
Top Gun
Top Gun may refer to:* Top Gun is a 1986 film starring Tom Cruise.**Top Gun , soundtrack to the movie**Top Gun , a number of games based on the movie...
, in which they were worn prominently by Maverick and Iceman, played by Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
and Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
respectively.
Miami Vice
Miami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
, in particular Sonny Crockett played by Don Johnson
Don Johnson
Donnie Wayne "Don" Johnson is an American actor known for his work in television and film. He played the lead role of James "Sonny" Crockett in the 1980s TV cop series, Miami Vice, which led him to huge success. He also played the lead role in the 1990s cop series, Nash Bridges...
, boosted Ray-Ban's popularity by wearing a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer (Model L2052, Mock Tortoise), which increased sales of Ray Ban's to 720,000 units in 1984.
Happy Pants
Happy pants were worn mostly by teenagers, especially teenage girls, in the 1980s. Fun kids fabrics were used to make the happy pants. This meant those who wore them had their own unique pair of happy pants. In Australia, happy pants were a basic, elasticized pair of shorts, made from children's range of bright and bold designs in cotton fabric. The shorts were not too tight, not too baggy, and finished in length just above the knee. In 1986, Dolly Magazine released an 80s happy pants pattern for the basic elastic shorts. As most teenage girls had done Home Economics, they made their own shorts for happy pants.Parachute pants
Parachute pants are a style of trousersTrousers
Trousers are an item of clothing worn on the lower part of the body from the waist to the ankles, covering both legs separately...
characterised by the use of ripstop nylon and/or extremely baggy cuts. In the original tight-fitting, extraneously zippered style of the late 70s/early 80s, "parachute" referred to the pants' synthetic nylon material. In the later 80s, "parachute" may have referred to the extreme bagginess of the pant. These are also referred to as "Hammer" pants, due to rapper MC Hammer
MC Hammer
Stanley Kirk Burrell , better known by his stage name MC Hammer , is an American rapper, entertainer, business entrepreneur, dancer and actor. He had his greatest commercial success and popularity from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s...
's signature style. Hammer pants differ from the parachute pants of the 70s and early 80s. They are typically worn as menswear and are often brightly colored. Parachute pants became a fad
FAD
In biochemistry, flavin adenine dinucleotide is a redox cofactor involved in several important reactions in metabolism. FAD can exist in two different redox states, which it converts between by accepting or donating electrons. The molecule consists of a riboflavin moiety bound to the phosphate...
in US culture in the 1980s as part of an increased cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation
Cultural appropriation is the adoption of some specific elements of one culture by a different cultural group. It describes acculturation or assimilation, but can imply a negative view towards acculturation from a minority culture by a dominant culture. It can include the introduction of forms of...
of breakdancing.
United Kingdom and Europe
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
nights on Tuesdays and then more one night specials for niche tastes. That set the scene for special one night club evenings throughout London. Narrow tastes could be catered for. Dresses in slinky satins and foulard silks or polyesters were often batwing or with set in sleeves. Both styles had shoulder pads and frequently swathes of fabric were gathered and ruched onto hip bands, with falling silk, crepe de chine or chiffon asymmetric draped swirling skirts. Lace was popular for evening, especially cream lace bound with cream satin collars. Lace collars made an appearance after being worn by Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
. Mohair sweaters were over-sized, but covered with lavish beading and satin appliqué they could be worn for evening too. Highly styled intarsia knit jumpers became fashionable. Glamorous occasion wear was a reaction and an alternative to the dressing down that was emerging from the wearing of sport and fitness wear as casual wear, due to the fitness craze inspired by Flashdance
Flashdance
Another song used in the film, "Maniac", was also nominated for an Academy Award. It was written by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky, and was inspired by the 1980 horror film Maniac. The lyrics about a killer on the loose were rewritten so that it could be used in Flashdance...
and Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John
Olivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 solo albums. Eleven of her singles and 14 of her albums have been certified gold by the RIAA...
's popular single "Physical
Physical (Olivia Newton-John song)
"Physical" is a song by Australian pop singer Olivia Newton-John, released in September 1981. The song was an immediate success, shipping 2 million copies in the United States, being certified Platinum, and spending 10 weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, ultimately becoming Newton-John's...
".
Fleece tracksuit
Tracksuit
A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly as what athletes wore over competition clothing and would take off before competition. In modern times, it has become commonly worn...
s were at first mostly worn by athletes, in the 1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
tracksuits became increasingly fashionable as leisurewear, though jackets and trousers tended to be worn separately rather than as a suit. Nylon Shell suits became particularly popular in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
by the early 1990s.
The shell suit became a commonly-worn item, especially in the United Kingdom. In Britain and Ireland as well as most of Europe, Italy in particular, black was the preferred colour for teenage girls and young women. In Continental Europe, expensive, designer jeans were the preferred choice of casual attire for both sexes.
External links
- A guide to 80s Fashion
- 80s Fashion Information
- New Romantics 1980s Fashion History
- 80s Glamour - Puffy Shirts, Ridiculous Hairstyle
- Museum of 1980s sports and leisurewear
- Rewind back to 80s Fashion
- Children's clothing from the 1980s
- 80s fashion: hair, clothes, makeup
- 80s fashion, happy pants and fancy dress