For many, it’s so hard to picture their parents as the wild partying fashionistas of their time. But the truth is that those times were as iconic, or even more iconic, than they are right now. A lot of major fashion trends that stood the test of time were first debuted in the '80s.
The '80s were a period of serious fashion experiments as people were finding ways to express themselves fully, and, oh, rebel against the norms, of course. So, you want a page out of the original fashion book? It’s time to get lectured by your folks.
Definition.org | The '80s was an experimental era where people were finding ways to fully express themselves
Fashion has always been a medium of self-expression. These days it focuses more on how you feel wearing an outfit rather than how the outfit looks on you. Not because looking good is also not important, it’s just a point that the world is transitioning to that cares more about what’s on the inside rather than what you appear to be.
With fashion role models like Princess Diana, the fashion trends became very bold, full of colors, and with a whole lot of permed hair in the early '80s. A typical '80s party would see ladies arrive in a daring mix of bright colors, wearing an oversized top and a tight, or a mini skirt with some leg warmers. Some would step in with their signature leather jackets worn over high-waist jeans.
The men at the party were almost always in high school jock style, donning denim jackets with dad jeans. Nothing was worn fitted at that time, shirts were loose, and trousers were baggy.
The rockstars among them would have their necks decorated with big chains, and the 80s kind of rekindled a long-lost love for hats. Everyone was wearing them; face caps, head warmers, bucket hats, you just name it.
Best Life | Princess Diana was one of the biggest fashion role models of the '80s
If this is all sounding familiar, it’s because 2021 has actually brought back the 40-year-old trends to the runways. There’s no longer the need for an 80s-themed party to rock out in style. It's now as good a fit as any random party outfit.
One of the similar trends between those times and now involves the leather jacket that was popular 40 years ago in the Cindy Crawford show, ‘House of Style.’ The jacket was modeled in the fall of 2020, which, of course, was a more refined version by the fashion designer Alberta Ferretti.
Madonna too, everyone’s favorite, sang at a show she attended in 1989 wearing Nike biker shorts underneath a blazer, a style which David Koma reinvented on the 2021 runway and is, in fact, an ideal summer outfit.
Going out in the '80s was all about flare and being extra. The clubs were packed with ladies in different styles, like the matching purple fur trench coat and hat that Grace Beverly Jones was seen wearing at the Le Vie en Rose Restaurant in New York in 1987.
NME | Madonna once performed at a 1989 show wearing Nike biker shorts underneath a blazer
Interestingly, the Shrimps Fall Runway 2020 displayed something exactly similar but in a matching white fur top and hat. The '80s style represented bold freedom, and it has become fundamental to fashion once again.
