The 80s Prom Dress
We are heading into one of the most important seasons in any teenage girl’s life: PROM SEASON. What to wear? Make up and manicures! HAIR! Should I get a limo? Of course I should! Oh, and yeah, the big question: who’s gonna be my date?!? But the dress – the dress is number one. And back in the 80s, boy, was it ever. The prom dresses of the 1980s were pretty epic; like everything back then, they were bigger and louder than anything...
Z Cavaricci Pants
Throughout history, men’s fashion has often taken a backseat to what we women wore. But guys during the 1980s had their moment; they were allowed to have some serious fa-fa-fa-fa fashion fun, don’t you think? Parachute pants, headbands, OP board shorts, Members Only jackets, skinny piano keyboard ties – 80s dudes were stylin’ and profilin’ back in the day. One brand that was super-hot in the late 80s for guys (and girls, but mostly...
Goodbye to the Legendary Lip Smacker
Whenever I find out something from my youth is going away I always feel a pang of sadness mixed with some sticky-sweet nostalgia. So many 80s things that were important have passed on but are not forgotten: RIP Jello Pudding Pops, Sassoon Jeans, Planters Cheez Balls, Shine Free cosmetics, and Original New York Seltzer. But when I heard the news about this next product going bye-bye, I have to say it made my pre-teen heart ache just a...
Jingle Bell Rock: Five 80s Party Dresses Perfect For The Holidays
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it’s officially the start of the holiday season. Lights are going up, trees are being decorated, and invitations to holiday parties are going to start pouring in. What ever will you wear? Ditch the boring LBD and go for something fresh, with a little more sparkle, and a lot more retro glam. Amy Rose of Red Rose Vintage has scoured the web to find the perfect vintage 80s party dresses to ensure that...
Pantyhose in the 80s
Which came first: the pantyhose or the egg? Ladies, do you remember wearing pantyhose back in the early 80s? Of course you do because we all wore pantyhose; if we were wearing a dress or a skirt, we were wearing pantyhose. Because, you know, nothing beats a great pair of l’eggs. In fact, here I am on my first day of 7th grade wearing pantyhose. With my little, white Keds sneakers. In Florida. We didn’t call them nylons or...
Vote for Your Favorite 80s Fashion
80s fashion had so much to offer, it is impossible to narrow it down to just a few trends. But, we’re not going to let that stop us. We’ve picked 9 of the best for this first round, trying to include both gal and dude fashions (happily lots of 80s fashions were unisex) and need your help in picking a winner. If you don’t see your favorite below, suggest a trend in the comments. We’ll have a Round 2 based on...
Outback Red vs. Forenza – Battle of The Limited’s Brands
Ahhh, back to school shopping in the 80s. I can just picture myself breezing in and out of some of my favorite mall stores – Rave, Limited Express, and Contempo Casuals among them. But one of my favorites stores to hit on the most important shopping trip of the year was The Limited. Why? The Limited carried great clothes, scarves, jeans, jewelry, watches, hats, and two of my favorite brands ever: Forenza and Outback Red. 2 popular,...
Colors Head to Toe – Rainbow Flip Flops
Rainbows were everywhere in the 80s – on our shirts, sweaters, stickers, earrings, on the backs of our satin jackets, in our hair on our barrettes, and emblazoned across our Trapper Keepers. And, in the summertime, the beauty of the rainbow shimmied down to our feet as we all walked around in these: Ah, the flip flop – the essential summer shoe staple. I had a pair with a giant plastic sunflower on them that were rather painful, with...
I Would Dye for You – Dyeable Formal Shoes
By Lori Ferraro Remember the thrill of being asked to a school dance or formal? Whether it was homecoming, a winter formal or the grand pappy of them all – senior prom – the preparation and planning that went into the big night was almost as exciting as the event itself. There was one hugely important detail to consider – THE DRESS. Gunne Sax? Jessica McClintock? An original handmade number ala Andie in Pretty in Pink? Then there were...
The Jordache Look – Jordache Jeans
By Lori Ferraro Designer jeans were HUGE in the 80s – the very first ones I remember getting were a pair of Sassoon jeans. Sa-Sa-soon after that I added a pair of Gloria Vanderbilts followed by some Sergio Valentes. But the jeans I most remember—my favorite pair—the ones that looked best with my rainbow shirts, satin jackets and leg warmers were my Jordache jeans. Jordache jeans were the jeans to have back in the day – that little...
The Shorts That Screamed Summertime – Terrycloth
By Lori Ferraro In going through old photo albums the other day, I couldn’t help but smile whenever I got to the summer months in the early 80s, with my brother, Mike, and I wearing a whole lotta these: Terrycloth shorts were part of the summertime uniform back in the day – everybody was wearing these comfortable, elastic-waist, absorbent towels on their bottom halves. Besides shorts, the ladies also wore these...
Friendship Bracelets
Back in the 7th and 8th grade there were several ways to show your love and devotion to your B/F/F. You could exchange little friendship pins, the safety pins with tiny, bright colorful beads on them. We’d wear them up high on the laces of our Puma sneakers or pin them to the straps of our purses. You could also break the sacred “Best Friends” charm in half and wear it on a chain around your neck – this was a ritual reserved for that...
Unicorns and Hearts Get Fancy – The Trendy Fair Isle Sweater
Unicorns, hearts and rainbows made their way onto pretty much everything in the 80s – stickers, posters, t-shirts, shoelaces . . . come those chilly fall/winter months what was a stylish pre-teen girl to do??? This! How many of you were sporting a variation of this sweater back in the early 80s? I know I was. Whether it was simply hearts: Unicorns and hearts: Or . . . umm . . . checkerboards, hearts and bunnies? We were all...
Am I Blue? Colored Mascara
By Lori Ferraro Because frosted blue eye shadow and electric blue eyeliner was simply not enough blue on our eyeballs back in the 80s, we also had this: Electric blue, red and yes, even yellow and green mascaras were available for our lash-lengthening pleasures. Blue was by far the most popular of the colored mascara colors. With my dark hair and olive complexion I thought blue mascara would really top off my look and make my eyes...
80s Rat Tail Hairstyles – The Tale of the Tail
By Lori Ferraro When you think back to 80s hair, the first images that most likely pop into your brain are of us girls, with our giant, can-of-spray-a-day, moussed-up, permed, blown-out helmet heads, right? But . . . The boys of the 80s had some serious hair action going on as well. We’re all familiar with the decade’s most popular dude-do the mullet. I’d say 95% of the boys walking the halls of my junior high and high schools rocked...
