1980S

MENSWEAR

Surbhi Modi
AN OVERVIEW

•The first Space

Shuttle, Columbia.
•The end of the Cold
War.
•The Fall of the Berlin
Wall.
•Challenger disaster.
•Famine in Ethiopia.
•Chernobyl disaster.
•The Iran–Iraq War.
 REMINISCING THE 80s
 A Decade of Decades.
 In one sense nothing
distinguished the 1980s as a
decade; instead, its cultural
preoccupations, arts, fashion
and political symbols were
borrowed from other decades.
Little during the time was
original or new.
The clothing covered
everything from neon bright
colours to parachute pants.
 Pastiche.
In another sense the retrospective character of the
1980s was the distinguishing feature of the
decade. Even the mostly new or unprecedented
part included reworking or refashioning of older
styles and ideas.
The music was some of the best since the 1950's,
and it seemed everyone was carefree. Rap music,
the most original musical style of the period,
exemplified the reworking of the past implicit in
most 1980s culture.
Film, television, and literature were similarly
marked by pastiche.
 The Superficial.
The decade revelled in the glitzy and
the glamorous style which
represented cultural and philosophical
progress.
Nancy Reagan set this tone along
with wealthy figures as Donald Trump,
Malcolm Forbes, and Tammy Faye
Bakker.
Pop singers such as Madonna and
Michael Jackson became famous by
striking poses, shedding and adopting
multiple public personae, and always
expressing an all-important attitude.
Even the gritty television detectives of
Miami Vice wore Armani suits.
 The Fundamentals.
This one stated a return to the fundamentals of
philosophy, education, religion, lifestyle and
politics.
By the 1980s the biblical story of creation came
into contradiction with Darwinism.
By the 1980s countercultural experiments with
alternative lifestyles had all fizzled out, leaving
many in search of "fundamental" family structures
and "traditional" lifestyles.
And the political conservatism of the decade was
dominated by a rhetorical call to the fundamentals
of old-fashioned Republicanism: patriotism,
anticommunism, and balanced budgets.
 Boom.
The status symbols of the new elite—
foreign automobiles, hand-tailored suits,
cellular phones—made an appearance.
Prices for art works rocketed to new
heights.
This boom period was because of the
"hype" that surrounded the decade.
Hype made rock superstars of more than a
few mediocre artists & glossed over their
lack of talent.
Sports became a multibillion-dollar business
and players wrangled endlessly over
contracts, while sporting-goods
endorsements by athletes such as
basketball star Michael Jordan.
By the end of the decade politicians too had
hired image makers and press managers to
churn out photo opportunities and policy
papers for the public.
Michael Jordan
 A Two-Tiered Society.
As the 1980s closed, the hype ground on, but reality kept
intervening: the stock market crashed; the federal debt
soared; the paychecks kept getting smaller etc.
While the wealthy benefited from advances in medical
technology, soaring medical costs stripped many middle-
class people of their basic health benefits and their old-
age security.
 Violence.
Handgun sales boomed. New prisons were built and filled
at a constant high rate.
Child abuse arose & gang violence became endemic to
urban areas.
Highly addictive forms of cocaine, like Crack, destroyed
hundreds of thousands of lives, despite highly publicized
administration efforts to interdict.
 The 1980s was an era of tremendous
population growth around the world
particularly in a number of African,
Middle Eastern, and South Asian
countries, arguably being the largest in
human history.
 The 80s marked the beginning of the
AIDS pandemic.
 Political correctness was a trend of
opposing, condemning, fighting and
preventing racism, discrimination or
other forms of prejudice against
minority groups.
 The role of women in the workplace
increased greatly.
 Fast food chain restaurants such as
McDonald's and Burger King
experienced a strong increase
circulation.
 Opposition to nuclear power plants
grew.
 Environmental concerns intensified.
 Increased awareness and opposition
to white-minority apartheid rule in
South Africa occurred in the western
world.
 Gay rights became more widely
accepted in the Western world,
particularly with suspected gay figures
such as Boy George and Holly
Johnson of Frankie Goes to
Hollywood.
 A joint American-French expedition RMS Titanic's bow, with the forestay
shackle fallen forwards, as seen
discovers the wreck of the RMS from the Russian MIR I submersible
Titanic on 1 September 1985.
Politics and wars
 The most notable terrorist attacks of
the decade include: 1983 Beirut
barracks bombing - during the
Lebanese Civil War, Lockerbie
Disaster (1988).
 The most notable wars of the decade 1983 Beirut barracks bombing

