Clothes In The Eighties

Clothes In The Eighties

clothes in the eighties

Fashions of the 1980s, like the fashions of all the decades before and those that will follow, the 1980s had a very distinct style. Name brands became extremely important during this decade where all kinds of new and interesting trends. Let us take a look at some of the more popular trends of this high fashion era.

Valley Girl- Headbands became extremely fashionable in the early 1980’s. This trend began in California and quickly spread throughout the country. There were a lot of other fashion trends that went along with the Valley Girl look. Leg Warmers and miniskirts along with short flared skirts were all extremely popular. These Valley Girl trends were very closely associated with movies like Flashdance and the extremely popular song Valley Girl by Frank and Moon Unit Zappa.

Power Dressing- Shoulder pads that were made popular by the 1980s soap opera Dynasty. This masculine style of dressing for women remained popular throughout the 1980’s and into the early 90’s. There are many that believe that shoulder pads were such a hugely important part of 80’s fashion is because more and more women where entering the workforce and they wanted to “power dress” to show that they were equal to their male counterparts.

The Miami Vice Look- The fashionable 1980s saw a colorful explosion in men’s fashions. Miami Vice was a very popular television show that heavily influenced men’s fashion in the 80’s. More casual t-shirts where being worn underneath designer suit jackets and the t-shirts where often in bright or pastel shades, this look was often accompanied by “designer stubble” in regards to beards and the habit of not wearing socks with shoes.

Dr. Martens- Dr. Marten shoes were an extremely popular fashion choice for both men and women in the 80’s. This footwear was an essential part of both the punk and skinhead subcultures in England. When worn by women, Dr. Martens were often worn with miniskirts and even full, elegant looking dresses. They also played a big part in the 1980’s post punk era Gothic look. This look featured dark, often black, cosmetics, leather and velvet trimmed clothing, spiked bracelets, dog collars, and even corsets. This style of dress would see a resurgence in popularity in the 1990’s in addition to the 2000’s.

Hair Metal- Toward the late 80s both sexes had grown fond of acid-washed jeans and denim jackets. This style of dress became quickly associated with the heavy metal music trend known as hair metal. Highly teased, often-frizzy looking hairstyles were worn by both male and female enthusiasts of this trend. Heavily bleached and torn jeans would also eventually become a popular heavy metal music trend and it was at this time that tattoos and piercings began to enter the mainstream culture.

This is just a small sampling of the very eclectic 80’s style. You can’t help but also mention the fashion trends created by the rappers of the 80’s and well as the very clean cut preppy look that sprouted up. So no matter if you loved or if you hated the fashions of the 1980s, there is one thing that everyone can agree on: they were unforgettable.