80s Fashion Trends

80s fashion trends

The 80s produced some interesting things. Fashion wasn't its strongest point. As trends are recycled and decades revisited we can only hope that the 80s stays in the 80s, and spare ourselves from the embarrassment of oversized clothing and blinding colours. 80s fashion introduced hip hop culture, evolved punk fashion and the yuppie movement. On this 80s fashion hub you'll see pictures and descriptions of 80s fashion and hair styles. Many of the 80s fashion sprung from American & the UK subcultures that have had a great influence cultures around the world.

80s punk fashion:

Multicoloured Mohawks, bleached hair, short spiky hair, torn leather with chains, eye liner, spike collars, spike wrist bands. Punk is about rebelling against any and all social structures. The less real reasons for the rebellion the more "punk" it is. This extreme counter culturism inspired shocking almost perverse 80s hair styles and trends: close-pin piercings, shredded clothing, etc. 80s punk fashion is like nothing else.

80s Hip Hop Fashion:

Adidas jump suits and shoes, multi-fingered rings, thick gold chains, kangol, jheri curls. Hip Hop music, fashion and culture was called a fad throughout the eighties and part of the nineties. In the 80s Hip Hop was the loudest expression of African American subculture.

80s Rock:

Huge hair, platinum blonde hair, glitter, lots of make-up, sexual ambiguity, tight jeans (bulging crotch). Male 80s "hair bands" were all very feminine looking and driven to do nothing but get wasted and have sex. Hair bands drew as many women fans as male despite their teased hair, lipstick and womanizing.

The fashion trends that emerged during the 80s were a lot different from any of the decades before this time. If you are planning on going to a 80s themed party, you will probably want to learn more about the fashion trends of the 80s. Or perhaps you are just interested in learning about fashion trends through history. Here are some of the most popular 80s fashion trends.

80s Fashion Trends - Big Shoulders

The appearance of big shoulders was very popular during the 80s. To get this appearance, women would wear shirts or dresses that had shoulder pads. Although many people would agree that the look was slightly manly, it was very popular during this time. The reason was because women felt that shoulder pads got rid of their shoulder imperfections. Today, most fashion styles do not include shoulder pads.

80s Fashion Trends - Business Suits

One of the most popular fashion trends of the 80s was business suits. This included skirt suits and pants suits. With both options, a lot of emphasis was placed on the appearance of big shoulders. Business suits came in a wide variety of colors but it was generally more popular to wear dark colors, such as black or navy, or light colors, such as light green, blue or pink.

80s Fashion Trends - Shawls

Shawls are another fashion trend which became very popular during the 80s. They were worn on various occasions and with many outfits. Women wore shawls with tank tops during the day and with evening gowns at night. Shawls were designed using a wide variety of colors, patterns and materials. They were one of the most popular accessories of the decade.

80s Fashion Trends - Bags

Bags were very popular during the 80s. Throughout most of the decade, clutch bags were in demand. They offered so much appeal because they were so compact and were great for evening parties. Chanel handbags and Louis Vuitton luggage/briefcases were also very popular during this time, but due to the high cost, only the more elite were able to afford these designer bags. In the 80s, it was very common for women to match their handbags to their shoes.

80s Fashion Trends - Jewelry

There was a lot of emphasis put on accessories during the 1980's, jewelry being one of the main fashion trends that was focused on. It was very common for women to wear pearls, gold and hoop earrings. Charm bracelets, especially ones that held gold charms, were also very popular during this time.

The fashion trends mentioned above were all very popular during the 80s. If you are planning on going to an 80s themed party, you may want to incorporate one or more of these 80s fashion trends into your costume. If you are simply interested in learning about 80s fashion styles, these are just a few of the most popular that you will want to take note of.

Check out my article on Early 1900 Fashion, which was indeed a miraculous era for fashion!