include: The Cold War, Arab–Israeli

conflict, Iran-Iraq war, Invasion of
Grenada.
 Ronald Reagan was elected U.S.
President in 1980.
 Military dictatorships give way to
democracy in Argentina, Uruguay,
Brazil and Chile. Invasion of Grenada
 Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of
the Soviet Union in 1985.
 The European Community's
enlargement continued with the
accession of Greece in 1981 and
Spain and Portugal in 1986.
 At the end of the decade, most of the
communist govts. in Eastern Europe Margaret Thatcher and Ronald
Reagan were the leaders of the
collapsed. UK and the USA.
 The fall of the Berlin Wall was
followed by the German reunification.
 The U. K. was governed by the
Conservative Party under Prime
Minister Margaret Thatcher, the first
female leader of a western country. The fall of the Berlin Wall in
1989 marked the beginning of
German reunification
 Renowned world leaders during
the 80s included:
Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of
China),
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (India),
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (India),
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran),
President Saddam Hussein (Iraq),
Pope John Paul II,
General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev
(Soviet Union),
Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom)
and the Commonwealth Realms),
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
(United Kingdom),
President George H.W. Bush (United
States),
President Jimmy Carter (United
States),
President Ronald Reagan (United
States).
 Disasters
 Mount St. Helens eruption in
Washington, Loma Prieta Earthquake
in the San Francisco Bay Area, US
Drought of 1988, El Niño, the 1988
Armenian earthquake, Hurricanes
majorly in the Atlantic area were some 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens
notably destructive natural disasters.
 The Bhopal Gas tragedy (1984), the
NASA Space Shuttle Challenger
disintegration (1986), the Chernobyl
disaster (1986), the Exxon Valdez oil
spill (1989) were the most devastating
ecological disasters ever.
The space shuttle Challenger
disintegrates on January 28, 1986
Assassinations
 The 1980s were marked by
several notable assassinations:
Egyptian president Anwar Sadat,
Former Beatles musician John
Lennon, Indian prime minister
Indira Gandhi and Swedish Anwar Sadat

Prime Minister Olof Palme.

 There were assassination
attempt on the British Prime
Minister, Margaret Thatcher,
American President Ronald
Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
Reagan assassination attempt
Technology
 Arcade games and video games, by
1982 were a major industry. It was
further revived by Nintendo in the
second half of the decade.
 Computers experienced explosive IBM 5150 as of 1981. The first model of
growth in the '80s. the IBM PC, the personal computer
whose successors would fill the world
 A new technology was evolved starting
as Bulletin boards later known as the
Internet invented by English physicist
Tim Berners and the beginnings of the
World Wide Web.
 Another technology that came in was of
cellular mobile phones. In the
beginning the phones were big and
heavy and hit and miss for signal
strength.
 Manned American space flights
resumed with the launch of the
space shuttle Columbia in April 1981
and Discovery in September 1988.
 Soviet manned program went well
during the decade which included
Mir in 1986, the Buran space shuttle
in 1988. The Space Shuttle Columbia
seconds after engine ignition, 1981
 Planetary probes continued in the
'80s, the Voyager duo being the
most famous.
 The arrival of Halley's Comet in
1986 was met by a series of
American, Soviet, Japanese, and
ESA probes.
Halley's Comet in 1986
Automobiles
 The American auto industry in the 1980s
faced with poor quality control, rising
import competition, and a severe
economic downturn. Chrysler and
American Motors (AMC) were near
bankruptcy, and Ford was little better off.
Only GM continued with business as One of the models of Hyundai
usual.
 The Japanese were now a major
presence and Hyundai became the first
Korean auto maker to enter the American
market.
 Pro-aerodynamic round styling in
designing cars was incorporated.
 “Yuppies" increasingly favoured European The 1983 Cadillac Cimarron, with its
luxury cars to Cadillac. four-cylinder Chevy motor.
 Chrysler introduced its new
compact, front-wheel drive K-
cars in 1981.
 But the biggest success was
the arrival of the minivans in
1984.
 By the late 80s, Chrysler Chrysler’s K-cars

