1980s Fashion Trends

Australian fashion during the 1960s was strongly influenced by Britain and America. Australia was introduced to the fashion changes through television, movies, magazines, advertisements and international popular models. Due to the increase of international popular models appearing on television especially

The first historical accuracy used in the TV show was that fashion was essential to all teens. Growing up in the early 70’s as a teenager in Australia was that fashion was a must have. Clothing such as crop tops, button ups and bootleg jeans were a crucial part of growing up. From being a cool kid, to being a little less

People may say that the true years of fashion began in the late nineteen forties and went on through the early nineteen sixties. If you look at fashion today, its almost repeated the look from sixty years ago. In each generation fashion trends become based on history and/or important events. in the nineteen forties fashion was being modeled by the military wear. World War II caused a drastic change in the way clothes were being made and worn. In the nineteen fifties Americans admired the fashion of movie stars and music artists. Media had a strong influence on the wordly trend. The people of the sixties expressed there personalities and emotions through

There were many styles that people were able to work with. First off, one of the most common styles was the retro style. Retro was, in a way, inspired by disco. Americans would often wear flares, which were types of jeans where the legs got bigger and “flared” out towards the bottom of the foot (CITATION, #). This proves that retro was just one of the major fashion statements in the 1980s. Another style that Americans tried out was the Glamour style. This fashion included top of the line designers like CoCo Chanel, Versace, and Oscar de la Renta. These designers made a significant impact on the glamorous lifestyle. Glamorous was over the top, but in a fashionable or unique way that people like to dress (CITATION, #). People would wear skirts with a huge puffball at the bottom of it, or switch it up to a nice tight fitting pencil skirt. The economy was a huge factor. Obviously people wanted the best of the best, but the economy was not doing that well (CITATION, #). There were some bad things about the agriculture. Since the United States is just coming out of a recession, they were working on rebuilding businesses in the city so they could expand their business and try to earn back some of the money they lost. This proves that at this point in the 80s, life was not so glamorous because people had to worry about earning back the assets that they lost along with businesses. The farm economy was

The events that are affected by the 1980s decade was music, music has influenced the 1980s so much with Madonna and Michael Jackson. Madonnas hair was all the rage, big curly hair with ratted bangs as high as you could get them she was the queen of the 1980s her fashion influenced so much of the 1980s, girls were curling there bangs just like Madonna she was an icon everyone looked up to her.

This essay will explore the effects social and political changes had on fashion in the 1980’s. This period was chosen because the new romantic fashions were so different to the punk fashions that had been before, this essay will therefore identify the changes that had taken place to influence this change. Primary evidence used to support findings will include interviews and photographs which will show a firsthand account of the period.

In Australia, the fashion of the 1960s emulated the political and cultural changes at the time. This fashion revolution was youth driven and showed their rejection of social standards. For women, the mini skirt came into trend, introduced by fashion icon Twiggy (Leslie Hornby). This above-the-knee skirt came into fashion in a revolt against people telling women how to express themselves and their bodies that came with the womens rights movement and the introduction of the pill. Men wore tunics, capes and more feminine clothing as pants became tighter and they dawned silk scarfs. This shift from masculine clothing to dabbling in the side of feminine, was because of the changing idea of gender and sexuality. Men also tried to recreate the look of the Beatles; in sharp and clean suits due the bands popularity at the time. Nearing the end of the 1960s, hippie fashion came into style. This era of fashion was dominated by bright, swirling colours, tie-dye, paisley prints, loose fitting clothing, flowers, peace signs, etc. This change in fashion was in response to the Vietnam war. People wore their clothes as a political statement, showing their embracement towards love and freedom.

The transition from the multicultural era of the eighties to the postnetwork era of the nineties triggered abrupt changes in American media and culture. [6] From fashions to family life, relationships, and attitudes, many new cultural elements subsequently changed television portrayals of ordinary American culture within this time period. More specifically, the culture of the eighties is often characterized by the rise of MTV and megastars, techno music and club drugs, and popular fashions such as leather, leggings, and Ray Bans. Eighties culture can be described as the ‘bombdigity’ and nineties culture can be described as more toned down, moral, and ‘sweet’.

During this era, the society trends were changing. The women were wearing dresses with strapped-in girdles and pads underneath, while the men experienced a change in suits and daily wear. Men usually wore knickers to just below their knees, while women wore elaborate designs and hooped skirts.

With the fitness craze of the 1980s came even more alterations to women’s style. Women desired fashionable and trendy clothing for their workouts. Many women longed for

Back in 1990’s there was a huge demand for the neon colors. By 1992 animal prints started to become very popular, including giraffe and tiger prints. Then in 1993 came a return of the bell bottom pants and platform shoes. 1994 was all about the grunge look for both men and women. Finally in 1997 baseball caps were being worn by everyone, even the children.

Looking at my family’s photos and their progression in fashion over the years was extremely interesting to learn about. For the most part I think my family’s choices of clothing from the 1920’s to the 1990’s were right on track. The twentieth century saw so many changes and fashion firsts its hard to believe that anyone could keep up with what was in and what was out. Women went from wearing dresses on an everyday basis to being able to wear pants to work. Men’s style changed significantly when they started to wear jeans and t-shirts instead of trouser and a jacket. It is interesting to look at these photos of my family because I got a sense of who they use to be just by analyzing what they were wearing.

American hippie culture soon followed in the early 70’s with Sony & Cher. The hippie phase came and went then a more simple ‘boot cut’ trouser came back into play in the 90’s. The early 2000’s was all about the skinny jeans but in recent

Like clothing, the 1920‘s also took a great tole on women’s accessorization, the use of cosmetics, and tanning. Some popular accessories girls wore were long strand of pearls, bangles, dangling earrings and furs. The strands of pearls were normally looped a few time around the neck. Long straight fur coats without curves became very popular (Women’s Fashion Accessories). Women began getting their eyebrows thinned to emphasize a younger face. They started wearing make up around the eyes to make them look larger. Lipstick became popular to accent the upper lip and depth of the lower lip. Because women wanted to change their look with makeup, the makeup market started booming during this decade. Although you could buy makeup, few women still made their own makeup. They used soot for eyeshadow and petroleum jelly mixed with soot for mascara. Women began to wear heels, the most popular being the ankle-strap cuban heeled shoe. They wore brimmed hats, such as a cloche hat to finish their look. Later in decade, more headbands with feather were being worn instead of brimmed hats. This look coming from the

The Years between the 1950’s and 1960’s was an explosive time in fashion. The 50’s represented an out coming of the new generation. People began to gain their own personal style and appearance, influenced by films and singers (“Vintage Fashion”). Their styles incorporated leather, jeans, corduroy, and the ballet shoes for the girls. Men’s wear began to drastically change. Men would wear a leather jacket, with jeans that narrowed at the bottom, and a simple t-shirt (Peacock 210-211). This was the first time in history that jeans were not just worn by the working class but by all men (“Brief History”). The man’s lust for flesh grew during this time, so women’s skirts began to get shorter and the bikini was invented. Clothes were made to glorify the female body and emphasize every curve. It wasn’t until the Barbie doll was created in the late 50’s that young girls began to have a separate fashion from their mothers. Young girls would wear sweaters with full skirts or pants