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1980s fashion in Popular Culture incorporated distinct trends from different eras, including Ancient Egypt , early 20th century English royalty, Victorian Era Buccaneer s, and Punk Rock ers from the 1970s . The fashion look that was most indicative of the decade was the wide use of shoulder pads. Men wore power suits, as a result of the greater tendency for people to display their wealth. Brand names became increasingly important in this decade, making Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein household names. In the United States, Madonna was titled the "Material Girl" and many teenage girls looked to her for fashion statements. The popular movie '' Flashdance '' ( 1983 ) made ripped sweatshirts well-known in the general public. The television shows '' Dallas '' and '' Dynasty '' also had a similar impact. EARLY 1980S wearing glasses during his time as U.S. HHS Secretary .]] For men, the early 1980s can be described as post- Hippie , post- Disco and early Glam , with an obvious influence of David Bowie androgyny emerging. Beards started to disappear and tans, open collars and jewelry started to emerge as popular fashion. The up-turned collar became a signature of cool. 1980s Punk fashion can be traced to the ripped jeans, torn t-shirts, scrappy haircuts and worn and torn leather jackets sported by members of the Sex Pistols . The Sex Pistols were dressed by Malcolm McLaren , their manager, who owned a clothes store called 'Let It Rock' in the Kings Road, Chelsea area of London , when they released Anarchy In The UK in 1976 . These styles can be traced back further to New York artists at the Andy Warhol Factory or bands such as the Velvet Underground or New York Dolls . By the 1980s, Punk fashion, and punk bands, had shown up in cities across the world. There was a DIY (do it yourself) quality to the fashion. Some small elements that spoke of a person's punk roots were safety pins, Mohawk , spikes or harshly dyed hair, filthy tennis-shoes or pointy Beatle boots. There is an element of a makeshift, thrown together look and a sense of poverty. New Romantic was a New Wave and fashion movement that occurred primarily in British Nightclub s. New romanticism emerged in the UK music scene in the early 80s as a direct backlash against the austerity of the punk movement. Where punk railed against life in Britain's Council Estates , the new romantics celebrated glamour and partied regularly at local Nightclub s. The make-up was streaky and bold and used by future music artists including Duran Duran . The early designer of the romantic look was Vivienne Westwood who designed clothing specifically for bands, such as Adam & The Ants , and later developed the "pirate look." The Pirate look featured frilled "buccaneer" shirts often made of expensive fabrics. One element of this trend that went mainstream and remained popular for most of the decade were short shirt collars worn unfolded against the neck with the top one or two buttons unfastened. Except in the most conservative communities this became standard casual wear for both men and women. With the exception of business suits, to wear one's collar folded appeared awkward or stuffy. At the beginning of the decade women's hairstyles were often about shoulder length and cut in layers to emphasize natural wave in straight hair. The Farrah Fawcett flip was a holdover from the 1970s that lasted several years into the new decade. Very short haircuts became a fashion for women around 1982 and remained popular for several years. Although people who wore the mainstream versions of these styles often described them as punk, they were more similar to male hairstyles from the New Romantic movement, which in turn were influenced by Pompadour hairstyles of the 1950s. In the early-to-mid 1980s, Glasses with large, plastic Frame s were in fashion for both men and women. In the late 1980s, glasses with tortoise-shell coloring became popular. These were smaller and rounder than the type that was popular earlier in the decade. sporting a Headband in the November 4, 1982 episode of '' Knots Landing ''.]] Small metal framed eyeglasses made a return to fashion in 1984 and 1985, becoming the dominant style by the end of the decade. Headbands became fashionable in 1982 and remained in style for young women until 1983. The trend started in California and spread across the nation. Other associated trends were Leg Warmer s and Miniskirt s. Leg warmers, which had long been staple gear for professional dancers during rehearsals, became a teen trend in 1982. Miniskirts returned for the first time since the 1960s. These styles became associated with the Valley Girl trend that was popular at the time, based on a popular song by Frank Zappa and Moon Unit Zappa . The other fads soon spent themselves, but miniskirts remained in style and became an option for women's business suits. Shoulder pads, popularized perhaps