acquired the Italian makes of

Lamborghini and Maserati,
AMC from Renault and the
Jeep line.
 The eighties marked the
decline of European brands like
Renault, Citroen, Fiat and
Peugeot. Alfa Romeo
continued until 1993. Mini vans
The DeLorean DMC-
12 gained renewed
fame afterward as the
time machine in the
Back to the Future
motion picture trilogy.
Economics
 Developing countries across the
world faced economic and social
difficulties as they suffered from
multiple debt crises in the 1980s.
 Spread of neoliberal economics in
developed world.
 The 1980s saw a revival of
capitalism and laissez-faire
economics.
 The financial world and the stock
market were glamorized and
figures like Donald Trump and
Michael Milken were widely seen
as symbols of the decade.
POPULAR CULTURE
Music
 In 1981 Bob Marley died.
 The decade began with an anti-
disco backlash and the music was
characterized by the widespread
use of synthesizers and keyboards.
 In the U.S., MTV was launched and Duran Duran

music videos began to have a huge

effect on the record industry. Pop
artists such as Michael Jackson,
Duran Duran, Prince, Madonna,
and Queen mastered the format
and helped turn this new product
into a profitable business.
 New Wave and Synth-pop were
developed by many British and
American artists, and became a
popular phenomena.
 Hard rock, heavy metal, and
glam metal experienced
extreme popularity in 1980s,
becoming one of the most
dominant music genres of the Bon Jovi

decade, peaking with the arrival

of such bands as Guns N'
Roses and Bon Jovi.
 The hip hop scene continued to
evolve, gaining recognition and
exhibiting a stronger influence
on the music industry. Guns N Roses
 Punk rock continued to make strides in the
musical community giving birth to many sub-
genres like hardcore.
 Techno form of electronic dance music
emerged in USA during the mid to late
1980s.
 House music was popularized in mid-1980s
discothèques catering to the African-
The Replacements
American, Latino and gay communities.
 College Rock caught on in the underground
scene of the 1980s with bands like the
Pixies, R.E.M., The Replacements, Sonic
Youth, etc.
 Michael Jackson was a popular entertainer
of the 1980s and his leather jacket, glove
and Moonwalk dance were often imitated.
 Madonna was regarded as the most ground
breaking female artist of the decade & was
noted for her many fashion incarnations.
 Despite the general
inadequacy of pigeonholing,
there were the other requisite,
defining styles from the era:
Goth (Siouxsie & The
Banshees, The Cure),
Ska/post punk (Madness, The
English Beat), Rockabilly
(Dave Edmunds, Stray Cats,
The Cure Band
The Cramps), and Power Pop
(The Vapors, The Producers).
 Many Aussie popular artists
made the big jump across the
pond including Split Enz,
Midnight Oil, Icehouse,
Divinyls, and Crowded House.

Split Enz
  Madonna
 Among the musicians
 Metallica
the famed names were:
 Michael Jackson
 A-ha
 Phil Collins
 Aerosmith
 Prince
 Billy Idol
 Samantha Fox
 Bob Marley  Stevie Wonder
 Bryan Adams  Whitney Houston
 Duran Duran  U2
 George Micheal  INXS
 Jon Bon Jovi  Banarama
 Kylie Minogue  Run D.M.C
 The Bangles
 ABBA
 Wham!
 Tina Turner
 The Police
 Eurythmics
 Guns N Roses

Michael Jackson, 1984

 Film & Television
 Oscar winners: Ordinary People (1980),
Chariots of Fire (1981), Gandhi (1982), Terms of
Endearment (1983), Amadeus (1984), Out of
Africa (1985), Platoon (1986), The Last Emperor
(1987), Rain Man (1988), Driving Miss Daisy
(1989).
 The 15 highest-grossing films of the decade
are : E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Star Wars
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, Star Wars
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade, Batman, Rain
Man, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Back to the
Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Top Gun,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Back to
the Future Part II, Crocodile Dundee, Fatal
Attraction and Beverly Hills Cop.
 This was the period when the 'high concept'
films were introduced.
 The most prominent TV series of
the 1980s include: Alf, The A-
Team, Dallas, Knight Rider,
MacGyver, Magnum, P.I., Miami
Vice, Diff'rent Strokes, The Facts
of Life, The Cosby Show, Star
Trek: The Next Generation, Night
Court, Who's the Boss?, Family
Matters, Quantum Leap, Saved by
the Bell, Roseanne, Full House,
The Golden Girls, Cheers and
Family Ties.
 Cable television became more
accessible and therefore, more
popular.
 The popular animated sitcom The
Simpsons debuted in 1989.
The Young Ones.
 The most notable entertainers included:
 Michael J. Fox
 Christopher Lloyd
 Arnold Schwarzenegger
 Sylvester Stallone
 Tom Cruise
 Prince
 Harrison Ford
 John Travolta
 John Belushi
 Al Pacino Michael J. Fox, 1988
 Bill Murray
 Hulk Hogan
 Bruce Willis
 Mel Gibson
 Clint Eastwood Sylvester Stallone

