Vintage Collection: 1980's

The distinctive 1980s silhouette saw both men and women wearing clothes to make their top half look wider and legs narrow. Influences from popular television programmes, sports stars and pop singers dictated many of the fashion trends throughout the decade. The media also had a hand in making designers such as Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren into household names.

Day-to-day:

Pop singers like Madonna, movies like Flashdance and television shows like Dallas and Dynasty promoted fashion statements like the oversized shoulder pad craze. Madonna’s ‘street urchin’ look became instantly popular when she burst into the 80s with her single Like a Virgin in 1984 wearing short, black skirts in Lycra or leather, these were worn with leggings and a bra under a short bolero jacket. Other trends followed Madonna’s influence such as lace, mini-skirts with dolly shoes or tight jeans with oversized jumpers and high heeled court shoes. With the release of the movie Valley Girl in 1983 came the ‘Valley Girl’ look optimised by the headband but also featuring other trends such as leg warmers, ‘ra-ra’ skirts and collarless sweatshirts which had a boom after the release of Flashdance also in 1983.

1980s fashion can be summed up in one accessory: the shoulder pad and with it came women’s new desire to ‘power dress’ to show authority in the workplace. Established wearers included Linda Evans from the popular American soap opera Dynasty and Joan Collins who wore them with plenty of flashy jewellery and expensive clothes made of top quality wool, cotton or silk.

The leotard was back with a vengeance in the 80s after its feature in the 70s ‘disco trend’. When aerobics mania exploded in the 1980s, helped by the release of dance themed films like Fame, the leotard was worn by gym fanatics teamed with matching sweat bands, tights and leg warmers. Early leotards adorned bight polka dots, stripes and belts and soon became popular as street wear. Celebrity leotard wearers included Olivia Newton John and Jane Fonda.

Parachute pants emerged in the later 1980s in contrast to earlier skinny look. Parachute or Hammer pants, named after M.C Hammer, were usually made in nylon and were exceptionally baggy.

Brands and Couture:

Vivienne Westwood, who had produced the Punk look in the 1970s, was now crafting the ‘Pirate Look’ with frilly, full-sleeved shirts, nautical jackets and harem trousers. The punk look continued to grow in popularity throughout the 80s and was symbolised by bright Mohawks, ripped skinny jeans, distressed band T-shirts and denim or leather jackets. Bands like the Sex Pistols and Guns N’ Roses continued the traditional punk image of buttons, patches and safety pins.

Designer trainers were promoted in the early 80s first by Converse and Air Jordan, by Michael Jordan, in 1984, as sales grew Adidas and Nike soon jumped on the bandwagon and created a craze for trainers, particularly high-tops, being worn as everyday shoes by celebrities like Run-D.M.C. Ray-Ban Aviators were hugely popular in the 1980s. When worn by Tom Cruise in the 1983 movie Risky Business and again the 1986 film Top Gun they were so popular that sales went up by 40%.

Beauty and Accessories:

Madonna’s excessive accessorising through the 1980s influenced girls to copy her with rubber bracelets, fingerless gloves in fishnet or lace, boy toy belts, fishnet tights, hoop earrings, long beaded necklaces or big crucifixes. Madonna’s untidy bleach blond hair with dark roots was often accessorised with big hair bows or hair bands. Women who were ‘power dressing’ in the office wore power shoes, these were characterised by spiked heels and pointed toes in bold colours which were worn by most women. In complete contrast came the ‘jelly shoe’ made of colourful, transparent plastic.

Doc Martens were essential footwear for men and women throughout the 1980s, particularly for skinheads and punks in the UK. Girls wore the boots with full length Laura Ashley dresses or mini-skirts. Goths wore them with lashings of dark make up on pale skin, black, back-combed hair, dog-collars and corsets.