by Linda Evans from the Soap Opera '' Dynasty '', remained popular throughout the 1980s and even the first three years of the 1990s. The reason behind the sudden popularity of shoulderpads for women in the 1980s may be that women in the workplace were no longer unusual, and wanted to "power dress" to show that they were the equals of men at the office. Many women's outfits had Velcro on the inside of the shoulder where various sized shoulderpads could be attached. MID 1980S set a trend in 1983 with this picture from the film, '' Flashdance ''.]] Pastel colors dominated fashions of the early 1980s. This shifted to more somber and muted tones in 1984. The trend toward moody shades remained dominant for the rest of the decade, with notable exceptions. In 1987 day-glo colors became popular for beach and party wear. The mid-1980s also saw revivals of Hawaiian shirts and tie dyed shirts. Unlike the original 1960s tie dyes, 1980s fashions were usually printed fabrics designed to resemble the tie dye process, rather than homemade tie dying. Opulent shades such as royal blue became fashionable late in the decade. The '' Dynasty '' television show, watched by over 250 million viewers around the world in the 1980s, influenced the fashion styles in mainstream America. The show, targeted towards females, influenced women to wear jewelry often to show one's economic status. Synthetic fabrics went out of style in the 1980s. Wool, cotton, and silk returned to popularity for their perceived quality. In 1983 a youth fashion emerged in cotton clothes with Japanese calligraphy prints in black, white, and red. Westerners usually had no idea what these clothes said and wore them for esthetics only. Also in 1983, the film '' Flashdance '' popularized tops for women that exposed one bare shoulder. A related style for women was to cinch an untucked shirt with a large belt. The exposed shoulder look was strictly casual but business and semiformal attire adopted the cinched shirt look to expensive fabrics. The ''Thriller look'' was inspired by Michael Jackson 's record breaking album '' Thriller '', teenagers would attempt to replicate the look of Jackson. Androgyny became a trend among popular music singers. Michael Jackson's high pitched voice was one example. Annie Lennox's short hair and mannish clothes and Boy George's feminine cosmetics were other high profile examples. Musical and film influences played a strong part in the dictation of fashion, these influences included those such as The Bangles , Tina Turner , Belinda Carlisle and Cyndi Lauper . '' album cover exemplifies the bold lingerie-as-outerwear look.]] Frizzy hair was cemented as a common fashion style and was complemented by the attire of the times. Madonna popularized the "side ponytail" look for teenage girls. "Banana" clips were another favorite. Young women wore wild earrings, often long or of peculiar design. Shoulder length earrings often contrasted with hair that was chin length or shorter. Gloves, sometimes lace and/or fingerless were popularized by Madonna, as well as fishnet stockings and layers of beaded necklaces. Another club fashion for women was lingerie as outerwear. Prior to the mid-1980s it had been taboo to show a slip or a visible bra strap in public. A visible undergarment had been a sign of social ineptness. In the new fad's most extreme forms, young women would forego conventional outer-garments for expensive bustiers with lacy slips and several large crucifixes. This was both an assertion of sexual freedom and a conscious rejection of prevailing androgynous fashions. Converse shoes were popular in the first half of the 1980s. Air Jordan basketball shoes made their debut in 1985. Athletic shoes had been worn as casual wear before, but for the first time they became a high priced fashion item. The National Basketball Association banned these shoes from games when they first debuted, which increased their cachet. Soon other manufacturers introduced premium athletic shoes. Adidas sneakers took the decade by storm, popular amongst teenagers and young men. The Adidas sneaker was popularized by the Run DMC song ''My Adidas''. Nike had a similar share of the market coming out with Air Max and similar type shoes. Meanwhile women's fashion and business shoes returned to styles that had been popular in the 1950s and early 1960s with pointed toes and spiked heels. Some stores stocked canvas covered fashion shoes in white and dyed them to the customer's preferred color. While the most popular shoes amongst young women were bright colored high heels, a trend started to emerge which saw 'Jellies' become popular, they were flat, see through plastic and colorful. Men's business attire saw a return of pinstripes for the first time in decades. The new pinstripes were narrower and subtler than 1930s and 1940s suits. Three piece suits made a return as a business option and neckties became narrower. Button down collars made a return, both for