 Burt Reynolds
 Eddie Murphy
 Dudley Moore
 Known film-makers: Steven
Spielberg, James Cameron etc. Steven Spielberg
 Sports & Video gaming
 The 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, the
1980 Winter Olympics, the 1984 Summer
Olympics in Los Angeles, the 1984 Winter
Olympics in Yugoslavia, the 1988 Winter
Olympics in Canada, the 1988 Summer
Olympics in Seoul, South Korea were held.
 In the US, basketball player Michael Jordan
BMX bicycles endorsement, 1982
bursts onto the scene in the 1980s.
 On November 26, 1986 Mike Tyson became
the Youngest Heavyweight Champion of the
world.
 The Yo-yo, Rubik’s cube & BMX bicycles
gained popularity amongst the youth in the
early 1980s.
Rubik's Cube
 Popular video games
include: Pac-Man, Super
Mario Bros., The Legend
of Zelda, Donkey Kong,
Frogger, Digger, Tetris
and Golden Axe.
 Handheld electronic LCD Pac-Man (1980)

games introduced into the

youth market segment.
 The Game Boy is
released in 1989 by
Nintendo.
The Nintendo Entertainment System
released in the mid 1980s became the
best-selling gaming console of its time
 Among the sports figures,
popular names were:
Boris Becker
Steffi Graf
Maradona
Wayne Gretzky
Magic Johnson
Michael Jordan
Mike Tyson
Magic Johnson

Wayne Gretzky
Art Movements & their
Influence
 The arts and fashion in the 1980s were
dominated by stylistic borrowings: Art Deco from
the 1930s, Abstract Expressionism and film noir
from the 1940s, commercial kitsch from the
1950s, rock music and countercultural
experimentalism from the 1960s.
 Postmodern architecture combined the
conventions of modernism, Art Deco,
neoclassicism, and Renaissance architecture.
 The art movements which got popularized during
this decade were Free Figuration (Figuration
Libre) - early 1980s-Present, Neue Wilde - early
1980s-Present, Neo-Geo - mid-1980s,
Multiculturalism - 1980s-Present, Graffiti
Movement - 1980s-Present, BritArt / Young British
Artists ("yBa") - 1988-Present, Neo-Pop - late
1980s-Present.
80'S MEN'S FASHION
 The kitsch of the 1970s, while itself
rejected, influenced the fashion of the
1980s – in the beginning of the
decade marked by the New Romantic
movement and later inspired by
heavy metal bands, including teased
hair, ripped jeans and neon clothing.
 Significant fashion trends of the
1980s include:
Perm, Mullet and Hair gel
Shoulder Pads
Headbands
Pastel colors Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran in 1987.
Ray-Ban sunglasses Along with Adam and The Ants, Duran
Duran helped initiate the New Romantic
Jean jackets fashion movement in 1980. Here he is
dressed casually in t-shirt and jeans, and
he wears an earring in his left ear.
 1980s menswear suggested a reaffirmation
of traditional values and gender roles. The
1980s suit meant business, trousers were
straighter. The style reflected a return to
1950s masculinity—a conservative,
professional man with no time for leisure.
 The beginning of the new decade brought
back some styles of the past. Saddle shoes
were also included in the 1950ish attire.
 The guys seemed to show up mostly in OP,
Hang Ten and Stubbie brands of clothing.
 Firstly, there was the New Man or
Eighties Man – men who were
sensitive, not afraid of emotions,
housework or childcare - a reply to the
revival of the feminist movement which
had come bursting out of the 1960s.
They were hot news from around 1982
onwards.
 Those linen jackets, with massive
shoulder pads, looked tremendous with
a cerise mesh vest and skin-tight yellow
trousers.
 There was also the growing
"swankiness" of the mid-1980s as
money began to swirl around and style
became oh so important. It was such a
contrast to the early '80s, when donkey
jackets had been one of the main
fashion must-haves.
 In the early 1980s men began to
wear looser shirts and tight, close-
fitting pants.
 The notoriously outlandish
designer/club host Leigh Bowery,
known for his exuberant designs,
became a muse for artists such as
Boy George and had grown a huge
status in the early 1980s
underground club scene.
 Boy George may be the High Priest
of High Camp, but the 1984 fashion
revolution extends far beyond
Gorgeous George and the pop
world.

