1980s Fashion-The “Dress for Success” Decade
Plenty of counter-culture dress was introduced throughout the 1980s. However, it was also a time of great shift in attitudes.
During the 1980s opposite views were valued than were in the late 1970s. More and more people during this decade were dressing for success, especially in the latter years.
Additionally, the term “yuppie” was used quite a bit during the 1980s. This word usually was used to describe well-dressed business men and women who wore tailored suits to the office.
In the book Fashions of a Decade: The 1980s Vicky Carnegy describes the shift in fashion trend during this period of time as more than just a whim of fashion. It was also considered a “widespread social trend”.
This new trend of dressing for success was said to have been a result of President Reagan becoming president. One could conclude from reading studies of 1980s fashion history that the shift in fashion trends has quite a bit to do with the attitudes of people who are in political office.
Notable Fashion Designers
Some of the major fashion influences of the 1980s were Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren. These famous fashion designers of the 1980s decade created a whole line of clothing for people who worked hard and did not have time to shop at separate stores just to find shoes, coats, and outfits.
The only dilemma that shoppers had was the fact that if they went to a specific designer clothing boutique they may be limited to the stock that the establishment carries that day. If this happens, the shopping experience could be more time consuming. However, in most cases, designer clothing boutiques worked to please consumers of this time period.
Another very notable fashion designer of this time period was responsible for creating a line of women’s power clothing. This lady’s name was Donna Karan who was called the “queen of seventh avenue”.
Key Designer Clothing Items
The woman’s work suit was one of the most significant pieces of designer clothing during this time. Usually this outfit consisted of a skirt that was about knee length or a little lower, and usually cut at the waist.
The suit jacket was usually made with broad shoulders and often was worn with a wide belt around the waist. Underneath was worn a simple camisole or blouse. Hoop earrings and/or a beret-like hat may accompany the outfit.
Other notable 1980s designer accessories included Gucci watches and Rolex watches. In the middle to late 1980s “dangly” earrings were popular as well.
Casual clothing in the 1980s included jean jackets along with jean outfits. Holes or rips in jeans was also popular as well. In latter years, stone-washed jeans were popular created, and the legs of jeans during this time were designed to fit tight against the ankles. Bell bottoms were out during the 1980s.
In fact, from the years 1988 to approximately the early 1990s if you had jeans that were wide-bottomed or bell-bottomed you were considered a “nerd” if you were in school. Therefore a new trend was started (at least in some areas of the U.S.), which was to fold the bottoms of jeans and roll them up. The result was that they were tight against the ankle.
The other type of clothing that was very popular in the 1980s was sports and workout clothing. People not only wore sweat pants to the gym, but often they wore sports’ outfits around the house, to the grocery store, and even to school.
The sweat pants that were worn this time were made from materials such as cotton fleece and they usually were created with elastic around the waist and the ankles. Adidas clothing outfits and Nike shoes were becoming more and more popular as well during this time.
Additionally, leggings were often worn, which are skin tight pants, and some people wore brand names of spandex swim and biking clothing. Even a number of heavy metal/rock groups such as Ratt, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister wore these tight pants in the 1980s.
There was a 1980s Youth, However
Even though youth influence was less during the 1980s there was still “fashion rebellion” during this decade. The youth wore fad items such as different colored jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, bright neon-colored summer shorts, and several earrings in one ear.
Another fad clothing item was parachute pants. These particular pants were extremely baggy and were made out of a material called ripstop nylon. Versions of this type of nylon pant are even still worn in the 21st century.
During this decade many teens also wore similar clothing as their favorite music, movie, and television. In fact, one of the major fashion statements of this decade was the dying of hair, especially in punk circles.
Punk artists were not the only ones dying their hair, however. Mainstream artists such as Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, and Twisted Sister also dyed their hair bright colors (green, pink, blue, etc.).
Besides imitating these artists, many people loved to imitate the dress of artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna. In fact, some people wore the “Michael Jackson” glove when the Beat It/Thriller albums were out.
Additional Fashion Notes
“Big” hair and curled bangs were very popular during this time. Furthermore, featured haircuts and tight perms were in.