business and casual wear. The growing popularity of the Miami Vice television series saw men wearing casual t-shirts underneath expensive suit jackets. Sales of Ray Ban 'Aviator' sunglasses jumped 40%, following the release of the 1986 film '' Top Gun '', they were worn predominantly by Maverick, played by Tom Cruise and Iceman, played by Val Kilmer . At the beginning of the decade digital watches with metal bands were the dominant fashion. They remained popular but lost some of their status in later years. Newer digital watches with built-in calculators and primitive data organizers were strictly for gadget geeks. Adult professionals returned to dial watches by mid-decade. Leather straps returned as an option. By late in the decade some watch faces had returned to Roman numerals. In contrast, one ultramodern status symbol was the Movado museum watch. It featured a sleek design with a single large dot at twelve o'clock. Teen culture preferred vibrant plastic Swatch watches. These first appeared in Europe and reached North America by the middle of the decade. Young people would often wear two or three of these watches on the same arm. LATE 1980S Acid-washed Jean s and jean jackets had now become very strong with both sexes. Acid washing is the process of chemically bleaching the denim so it would break down the fiber of material, forcing the dye to fade and thus leaving undertones of the original dye which would leave pale white streaks or spots on the material. This became associated with the Heavy Metal trend (called "hair metal" in later decades for the large frizzy coiffures worn by both male and female enthusiasts). Big and eccentric hair styles were popularized by film and music stars in particular amongst teenagers. There was generally an excessive amount of Mousse used in styling an individual's hair which resulted in a desired shiny look and greater volume, some mousse even contained glitter. The Mullet existed in several different styles, all characterized by hair short on the sides and long in the back. Mullets were popular in suburban and rural areas among working class men. This contrasted with a conservative look favored by business professionals, with neatly groomed short hair for men and sleekly straight hair for women. White collar men's haircuts were often shaved at the nape of the neck to create an artificially even hairline. Women's hairstyles became increasingly long in the latter part of the decade and blunt cuts dominated. Unlike 1970s blunt cuts, which were often longest at the spine, late 1980s long hair reached an equal length across the back. During the middle and late 1980s it was unfashionable to part either men's or women's hair. One popular look for men in the late 1980s was Hawaiian Shirt s. Often they would be complemented with sport coats with stitched looks. They were often gray and white, and were worn for both casual and business settings. When worn in the business setting, they were often worn without a tie. Leather Jacket s popularized by Michael Jackson and films like '' The Lost Boys '', often studded and left undone to create a messier look. Oversized, slouch shouldered faded leather jackets with puffy sleeves from Europe caught on. Gloves, sometimes fingerless, would also accompany the jacket. Late in the decade plain brown aviator jackets made a comeback, styled after World War II fighter pilot jackets. Already popular aviators were joined by other forms of sunglasses. It was not unusual for Sunglasses or ''shades'' as they were known, to be worn at night. Earring s became a mainstream fashion for male teenagers. Teen culture held that to pierce the left ear was acceptable for a heterosexual male. A right ear piercing indicated homosexuality. Adults who did not understand the fad worried about how this would affect young men's job prospects as they reached adulthood. Ear piercings left a scar even if they closed from disuse. Increasingly short hair fashions for men meant that there was no way to conceal the mark, which remained taboo among older generations. Ensembles featuring the colors of Africa, green yellow and red, become popular among African Americans mainly named kente cloth. In the urban hip-hop communities however, sneakers usually worn unlaced, tons of gold Jewelry and headwraps donned the young of the eighties. Severely bleached and ripped Jeans , either manufactured purposely or done by hand, become a popular fashion trend, being a main component of Glam Metal music acts such as Poison . Although gay men have often been thought of as trendsetters in the fashion world, elements of gay fashion exploded into the mainstream in the 1980s. The outdoor look, such as the wearing of huge hiking boots, jeans and flannel shirts in the city caught on, drag styles for men and butch styles for women spread into straight society. Tattooing and piercing began to enter the mainstream. REFERENCES
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