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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 buccaneers, and punk rockers from the 1970s. more...

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The most conservative, more masculine fashion look that was most indicative of the decade was the wide use of shoulder pads (similar to those worn in ice hockey). While in the 1970s the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider looser clothes on bottom, this trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear loose shirts and tight close fitting pants. Men wore power suits (which they sometimes jogged in to work since they were stiff when they were bought) 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

New Romantics

New Romantic was a New Wave and fashion movement that occurred primarily in British nightclubs. 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 nightclubs. 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. 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 but tans, open collars and jewelry started to emerge as popular fashion.

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.

Read more at Wikipedia.org