Fashion trend leader Boy George - a

sticker from the mid-1980s.
 The early designers of the new
romantic look were Vivienne
Westwood, Colin Swift, Stevie
Stewart and David Holah. Vivienne
Westwood designed clothing
specifically for bands, such as
Adam and the Ants 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-waist baggy
trousers tapered at the ankle.
 Short shirt collars worn unfolded
against the neck (popped collars)
with the top one or two buttons
unfastened became a popular
trend.
 Cheery black and white
brooding alternative look
was seen as worn by The
Cure or Depeche Mode.
White shirts buttoned up
to the top or dark t-shirts
with retro prints, black
jackets, doc martens, lots
of hairspray, berets and
fetish gear were also
combined.
 Molly Ringwald and Jon Cryer
in "Pretty in Pink"
 The big jackets and high-waisted
chinos on pretty-boy Blane
(Andrew McCarthy) & Duckie's
(Jon Cryer) skinny jeans and
have been a part of street
fashion for years.
 Skinny jeans were also very
popular in the 1980s, with most
heavy metal bands, and in
particular those in the thrash
scene, such as Anthrax,
Megadeth, Metallica and Slayer.
They were often worn with white
high-top sneakers or basket-ball
shoes. Horror Band
 By the late 1980s and
early 1990s, many hair
metal bands such as
Poison, Guns N' Roses
and Mötley Crüe to Kiss,
Bon Jovi and Slaughter,
ditched the spandex and
wore the form fitted
jeans.
 However with the rise of
grunge and hip-hop
music in the early
nineties and the post
thrash movement, skinny
jeans quickly went out of
favour although some
people still wear them to
have the "old school"
metal appearance. Guns N Roses
 The 80's, back in the
days where walking
around with bright
yellow lycra pants
was considered
acceptable. Nearly all Gay fashion was an invention of the 80s.
of the fashion looked
like they ripped
everything up, wore
tights and random
bright shit.

Boy George spent his younger years as a lovely young

lady and his older years as a, well, very frightening
transvestite.
 Hugo Boss ads in the 1980s

