The Style of the 80’s Just like an Oscar nominee stepping on to the red carpet during the

Movies starring young men as the main character such as The Wild One and Rebel Without a Cause inspired young men to follow punk style fashion trends. Wearing blue jeans, a white t-shirt, and a leather jacket became popular around this time, and it was causing a generation of young men to change their attitudes. This trend became “a symbol of teenage rebellion for boys everywhere.” However, not all boys were following this punk style of fashion. Many were leaning more towards the British styles and trends, including the ‘teddy boy’ style, which consisted of high waisted, narrow ‘drain pipe’ trousers, long jackets, slim ties and large, shiny, pointed shoes. (http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-189_t-506_c-1873/nsw/history/australia's-social-and-cultural-history-in-the-post-war-period/social-and-cultural-features-of-the-1950s/fashion-in-the-1950s)

In the introduction of Chapter 1 “Consuming Passions” “The Culture of American Consumption,” it talks about how American popular culture is grounded in consumption. With the media in our hand, it is a huge influence towards the advertising world. With how styles of clothing have been changing over time, this talks about how from the earlier times wearing a simple type of blue jeans can change between who wears them over the years. As stated, “ By the 1950s, however, blue jeans began to bear an additional class significance as “casual wear” for middle-class Americans.” (72). In 1970 these pants have then become a simple fashion wear. They have also been introduced as a hipster type wear. Then in 1980 through the early 2000s, baggy jeans were

Thanks to Coco Chanel, the iconic flapper image most closely associated with the roaring twenties came about. The flapper and flapper image didn’t actually come to be until around 1926 and even then was only in style for about three years. Typical flappers were women who appeared to have a bold attitude and were independent women who didn’t adhere to the previously innocent housewife image. A flapper usually had a bob haircut, a shorter than average dress, a flat chest, wore tons of make-up, drank illegal alcohol, smoked with a long cigarette holder, exposed her limbs and danced the Charleston. This was a drastic change from the typical American housewife to the reckless rebel. The flapper dresses stressed above the knee hemlines and construed straight, sleek shapes. This was the first time in centuries women’s legs were being seen in a garment. (1920s Fashion 1) Flappers loved to jazz up their costume and even their image. Many flappers’ dresses were adorned with jewels and intricate beading. The main object of the flapper image was to appear almost boyish rather than looking feminine. (1920s clothing 1)

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

A thorough and broadened knowledge of American clothing’s history opens wide, the opportunity to explore the American identity. Helen Sheumaker’s “American Fashion” discusses the relationship between political values and their influence on different clothing styles. The Reader’s Companion to U.S. Women’s History provides insight about how the clothing fashion was indicative of a person’s class. Certain clothing styles distinguished specific communities like the wealthy and the working class yet simultaneously gave a clear distinction of the liberal American style from the proper and trim of the

From where did the vigor of the 1980’s come? 1980 to 1989 was a period in the United States which spurred hope for the economy and in the spirits of the people. The 1980’s were a decade of the American people standing together in tragedy and rejoicing with each other in victory. In 1989, the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the decade and an age of an oppression overseas. America cheered for the freedom of her brothers and sisters in Germany. One highlight of the 1980’s was the substantial growth of the economy through Reaganomics, President Reagan’s principles of economics. In television, the show Family Ties depicted an average family at the time, who supported each other despite their wide range of beliefs and ideals. Why was this time in America so great? The people of the nation believed in her, and America gave her people reason to believe.

Living in the 70s was in the midst of a unique culture. Theatres in the 1970s were very popular as various people rushed to theaters to watch plays and movies. This was also the era in which many owned bizarre items such as pet rocks, mood rings, bean bag chairs, and more. “Have a nice day!” became a slogan that earmarked the 70’s,and was almost always accompanied with the notorious smiley face icon. Sickening sweet happy faces were plastered everywhere; they were spray painted on the side of buildings and even worn on bandanas and t-shirts. Another distinct culture featured in the 70’s was the fashion. Fashion fads in the 70’s took off like rockets. Clothing styles such as shirts with colorful geometric shapes and bell-bottoms emerged. The rise of disco also played a big role during this time. In contrast to males in today’s society, some men in the 1970’s wore shoes with giant heels. Culture proved to play a big role in the 70’s and profoundly affected the civilization’s view upon The American Dream.

