Top 10 Fashion Trends of the 80s

The 80s produced some interesting things. Fashion wasn't its strongest point. As trends are recycled and decades revisited we can only hope that the 80s stays in the 80s, and spare ourselves from the embarrassment of oversized clothing and blinding colors. Here are just a few of our favorite fashion memories (and disasters) from the decade that was the 80s.

10. Shoulder pads
For reasons we'll never understand, the linebacker look was popular back in the day. We know we like our torsos to look rectangular; don't you?

9. Neon
Our eyes are still recovering from this one. Neon was everywhere. The return of tie-dye (that wasn't gone long) added to the nausea by encouraging people to mix their neons…fingers crossed that this fashion crime never happens again. For the sake of vision everywhere.

8. Shirts with t-shirt clips on the side
Oversized t-shirts were big. Clipping them up on one side with a chunky plastic clip (make it neon, even better) was even bigger. Once again, we have no idea. Maybe it was to keep your giant t-shirt from overshadowing your awesome three-quarter length leggings?

7. Tight acid or stonewash jeans
Tight, and we mean tight jeans were all the rage, for both men and women. Bleach was splashed onto the denim to give it a patchy mixture of dark and light colour. Then they were ripped and safety pins added to give the desirable punk/rebel look à la Billy Idol. Throw a mullet on with those pants and you were hot stuff.

6. Teased hair
Perm it, fluff it, hairspray it and then adorn it with chunky clips. For inspiration see the first incarnation of Madonna. You'll remember why you're so thankful that you have short hair now.

5. Exercise gear & leg warmers
We can thank caffeine-injected Aussie Olivia Newton-John for this one. "Let's Get Physical" tore up the charts, and people everywhere tore off the layers in favour of spandex and sweatbands and got down with their bad selves.

4. Jellies sandals
They were plastic. They were noisy. They were hot. Your parents thought they looked adorable with little summer dresses. You tossed them aside and settled for jelly accessories instead.

3. Slap bracelets
Here's a good idea. Take a chunk of elastic material, cover it in gaudy colours (neon!) and inspire legions of fans to slap themselves on the wrist and wear it as a bracelet. We still have our neon-green New Kids on the Block one. And we're not giving it up.

2. Don't Worry Be Happy
The hit song by Bobby McFerrin spawned a huge craze for that saying on all sorts of clothing, so we felt it deserved a mention. Plus, it's one of the few trends from the 80s that wasn't too bad.

1. Off-the-shoulder
Flashdance inspired the sleeves-off-the-shoulder look, as well as opening the doors for women who secretly aspired to be welders. Okay, maybe not so much for the second one, but honestly, who didn't sport the look? It was so popular it's even making a comeback. We wouldn't recommend it for welding, though. The baggy sleeves might get in the way.