Corey Feldman in 1989. His Nik Kershaw in 1985, sporting

jacket with tails shows a New that popular mid-'80s look
Romantic influence.
 The Economy Boom
 In the 1980s, fashion was influenced by the western
economic boom.
 Ronald Reagan celebrated presidential success
with a style that used fashionable conspicuous
clothes and social events to display the affluence of
American society to a world audience.
 Other eastern bloc countries craved western
clothes and liberation.
 Designer labels and branding gained impetus. 
Brand names became status symbols for sports
gear and sportswear, perfumes, electrical
equipment, cars and fashion designer goods such
as clothing, bags, luggage, scarves and
spectacles. 
 The appearance of affluence was reinforced by
access to designer label goods.
 The Dinky(Double Income No Kids Yet) was the
type of consumer that was targeted for spending on
fashion and status symbols like perfume, label
goods and stylish kitchen items.
Power Dressing
 Fashion history records the power
suit and dressing for success as
the symbol of the 1980s.
 Men discovered pinstripes again.
Suits were made of natural
materials, such as wool, cotton
and silk, an image of higher
quality. The pinstripes were very
similar to pinstripes from the
1970's.
 Button down collars made a
return, both for business and
casual wear.
 Men wore power suits to display
their wealth. Brand names became
increasingly important in this
decade, making Ralph Lauren and
Calvin Klein household names.
 Vests made in the early 1980s
often had only four buttons and
were made to be worn low.
 Three-piece suits were not popular
and lapels on suit jackets became
narrower. Neckties lost weight and
became skinny; some of the
leather ties were a mere thin strap,
which can be seen in movies like
Footloose.
 Miami Vice
 The 1980's were full of bright
colours, even in men's fashion.
Men began to adapt the look
from Miami Vice, a hit television
series starring Don Johnson.
 This look paired a casual T-shirt
with expensive designer suit
jacket often accompanied by
broad shoulders with padding,
and a few days' growth of facial
hair, dubbed "designer stubble".
 The T-shirt colours were anything
from pastel to coral and the suit
was typically white. This look
also featured loafers worn
without socks.
 Similarly, another popular look for men, beginning
in the early 1980s was the Hawaiian shirt, as worn
by television's enormously popular leading
detective series Magnum, P.I., starring
moustached Tom Selleck.
 The hawaiian shirts sales soared, complemented
with sport coats, often with top-stitched lapels;
easy-care micro-suede and corduroy jackets
became popular choices, especially those with a
western style.
 Cowboy boots, in the early 1980s, especially the
brand Luchese, as worn by Tom Selleck in a
famous cologne advertisement, became highly
popular among men who could afford them.
 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.
 For a dressier Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs look think
shiny silver suits, top buttoned silk shirts, coloured
dress shirts with a white collar, shiny silk ties, a
nice watch& flat dress shoes with pointy toes.
 Another "off-the-charts" look that
emerged in the early 1980s, was the
ubiquitous "Members Only",
displayed as the brand’s namesake
logo tag, sewn prominently on the
front left breast pocket: a racer/golf
style windbreaker jacket, with a slim,
auto-racer’s, mandarin-style, neck-
strap-snap.
 There was a throw back to the
earlier 1950s Collegiate look or the
more known "Ivy League look", they
favoured natural fibers. This revival
style held great snob appeal, and
came to be definitively summarized
in: The Official Preppy Handbook. It
was an authoritative personal-image-
guide, accorded by appearing “un-
tacky”.
 Preppies favoured single or
double-breasted “genuine fiber”
navy blue or midnight blue
seasonal weight wool or linen
sports jackets in a traditional
American shoulder and single
back vent, or an English bespoke
shouldered pattern, double
vented: all styles boosted golden
or actual gold buttons; or ideally,
for total snob-appeal, these
treasured button-sets 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.
 For day Yuppies sported wide
shouldered jackets and for
weekends they wore a Barbour
to effect a country aesthetic.
  It was during the 1980s
when Gianni Versace
revolutionized menswear by
making men without ties the
epitome of cool. And with the
popularity of Miami Vice
wherein Don Johnson did not
wear any neckwear even
when wearing suits, Gianni
Versace’s idea spread like
wildfire.
 Thriller
 The video and dance in the movie 13 Going on 30,
the Thriller video, released in 1982, inspired a whole
new fashion craze in 80's men's fashion.
 Teenagers tried to emulate Michael Jackson by
wearing matching black (or red) leather pants and
leather jackets, a single glove, sunglasses and jheri
curl.
 Leather jackets popularized by Michael Jackson and
films like The Lost Boys 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.
 In fact, many teenagers wore their sunglasses even
after dark, which was popularized by song lyrics
such as "I wear my sunglasses at night".
 Later in the 1980's, brown leather aviator jackets,
replicated after the World War II fighter pilot jackets,
became popular.
 Preppy
 Conservatism was in and actors such as
Michael J. Fox, who played the preppy Alex
P. Keaton on Family Ties, wore looks that
were conservative. This style came to be
known as "preppy."
 Preppy fashions are associated with classic
and conservative style of dressing and
clothing brands such as Izod, Lacoste,
Brooks Brothers, Polo Ralph Lauren 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.
 The Baja Hoodies came in fashion
circles from the 1982 movie Fast
Times at Ridgemont High and
Sean Penn’s now-legendary zoned
out surfer dude character.
 The 80's were the decade of vivid
sneakers and high-tops were
brought back from the 50s with a
vengeance.
 Adidas Gazelles, because they
were successful & effective, with
the suede and the simple stripes.
 Vans were the perfect marriage of
tennis shoe and loafer.
 The paint-spattered Converse,
pairs of high-tops laced halfway up
were to be seen everywhere.
 Male fashion trends included
traditional OP shirts, Levis and
cords. Most of the male population
n campus dressed casually and
comfortable, but there were some
style conscious guys who were
sporting the college prep look.
These styles included long sleeved
shirts combined with V-necked
sweaters in soft velour. Saddle
shoes completed the preppie
image.
 In the early-to-mid 1980s, pineapple
knits were regarded as being very
excellent. The jumper and the
cardigan are illustrated in this 1984
mail order catalogue.
Punk rock style
 Punk was about making
something new, being all
nihilistic and different and
rejecting arena rock and
hippies.
 Ripped-up t-shirt with safety
pins, a pair of black jeans, and
a leather jacket were the
signature style of Punk fashion.
 Punkers hanged out then with
the Mohawks and bondage
pants. A French punk,1981.
 Bands like Motley Crue
and Poison were all talkin'
tough and wearing leather
but accessorized with
makeup, crimped hair and
neon spandex pants.
 These bands knew how
to party in their silk shirt
or vest with no shirt open
to show off the necklaces,
spandex pants or tight
black jeans, big shades,
headband and poofy hair.
A tacky temporary tattoo
is a nice detail.
Athletic
 Sports suits by companies such as
Adidas were popular as well. Many
people were into fitness and
sports, and people were very loyal
to particular brands. This seemed
to taper off in the late 1980's and
many of these brands have never
quite regained the same popularity
as they once had.
 In the 1980s, tracksuits became
popular as leisure clothing and
Jogpants would become a general
trend in the decades to come.
 80s Hip Hop Fashion
 Whatever the rappers during that
time were wearing, the common
man also would wear. Most of
the rappers were wearing shell-
toe adidas sneakers with the
jump suit to match.
 Multi-coloured suits, blue on
white Adidas to match earlier,
Lee jeans to go with LeTigre
shirts Patrick Ewing adidas in
Knicks colours, were also famed.
 The eyewear was
strictly Gazelles, as
was worn by DMC.
 Filas, Diadoras, Lottos,
and Nikes came into
the scene apart from
Adidas.
 Acid washed jeans, the
dress shirts with the
different colour collars,
leather ties, etc. were Stonewashed denim -
all in vogue. the new fashion
"must-have" - seen in
this 1983 mail order
catalogue.
 Converse shoes were popular in the first half
of the 1980s. Air Jordan basketball shoes
(named for basketball player Michael
Jordan) made their debut in 1984. Athletic
shoes had been worn as casual wear
before, but for the first time they became a
high-priced fashion item.
 Adidas sneakers took the decade by storm,
popular amongst teenagers and young men;
the Adidas sneaker was popularized by the
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 Americans, as did
kente cloth. In the urban hip-hop
communities, sneakers were usually worn
unlaced and with a large amount of gold
jewelry as well as headwraps.
 In or around 1984, guys discovered
the parachute pant. Parachute
pants were fairly tight nylon pants
with zippered patch pockets, the
usual 2 front + 2 back, plus one or
two on each leg with zippered
ankles. Rapper MC Hammer took
this pants style to the extreme with
his loose, long crotch, and ultra
baggy pants in a wild range of
materials and colors. Like the
popular harem pants, Hammer
pants were worn by few but
admired by many.
 Hair style was always
waves in the hair. Du-rags
were worn not for fashion,
but to keep the waves
clean and fresh.
 Hip hop fashion started to
change to a more dignified
like look. More button-
down shirts, big pants, Bill
Cosby-like sweaters with
the turtleneck inside. The
Argyle socks were in too.
By the late '80s looking fly
was the order of the day.
 Pointy suede boots with lots of
buckles, studded belt, frilly shirt,
and headbands.. . sandblasted
leather jacket… Chinese (kung
fu) slippers.

