Fashion in 1980

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In the 1980s, fashion was influenced by the western economic boom. Youth culture stopped hogging the scene as the teenage market lost impetus. The dominant market was getting older and was also financially secure. Demographics changed the face of society. People were living longer and seemed to act younger at the same time. Old industries died, while new technologies developed and boomed.

Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy Reagan in the USA celebrated presidential success with a style that used fashionable conspicuous clothes and social events to display the affluence of American society to a world audience.

The world was in flux; ever changing. The USSR relaxed rules and opened up to private enterprise. The Berlin wall came down and other eastern bloc countries craved western clothes and liberation.

In Britain Thatcherism promoted privatization and the idea that greed was good was given credence. Temples to modern living, shopping malls sprang up throughout Britain. Western society consumed and consumed.

Advertisers gave a whole range of acronyms to groups of consumers in the 1980s. Looking at these acronyms does help to understand how advertisers identified recognisable groups in society in the consumer driven world of marketing 1980s fashion.

A typical acronym was DINKY which described an increasing section of society, the couples not necessarily married, but who were 'Double Income No Kids Yet.' The Dinky was the type of consumer that might be targeted for spending on fashion and status symbols like perfume, label goods and stylish kitchen items that might never be used. The couple could even encourage each other in achieving their lifestyle of aspiration. Other labels advertisers favoured include Empty Nesters, Grey Panthers, Ladettes and Tweenies. The guppies term has since been hijacked by other groups.

Note too, the use of fur shown on the hems, sleeve hemlines of both the evening dresses and the day clothes illustrated above. They show how lavish and sumptuous clothes had become for those with enough money to afford high fashion designer models such as these. Ladies who sailed the Titanic in 1912 may well have worn gowns based on similar designs.

These clothes are a perfect example of the fashion of the lost golden age. They were at the end of an era of an elaborate fashion etiquette that places the wealthy, late Edwardian woman in a different world to the rest of the 20th century. By 1913 hemlines began their slow rise showing a little of the ankle. Extravagance in dress was soon frowned upon as utilitarian clothing was enforced on many during the 1914-18 Great War years.

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Fashion-Era.com looks at women's costume and fashion history and analyses the mood of an era. Changes in technology, leisure, work, cultural and moral values. Homelife and politics also contribute to lifestyle trends, which in turn influence the clothes we wear. These are the changes that make any era of society special in relation to the study of the costume of a period.

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Fashion Influences of the 1980s

Power Dressing

1980s fashion history is memorable and quite distinctive. A variety of fashion looks ran parallel to each other in the 1980s. Women of this era began to feel they that really could at last choose from one of the many contrasting looks available. The fashion look that was the most powerful over the decade was the wide shoulder. Fashion history reveals that the 80s fashion look was a tailored look. It was hard to go anywhere without at least a jacket, but preferably a complete suit. This was influenced by several movements including media influence on 1980s fashion through the popularity of TV dramas like 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas'. Costume dramas brought fashion into real everyday eighties life.

Corporate business suit dressing, Margaret Thatcher in tailored evening suits, Yuppies and the copying of styles worn by Diana Princess of Wales, all contributed to stamping the era with a style that now seems to shriek vulgarity quite simply because Laver's Law is operating.

Power dressing, New Romantics, stretch dressing and sportswear all lent a significant feeling that a woman could be anybody she chose to be.

These four looks are predominant in the fashion and costume history of the 1980s.

Influence of Television Soap Series 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas'

'Dynasty' the 1980s television fantasy soap series promoted fashions which enlarged the shoulder. One of the main characters was played by the naturally broad shouldered film star Linda Evans.

Nolan Miller, the Dynasty film set costume designer decided to go with her big shoulders and give slight emphasis to them. Every other actor had to be shoulder padded, but with more depth to match her shoulders.

In the 1980s 'Dynasty' was watched by a global audience of over 250 million viewers. Many who watched did so for a look at the 80's fashions which were always over the top and frankly camp. Throughout the 80s styles did filter to the mass market in watered down versions.

1980s fashion favoured applied decoration on suits and T-shirts and beadwork on clothing which all pandered to the ideals of a time of conspicuous consumption. The 1980s was a time of greed and individuals living a lie that they had everything whether it be fashion, champagne or property. Many fell into debt as the only way to acquire an 80's lifestyle for many was via the credit card.

Get Big Shoulders and Get Noticed

1980s Fashion history shows that as the fashion for female identity in the workplace took hold, so shoulder width grew. Increasingly large shoulder pads were used to support the wider cut of sleeves.

Right - Big Shoulders of the 1980s - Quite mannish suits and appliqué shoulder padded knitwear for women were both softened with ties, bow ties and floppy scarves tied in artist bows all often worn with long boots.

Women's shoulders had started to actually look like designers had once drawn them at the start of the 80s decade. Designers had tried to promote wide shoulders of American footballer dimensions in the early 1980s and although women initially laughed, eventually shoulder width had a rounded coat hanger effect just like those early designs and reached dimensions not seen before in the 20^th century.

Left - The big jacket look was also transferred to evening wear. Wide shouldered, rich jewel shaded brocades or gold lame or lace jackets were made up following day styles.

To soften the masculine effect the sleeves of jackets and blouses were worn pushed up or rolled up to reveal attractive satinised contrast jacket linings which in itself was a way of accessorizing it.

The Princess of Wales the Romantic Dresser

Before her marriage Lady Diana Spencer dressed in the manner of the Sloane set she mixed with. She liked to wear high necked frilly ruffled blouses, pearls, floral skirts, loose short sleeved shirt blouses, low pump shoes, simple dresses and country tweed suits. All were clothes very much liked by the 'county set'.

Once engaged she began to wear slightly more glamorous clothes although sometimes these seemed too old for a woman so young.

Right - Diana in the puff sleeves that mark the big shouldered evening fashion look of the 1980s.

Within 5 years of her engagement she had developed the Dallas factor with big hair, big shoulder pads and big name glitzy outfits.

On the right in her later streamlined style of the 1990s.

By the time of Diana's death in 1997 she was a world renowned fashion icon with her place ensured in fashion history.

Diana the Princess of Wales became admired for her pared down cool sophisticated assured style in a honed and fit body.

Diana's Wedding Dress Set a Trend for Meringue Styles

The Princess supported many British designers beginning with Elizabeth and David Emanuel who designed her much criticized puff ball meringue wedding dress in 1981. The beautiful dress was based on a romantic look of huge puffed sleeves with a full skirt of ivory silk pure taffeta, old lace and hand embroidery incorporating 10,000 pearls and sequins.

The dress had a twenty five foot train and when the princess emerged from the carriage at the cathedral the world saw how creased the dress appeared. The creases soon dropped out, but the fabric and construction method used was criticized worldwide.

David Emanuel complained in a TV interview that the carriage was far too small for both Diana and her robustly built father along with her full skirted dress, hence the inevitable creases.

I think he was probably right - no fabric deserves to be treated that way.