The Clothes & Styles Of The 80's!

You can find the majority of these really cheap online or in vintage/thrift shops, or make them yourself!  If you need a nudge in the right direction, check out the LINKS page for plenty of online stores that specialize in 80's gear! 
Click on the name of the clothing too see what it looks like!
  • Parachute Pants - There's nothing like the sound these made when walking around in them.  And the cool "scratching" you could do with a fingernail...lol.
  • "Relax" and other word shirts - Others are Frankie Says/Say, Boy Toy, Peace, Love, Not!, Choose Life, and about a hundred others.
  • Long shirts with one or more belts - A girls thing, but looked hot!
  • Acid Washed Jeans - Grab a razor and fray the hell outta them!  Joe Elliot (Def Leppard) circa Hysteria album is a prime example.
  • Black Jeans - No frills and tight as hell.  Goes well with white hi-tops!
  • Lace/Mesh Hair Ties - I think Madonna started this.
  • Headbands/Sweatbands - Just think Mike Reno of Loverboy.
  • Banana Clips - Still around and widely used today!
  • Barrettes with/without Ribbons and/or Dangles - Girls wore a bunch of these.  I saw them more with ribbons than anything else.
  • Ray Ban's, Gargoyle's, Oakley's - And a hundred other brands and crazy styles.  Tom Cruise got Ray Ban's really going, Clint Eastwood (as Dirty Harry) pushed Gargoyle's, and snowboarding gave Oakley's a major bump--though they really blew up in the early 90's.
  • BIG Hair Bows - Another Madonna style that exploded. 
  • Painter Hats With/Without Tails - Tons of logo's and colors to choose from!
  • Bandanas - Didn't matter what was on them, we wore them anyway.  Wrists, arms, legs, head, etc.
  • Baggy Pants With Zippers - They weren't Hammer Pants but just as baggy and had zippers in random spots.
  • Fat Laces (With or Without Barretts, Friendship Pins) - With designs, in day-glo colors, or mixed colors.  Some girls clipped barretts and friendship pins to theirs.
  • Neon and Day-Glo Anything - Shirts, shoes, socks, pants, hats, makeup, jewelry...you name it, we wore it.
  • Off-shoulder Shirt/Sweatshirt - Flashdance was kinda' popular....
  • Belly Shirts - And yet again, Madonna.  Guys occasionally wore them too.
  • Slogan/Brand Shirts - Coke was a big one.  Converse, Nike, Hard Rock Cafe, Disney, Pepsi, etc.
  • Sleeveless Shirts - Cut off yourself (and sometimes slit to the waist, which I always did), bought with studs around the seam and neck, or just plain ol' sleeveless.
  • Skinny Ties - I knew people that hated them and others that had dozens of them.  I probably still have a few somewhere around here.
  • Clothes With Piano Keys On Them - Jackets, shirts, ties, socks, shoelaces...the list goes on.
  • Checkerboard Print - Another huge style!  Like piano keys, this was on just about everything you can think of. 
  • Members Only Jacket - I had two of them: black and grey.  Still around and still cool!
  • Thriller & Beat It Jackets - Michael Jackson OWNED the 80's.  If he wore something, people bought it.  I had a Thriller jacket and it was bad ass!
  • Rhinestone Glove - Another Michael Jackson item.  Most had sequins or glitter, but a few scored the rhinestone ones.
  • Diagonally Opening Shirt/Jacket - I only saw a few of these over the years (Capt. Kirk wore one in Star Trek 2) but I always thought they were cool as hell.
  • Lace/Mesh/Fishnet Crop Top - Much like the belly shirt, but you could see through it.  A lot of girls just wore a bra under it.
  • Band, TV, Movie Shirts - The best ones had the glitter graphic on them!  I've still got a few of them.
  • The Adam Ant Jacket - Jimi Hendrix wore one too.  It's actually a Royal Hussars jacket and are expensive as hell!  If you find one for less than a grand, buy it!
  • Poet, Pirate Shirt - Another Adam Ant item.  Prince wore a lot of Poet shirts too.  They were big in the New Wave and Goth scenes too.
  • Mesh, Fishnet Shirt - Girls and guys both wore them.  Lots of colors.  Some long, some short sleeved.
  • Shirt Slides - Girls wore these.  Check the link for a picture if you don't know what one is.
  • Belts - Skinny, big, small, dangling, cinch, studded, fat, etc.  More than one was usually the way to go.
  • Scrunch Socks - Girls usually had one color on the bottom and another on top.
  • Leg Warmers - See what I mean about Flashdance? 
  • Stirrup Pants - I think girls had 100 fashions to every 1 us guys had.  These were everywhere, tight or loose.
  • Shoes - Capezios, jelly, creepers, Doc Martens, Vans, Converse, KangaROOS, Vision Street Wear, Nike, Reebok, British Knights, chinese slippers...the list is endless.
  • Vision Street Wear Clothing - I had tons of this stuff.  I lost count of how many pairs of these shoes I went through.
  • Mini-Skirts With Bike Shorts/Leggings - Not all girls dared venture out in just a mini-skirt.
  • Jean Shorts With/Without Bike Shorts or Leggings - Another style.  And some guys wore them too.
  • Jimmy'Z, Stüssy, Skidz, Hypercolor - Popular with skaters, surfers, and people who didn't do either.  Others were OP, Quicksilver, and Zog's.
  • Spandex - Wear at your own risk!
  • Lace Gloves - Madonna and others got these going.
  • Sock Gloves - 80's DIY handwarmers.
  • Fingerless Gloves - Various colors and with or without spikes/studs.
  • Polka Dots - Like checkerboard and piano keys, these could be on anything.  Strawberry Switchblade wore them on everything.
  • Jelly Bracelets - Worn by the dozens by everybody.  Black, white, and neon colors were the most popular.  Twist them together to make a double bracelet.  I've still got tons of them.
  • Slap Bracelets - Still popular today.  Slap 'em on!
  • Friendship Pins, Bracelets - I've still got a few from back in the day.  It actually meant a lot to be given one.
  • Twisty Bead Necklace - I'll let the link speak for itself since I know nothing about these!
  • Plastic Spring Bracelet - Kinda' like a plastic, neon Slinky you wore on your wrist. (Couldn't find a picture so I just used a Slinky.)
  • Spoon Ring - A ring made out of a spoon.
  • Swatch - Dozens of colors and styles, with replacable straps and face guards meant some seriously crazy combinations!  We sometimes wore two at a time, for whatever reason.  Still around today and just as cool as they were back then!  I've still got mine from 1985 and it still works!
  • Studs, Spikes, Denim, Leather - The uniform of a metalhead!  I still have my old Anthrax backpatch and a spiked wristband that's seen better days.
  • Pins And Buttons - Bands, slogans, and sayings.  We had tons of them.
  • Suit Jacket - Oversized, padded shoulders, and the sleeves rolled up.
  • Underoos - Beneath our school clothes, we were Super Heroes!
  • Gypsy Skirts - Stevie Nicks made these popular as hell.

The Looks & Styles!  (Click the links for pictures!)

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