Plenty of counter-culture dress was introduced throughout the 1980s. However, it was also a time of great shift in attitudes.
During the 1980s opposite views were valued than were in the late 1970s. More and more people during this decade were dressing for success, especially in the latter years.
Additionally, the term “yuppie” was used quite a bit during the 1980s. This word usually was used to describe well-dressed business men and women who wore tailored suits to the office.
In the book Fashions of a Decade: The 1980s Vicky Carnegy describes the shift in fashion trend during this period of time as more than just a whim of fashion. It was also considered a “widespread social trend”.
This new trend of dressing for success was said to have been a result of President Reagan becoming president. One could conclude from reading studies of 1980s fashion history that the shift in fashion trends has quite a bit to do with the attitudes of people who are in political office.
Notable Fashion Designers
Some of the major fashion influences of the 1980s were Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, and Ralph Lauren. These famous fashion designers of the 1980s decade created a whole line of clothing for people who worked hard and did not have time to shop at separate stores just to find shoes, coats, and outfits.
The only dilemma that shoppers had was the fact that if they went to a specific designer clothing boutique they may be limited to the stock that the establishment carries that day. If this happens, the shopping experience could be more time consuming. However, in most cases, designer clothing boutiques worked to please consumers of this time period.
Another very notable fashion designer of this time period was responsible for creating a line of women’s power clothing. This lady’s name was Donna Karan who was called the “queen of seventh avenue”.
Key Designer Clothing Items
The woman’s work suit was one of the most significant pieces of designer clothing during this time. Usually this outfit consisted of a skirt that was about knee length or a little lower, and usually cut at the waist.
The suit jacket was usually made with broad shoulders and often was worn with a wide belt around the waist. Underneath was worn a simple camisole or blouse. Hoop earrings and/or a beret-like hat may accompany the outfit.
Other notable 1980s designer accessories included Gucci watches and Rolex watches. In the middle to late 1980s “dangly” earrings were popular as well.
Casual clothing in the 1980s included jean jackets along with jean outfits. Holes or rips in jeans was also popular as well. In latter years, stone-washed jeans were popular created, and the legs of jeans during this time were designed to fit tight against the ankles. Bell bottoms were out during the 1980s.
In fact, from the years 1988 to approximately the early 1990s if you had jeans that were wide-bottomed or bell-bottomed you were considered a “nerd” if you were in school. Therefore a new trend was started (at least in some areas of the U.S.), which was to fold the bottoms of jeans and roll them up. The result was that they were tight against the ankle.
The other type of clothing that was very popular in the 1980s was sports and workout clothing. People not only wore sweat pants to the gym, but often they wore sports’ outfits around the house, to the grocery store, and even to school.
The sweat pants that were worn this time were made from materials such as cotton fleece and they usually were created with elastic around the waist and the ankles. Adidas clothing outfits and Nike shoes were becoming more and more popular as well during this time.
Additionally, leggings were often worn, which are skin tight pants, and some people wore brand names of spandex swim and biking clothing. Even a number of heavy metal/rock groups such as Ratt, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, and Twisted Sister wore these tight pants in the 1980s.
There was a 1980s Youth, However
Even though youth influence was less during the 1980s there was still “fashion rebellion” during this decade. The youth wore fad items such as different colored jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, bright neon-colored summer shorts, and several earrings in one ear.
Another fad clothing item was parachute pants. These particular pants were extremely baggy and were made out of a material called ripstop nylon. Versions of this type of nylon pant are even still worn in the 21st century.
During this decade many teens also wore similar clothing as their favorite music, movie, and television. In fact, one of the major fashion statements of this decade was the dying of hair, especially in punk circles.
Punk artists were not the only ones dying their hair, however. Mainstream artists such as Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, and Twisted Sister also dyed their hair bright colors (green, pink, blue, etc.).
Besides imitating these artists, many people loved to imitate the dress of artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna. In fact, some people wore the “Michael Jackson” glove when the Beat It/Thriller albums were out.
Additional Fashion Notes
“Big” hair and curled bangs were very popular during this time. Furthermore, featured haircuts and tight perms were in.
