Retro Housewife 1980s Fashion.

Leg warmers, shoulder pads, the head band, stripes, big poofy hair to go with big poofy dresses. Red. Stay tuned as I dig through my closet to see what god-awful stuff we were wearing in the 80s! (You should see my prom picture...purple taffeta dress with ruffles and big hair!)

Really Expensive Designer Jeans were in every well dressed girl's closet, and the tighter, the better, because nothing should come between you and your Calvins! The jeans in the picture above are, from left to right, Calvin Klein, Gloria Vanderbildt, Jordache and Sasson. They ran anywhere from $80 to $150 (Remember this is 1981... that was a lot of money back then, minimum wage was around $2.75/hr.)

The shoes we wore in 1981. I remember Cherokee were very popular, especially the ones with the rubber 3 inch heels.

As you can see in the picture to the left, it was quite common to wear socks with your sandals.

Brooke Shields shows us how to wear Calvin Klein Jeans. (She must be getting tired by now...after 25+ years!) Funny thing about Brook Shields is that she turned out to be Funny! Once she got out of the clutches of her mother, she stopped with the pouty looks, bad movies (Blue Lagoon excepted...Hey! It WAS a good movie if you were 13 at the time...Christopher Atkins was a babe!) and the totally annoying goody-goody reputation and developed a personality. (FYI, the other goody-goody of the 1980s was Whitney Houston... Both Brooke and Whitney ran around telling everybody they were still virgins, blah blah blah, wait until marriage etc. Not that it's bad thing to wait, just that money, beauty and proclaimed virtue can be a bit much for the mere mortals to take. Like you didn't enjoy watching Paris Hilton go to jail!)

I wanted to actually discuss 1980s fashion, and put up some more examples! Basically, the major fashion influences in the 1980s were Madonna, the Go Gos (see girls to the lower right), Stevie Nicks (from Fleetwood Mac), Olivia Newton John (as in Let's Get Physical) and Jane Fonda (one of the first to publicly shed her former hippie-commie skin and concentrate on more important things, like jazzercise) shows like

Dallas (Western) and Dynasty (shoulder pads, suits for women, extravagant displays of wealth and some stupid perfumes).

The color red was officially brought back into fashion by Nancy Reagan, the wife of Ronald Reagan, the President. See, Nancy looked good in red and would therefore frequently wear red suits (skirted, never pants), and dresses when she appeared in public. All the Reaganites soon followed and red became the power color. Funny how that goes!

Then came Flash Dance.... What a feeling! Guess what happened to every T-shirt I owned... If you are female and were conscious during the '80s you already know.... If you weren't and don't, we all cut and ripped the collars and sleeves out of our shirts, to achieve that sexy sort of "oops my shirt is slipping down off my shoulder look". Then the 1980s fashion industry realized their luck and gleefully obliged us with already torn and ripped clothing, for a lot of money.

Our elders, who by this time had forgotten all of the silly things young'uns do in the name of fashion, were rolling their eyes and lecturing us on the absurdities of spending perfectly good money on torn clothes.

Many of us also perfected the technique of removing one's bra by unhitching the back hooks, and then pulling the bra out our sleeve...just in case we had a Flash Dance Moment.

The Fashion Year : 1980

"The beginning of the new decade brought back some styles of the past. Long slim skirts, narrow men's ties, and thin lapels, all part of the "retro look," were featured in clothing stores everywhere. Saddle shoes and Mary Janes were also included in the 1950ish attire.

The guys seemed to show up mostly in OP, Hang Ten and Stubbie brands of clothing. Many girls chose a more earthy style of dressing. Knee socks with dresses, clogs and bulky wool sweaters proved to be comfortable, stylish and warm during the cold winter days. Sbicca and Bass brand shoes were also popular throughout the year."

"Gold was in, and took on many forms. Charm holders were a convenient way to wear many precious charms at once. Save the Whale jewelry was worn by those who were concerned with environmental preservation"

The Fashion Year : 1981

Jeans took on a new prestige as the clothes market was flooded with name-brand jeans and students had them all. Many fashion minded girls were seen around campus vying for the "Jordache" look, while others were showing their figures to the best advantage in Calvin Kleins', Sassons' and Gloria Vanderbilts'.

Warm, cozy sweaters in soft pastels were another favorite of girls. Baggy pants, overalls and Levis all proved to be popular, as numerous girls were seen wearing them around campus.

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.

The trend in the guys' shoe department was a wide assortment of tennis shoes, the most popular brands being Nike, Adidas and New Balance. For girls, Cherokee shoes were the favorite, appearing in a wide range of styles.

As the music temp changed, so did the fashions. In previous years, disco was the rage. As this faded, in came the new fads of punk-rock and new wave. For girls, anything matched together. Tight t-shirts and leather jackets were a must for the guy who wanted the punk look. Dark Devo glasses were fashion favorite with both sexes.

ReTRo HouSeWiFe

Other Retro Pages

adidas in the 80s

Tribute to Andy Warhol

RETRO-SPECTIVE: HOUSEWIFE FASHION

1980s FASHION

The Fashion Year : 1980

The Fashion Year : 1981

80's Fashion Sense