Flashback to Fashion

Costume and Fashion in the 1980s: A Summary

• Fashion in the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of the 1970s fashion and the emergence of punk fashion.
• Hair in the 1980s was typically big, curly, bouffant and heavily styled, and women wore bright, heavy makeup.
• Some of the top fashion models of the 1980s were Brooke Shields, Christie Brinkley, Gia Carangi, Joan Severance, Kim Alexis, Carol Alt, Yasmin Le Bon, Renée Simonsen, Kelly Emberg, Inès de La Fressange, Tatjana Patitz, Elle Macpherson, and Paulina Porizkova.
• Women’s fashion in the early 1980s was characterized by minimalism, the aerobics craze, and increased formality.
• Mid-1980s fashion was characterized by bright colors and power dressing.
• Late 1980s fashion saw the emergence of consumer-friendly fashions and Asian fashion.
• Men's fashion in the early 1980s was characterized by athletic clothing, new wave influence, and the preppy look.
• Mid-1980s fashion for men was characterized by the Miami Vice/Magnum P.I. look and Michael Jackson's influence, power dressing, and tropical clothing.
• Late 1980s fashion for men saw the emergence of Doc Martens, parachute pants, and unisex accessories.
• Subcultures of the 1980s included heavy metal, punk, new romantic, rockabilly, rude boys and skinheads, casuals, skaters, rap and hip hop, and preppy.
• Women’s hairstyles in the 1980s varied from straight hair and perms to big and eccentric hairstyles with excessive amounts of mousse and glitter.
• Men’s hairstyles in the 1980s varied from short haircuts and quiffs to mullets and designer stubble.