Pseudo Echo
Casual wear
 From the late 1980s through 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 80's through
1997. In colder weather the
sweatshirts were worn over a
colourful turtle-neck.
The Kajagoogoo
band
 Hair & Grooming
 Big and eccentric hair styles were
popularized by film and music stars in
particular amongst teenagers. Styling
mousse & hairsprays became as necessary
as a big comb to fluff the feathered bangs.
 From 1984 to 1986, sideburns came back
but were short and thin, as opposed to the
longer, thicker sideburns of the 1970's.
 The Mullet existed in several different styles,
all characterized by hair short on the sides
and long in the back.
 While mullets were popular in suburbia, a
Two '80s popstrels, Nik Kershaw and
more professional look was required of
Paul Young, on the cover of the very
businessmen, who wore very short hair. In wonderful Smash Hits in September
the late 80's in men's fashion, it was not 1985.
popular to part the hair.
 Even working class ordinary geezers wore make-up & took trouble with their
grooming.
 Speaking of hair, the 80s music scene was alive with trendsetting manes, no
matter what genre. We had the infamously rowdy hair bands, like Bon Jovi,
Poison, and Van Halen, as well as the infamously quirky new wave stylers like the
Thompson Twins and A Flock of Seagulls. And refusing to be outdone by their
outrageous hair, both The Cure's Robert Smith and Culture Club's Boy George
took their androgenous looks and used them to promote their amazing music to
the masses all throughout the 80s.
 Millions of men came to layer their curly hair and grow a moustache, like Tom’s in
Magnum P.I.