Above an image of a group of punks with customised clothing including rips, studs, chains, safety pins, leather and denim. In addition to this body modifications such as multiple piercings and tattoos were increasingly popular for

The 80 's was an eye opener to a lot of new things, new music, new styles, new points of view on life and new technology. Music was a big hit for the 80 's and so was the technology. A home, family, job and fun was basically what everyone needed to live ahappy life. In the 80 's, people saw the American dream, as a simple task of success andthose years defined them. They were the generation in between differences and facing disagreement andnot turning our backs. The 80 's may have made them idealistic, but it 's idealism that will push themand be passed on to their children, the first children of the twenty-first century.

In this decade, they would use words or phrases such as gnarly, tubular, Grody, rad, bogus, gag me with a spoon, or bite me. The American diet was a sloppy joe, Jell-O pudding pops, Lean Cuisines, Doritos, jawbreakers, Tri-color pasta salad, Capri Sun, and fruit snacks. The clothing in this decade for the women consists of shoulder pads, leg warmers, huge earrings, and bright colors. The hairstyles were half-ponies, crimped or permed, teased hair, a side high pony, or some hair pulled back with ribbon barrettes. Scrunchies were also a big accessory to go along with the big hair, too. Popular clothing in the 1980’s for men was mainly just leather jackets, worn out jeans, and sneakers. The main hairstyle is long hair, such as a mullet. Also, a big part of the 80’s included many Americans developing HIV and/or AIDS. These were severe diseases which could spread and kill quickly, especially if not

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’.

Women in the early 1960's wore bouffant hairstyles, and like the 1920's, knee length dresses. However, later in the decade, mini skirts, or hot pants, with go-go boots became popular. These skirts revealed their legs as bodywear revealed their curves. Women's hairstyles even changed. Women either wore their hair very short or long and lanky. Also, peasant skirts, or granny dresses, and chunky shoes somehow came into fashion during this period of time too. By the end of the decade, unisex dressing was very popular especially with the hippies. Both sexes wore bell-bottom jeans, love beads, and embellished T-shirts. This was also the era of the Afro, which both sexes of African Americans wore.

The seventies is often seen as a lost decade, merged between the optimistic sixties and the opportunistic eighties. Bruce J. Schulman argues, in his book titled, “The Seventies: The Great Shift in American Culture”, that this period ignores changes brought by the 1970s. This period brought changes in the economy, shifts in culture, politics, race, family and religious values. The United States faced many transformations that helped shape our country to this day. Schulman begins to explain his thesis, “The Seventies transformed American economic and cultural life as much as, if not more than, the revolutions in manners and morals of the 1920s and the 1960s.” The information that I will present will summarize the changes that affected the United

The United States celebrate its bicentennial on July 4, 1976 meaning that they have been a nation for 200 years.In the 70s men wore a lot of double denim because it was fashionable and it was easy to wear. Leather Jackets were also popular because they were well fitted and easy to clean. Men wore cowboy boots, platform boots, and birkenstocks, because they were very comfortable. Womens fashion had suits such as the pantsuit and the leisure suit, women had long hair that was easy to maintain and it would only take a couple of minutes it, skirts and dresses were still relevant because they were comfortable .As you can see most of the trends were more about comfort rather than looks but some had had both. Helen Frankenthaler was an artist in the 70s, she was an abstract artist and she used her surroundings to inspire her art. Robinson’s Wrap was one of the pieces that helen has made, it was made in 1974 and is still being seen today. Helen was born into a rich family with two other siblings both

A typical flapper had short, bobbed hair, and wore a short baggy skirt with turned down hose and powdered knees. Their dresses often exposed her arms as well as her legs from the knees down. Flappers were thought of by their elders as being a little fast and brazen, since they were no longer confined to home or tradition. However, Flappers did not just symbolize a revolution in fashion and way of life; they more importantly embodied the modern spirit of the Jazz Age—they symbolized, “an age anxious to enjoy itself, anxious to forget the past, anxious to ignore the future”.