Every generation is associated with a specific fashion style. Consequently, trends in fashion depend primarily on the prevalent social, environmental, economic, and political factors of their time. Much as some timeframes show resemblances in their trends, every period has a defining characteristic of its fashion. This paper reviews literature on the fashion trends of the 1980s in the perspective of a photograph of my parents taken on their graduation in 1984. An interpretation of academia and the photograph reveals the fashion of the eighties could be primarily defined by big and bright adjectives. Although most of the trends described in literature do not apply to the photograph, it is notable that the people of the eighties were influenced primarily by their social, technological, environmental, and economic trends at the expense of political aspects.
Characteristics of the Fashion of 1980s in the Perspective of a 1984 Image
A photograph of my parents taken on their graduation in 1984. Credit: family album and archive
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Extant literatures suggest that creativity, not primarily tradition, can be attributed to the fashion trends of the 1980s. For example, one of the studies suggests that designers of the time abandoned history to develop fashion trends of their generation as well as some styles that would appeal to the future ones although some borrowed from the previous fashion of the 1970s, especially during the early 80s 1 . The cited literature indicates that the fashion of the decade was subdued in color in which browns, tans, and oranges were dominant. The photograph used in the analysis reveal the aspect of color as reported in the reviewed literature, especially one concentration is on the ‘man’ in the picture—he is wearing plenty of browns and tans. While one cannot clearly tell the color of the cloth that the ‘lady’ is wearing in the picture, research reveals its connection to a shade of tan. Further research reveals that while the picture does not indicate, the decade of the time was also characterized by eye-straining colors, the neon coloring trend, which was popularized in by the start of 1983 2 . Neon colors consisted of a collection of brightly-colored bands on clothes, which were mostly color-clashing, but often made into attractive patterns.
The picture also reveals some aspects of the materiality of the fashion during the eighties, which can also be compared with literature. For example, studies indicate that velour and velvet where the most dominant material, which is evidenced in the fact that the pants that the man in the picture wears appear velour in nature. The material used in making the woman’s dress, much as it does not appear velour or velvet, is definitely soft, which is according to literature that suggests such a trend during the time 3 .
The shape and sizes of the clothes worn as part of the fashion trends of the 80s is another aspect that can be analyzed from the picture and compared with extant reports in academia. First, as the picture indicates the waistline of the clothes worn during the period was higher than the preceding and the succeeding decades, which literature supports 4 . The clothes were also blocky in shape, and though not as tight as those of the current decade, they were more fitting compared to the 1970s, which was characterized by extraordinarily tight clothes. The photograph also reveals that fashion during the study period was characterized by brightly-colored accessories, such as bangles and hoop earrings, which were considered a necessary to complete the one’s appearance, especially in public, which is also supported a great deal by the reviewed literature 5 . In the picture, the lady is wearing brightly-colored bangles on both arms, which are probably made of or coated with gold. One also notes that the lady is wearing large and distinctive jewelry, especially her earrings.
According to a further review of the extant literature, women of the time wore giant earrings to match their bold clothing, stacks of bracelets, large-beaded necklaces, and enormous brooches 6 . As much as the rich preferred to slather themselves in gemstones and gold, for a large part, individuals opted for costume jewelry that was crusted with rhinestones since during the time, jewelry was as significant as it was part of fashion as it was a personality statement. Notably, as one can note from the picture, conspicuous jewelry was mostly limited to women 7 . Alongside the fashion accessories, women in the 1980s wore bold makeup, which included eyeshadows, lipstick, and others, and they preferred teased hair, especially for the younger generation as it can be seen from the lady in the picture. Apart from the identified trends, it is notable that women of the time would wear exceptionally flexible fashion, including skin-tight cotton stirrup pants, legwarmers, leggings, and turtle sweaters on the same day, or some would prefer parachute pants, which unfortunately the picture does not reveal perhaps because the photographed individuals had dressed to attend graduation ceremony 8 .
STEEP Contexts of the Fashion of the Eighties
Social, technological, environmental, economic, and political factors influence the fashion of a people a great deal. Literature suggests that fashion is part of the culture of a group of individual, which affirms and justifies the influence of the factors on fashion trends. As the factors did and continue doing for other generations, the people of the eighties adopted their fashion trends because of their social trends.
The Social Influences on the Fashion of the Eighties
Much as the teenagers of the time played a role in shaping the decade’s fashion trends, literature reports that youngsters did not dictate the fashion trends as they had done in the preceding decade 9 . The reason that the latter cited study gives for this trend is the fact that the baby boomer generation that had been popular during the preceding periods, including Tommy Hilfiger, had become more mature, and they were slowly acquiring status of affluence. The decade resulted in more fashion idols than had been experienced during any of the decades before then, literature suggests 10 . The influence of social factors on the fashion of the time is hard to imagine considering that during then, the internet and mobile phone had not been invented while television offered limited channels, while watching movies was luxurious. Advertisements, magazines, and television were the only source of fashion information for the average person, which meant that they were only partially exposed to trend. The limited levels of exposure granted selected clothing brands, music bands, and celebrities the avenue to assert their influence on the fashion trends of the 1980s 11 .