Hair bands
 Hair
Bands

Magazine advertisement from September The early 1980s New Romantics scene.
1985. "Looks even better on a girl" Lots of moustaches were in
 The ‘Hair Bands’ of the
1980s applied this style in
a big way, strongest
around 1987-88. Bands
like Bon Jovi, Cinderella,
Def Leppard and Poison The Hair Bands

truly epitomized the ‘bigger

is better’ adage.
 Tattooing and piercing
began to enter the
mainstream.
Hairstyle worn by young, serious- Magazine ad for Shock Waves gel, Big 1980s mullet.
minded '80s gents 1988.
 Short hair were bleached, dyed a
bright colour or spiked in an
unusual way with hair gel. The
synthpop band Flock of Seagulls
showed just how unique this trend
was.
 Asymmetrical haircuts were the
most popular around 1985-1988.
Hair was cut short beginning with
the bangs and increasing in length
around the head until it came to
somewhat of a diagonal point on
the other side. (England’s popular
band The Human League for a
great example)
Accessories
 Teens loved the colour and functional style
of Swatches. Also arriving on the scene was
the Seiko Television Watch. This nifty little
gadget allowed the wearer to watch TV on
the run, and was symbolic of the fast pace
and burgeoning technology of the day.
 Earrings became a mainstream fashion for
male teenagers.
 Particularly in the early 80s, favourite
fashion accessory was a Punk-style dog
collar.
 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.
 The Tank watch by Cartier was a
fashion icon that was revived and
frequently seen on Cartier
advertisements in print. Rolex
watches were prominently seen on
Miami Vice TV show.
 In the early-to-mid 1980s, glasses
with large, plastic frames were in
fashion. Small metal framed
eyeglasses made a return to fashion
in 1984 and 1985, and in the late
1980s, glasses with tortoise-shell
colouring became popular.
Throughout the 1980s, Ray-Ban
Wayfarer were extremely popular, as
worn by Tom Cruise in movies like
Risky Business & Top Gun.

Ray-Ban sunglasses
 U2 has managed to continue to
evolve, in music, in attitude, and
in super-kitsch Bono glasses.
 For casual wear tennis shoes
(both high-tops and standard
ankle high shoes), and leather
dress shoes were very popular.
Overall the more expensive look
was admired during this decade.
 The trend in the guys' shoe
department was a wide
assortment of tennis shoes, the
most popular brands being Nike,
Adidas and New Balance.
Designer underwear
 Underwear was also colorful for men,
and boxer shorts were "tapered", or
styled after the side-vent running
shorts, with a trimmer cut.
 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.
 Fashion underwear was influenced by
Michael J. Fox's lilac Calvin Klein briefs
in Back to the Future.
 Coloured, 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.
Fads from the 80s
 Boom Boxes
The "ghetto blaster." The portable radio, with two speakers as a minimum, the
heavier and the bigger, the better
 Rubik Cube
The toy that was a real pain in the butt to solve, unless you peeled the stickers or
pulled it apart.
 Skateboarding
Skateboarding really hit a peek in popularity during the 80s, it seemed like
everyone was doing it at one point.
 Trivial Pursuit
The game that made people start memorizing useless crap in order to win.
Probably one of the biggest crazes when it came out though.
 Video Arcades
There are arcades now, but during the 80s, they were the *in* place to hangout.
 Wrestling
Although it has made a comeback in recent years, nothing even compares with the
classic years of the WWF, and the NWA.
 Break Dancing
Remember the parachute pants and cardboard boxes we danced on.
 Roller Skating
THANK YOU