Music icons of the eighties were among the greatest influencers of their fashion. Madonna was one of such personalities, and she influence the fashion world of her time through her incredible energy and physique, which urged the youth to adopt her style of fashion that included leather jackets, lacy tutus, wild hair and dangle earrings 12 . The picture reveals the lady in some type of wild hair and dangle earrings with conspicuous bead patterns, which could be attributed to the influence of the pop musician. While Madonna may have influenced most of the women of her generation, Boy George and Michael Jackson influence the approach to fashion for the men and youthful men. Before then, as Batchelor, and Scott (2007) note, makeup was only identified as a culture for the girls and women, but during the eighties, Boy George slowly introduced men and boys to the art of wearing makeup, including lipstick and eyeshadow. On the other hand, Michael Jackson was famous for his military style accessories, power jackets, Jheri-curls African-American hairstyle. Unfortunately, none of the described elements of fashion can be deduced from the photograph although it has empirical backing as cited.
The Technological Influences on the Fashion of the Eighties
It is has been mentioned partially that the eighties did not have the luxury of interactive and social technologies enjoyed presently. Nevertheless, it does not imply that nothing from the technological perspective helped in shaping the fashion trends of the time. The music icons would reach their audiences mostly through Music Television, MTV, which started during the early years of the decade. The television channel became one of the ways through which the youth around the country could obtain fashion-related information, especially because it dealt with pop culture. Through the channel, people would watch the fashion trends among hip-hop musicians who often wore lack neck chains and huge finger rings as well as fishnet shirts. While the picture does not reveal these trends, they are informed by extant literature.
The Environmental Influences on the Fashion of the Eighties
While there is only so much to mention about the environmental influences on the fashion of the time, one can note that the pop culture played a critical role in shaping what the populations wore. The era of pop music, as it was often called, introduced fashion trends that were synonymous with pop artists and other celebrities. The picture may not indicate the aspects of fashion resulting from pop music artistry, but it indicates reflects the influence of popular television shows of the time, such as the Bill Cosby show. The show influenced the development of the Cosby sweaters, which were a fashion trend of the time. The windbreaker that the man in the photo is wearing is an example of the often multi-colored Cosby sweater, which by extension, characterizes the neon coloring patterns popular during the time 13 . Popular celebrities of the time, including Princes Diana, also influence the 1980s fashion trends. Precisely, Princes Diana, despite her lack of interest in fashion, popularized the padded shoulder, feminine patterned blouses that were made out of silk, the pearl earrings, and the winged hairstyle, which she was often seen adorning 14 . Comparably, the women in the picture can be seen wearing a type of padded dress, which could be attributed to the influence of the environment of the 1980s.
Economic Influences on the Fashion of the Eighties
Literature describes that the fashion trends of the 1980s were about the expression of materialistic values and flaunting wealth. During most of the decade, it was thought that having the right clothes and accompanying fashion accessories indicated that people had extra money to spend on designer clothes and other products that had recognized labels. While the picture does not reveal any images of the brand labels popular during the 1980s, literature does. It is reported that there were thousands of designers as well as cloth and apparel brands during the era, but only a few stand out for the influence that they caused in the fashion industry at the time. Adidas, Nike, and Reebok were the most popular sportswear of the period; so popular that they became streetwear and synonymous with people from different cultures and backgrounds. It was also common for children to wear swatch watches, which were often made using bright colors. Interestingly, Princes Diana had introduced the fashion enthusiasts of her time to wearing more than one watch at a go, which was very appealing to the children who owned the swatch watches 15 . For the lovers of jeans and denims, Sasson, Bonjour, Gitano, Levi, Wrangler, Guess, and Jordache were the most popular brands, and owning one of them was an indicator of class. The multi-colored LA Gear, Converse shoes, and Puma were the other brands of footwear that were popularized during the 80s. A typically dresses and fashion-sensitive persons of the period would commonly complement their dressing with a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses, which were often large and conspicuous 16 .
Political Influences on the Fashion Trends of the Eighties
There is only so much to mention about the political influence on the fashion trends of the 1980s except for the fact that President Reagan and First Lady Nancy who were fond of wearing tasteful and expensive clothing as part of the fashion trends of the decade. The two political figures popularized the need for glamorous dressing because the President was fond of power suits, and he extended his influence to business people and other influential figures. On her part, the President’s wife was often pictured adorning lame dresses during parties at the White House and the power suits during other occasions 17 . Therefore, while the dress style in the picture may not have been inspired by any political factors, it is a reflection of the need to dress for special occasions, especially when one looks at the lady pictured.
Bibliography
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