There are plenty of trends from the 1980s that you may already be aware of if you’ve ever attended an 80s themed party. Yes, neon colors were overused during the 80s and maybe that is all you think of when you think of the trends back then, but there was more to it than that —featured here are U students from the 80s, decked in 80s garb.
As you dive into the style past, keep in mind that some of these seemingly outrageous trends are making a comeback. You may have noticed other students wearing customized denim jackets, ripped jeans or Keds, and those are all considered trends from the 80s. Here’s a list of a few of those trends and whether or not they are being worn in the world today or on the U campus.
LEGWARMERS
Although you may still see legwarmers on dancers, thankfully they are a rare sight at school nowadays, especially since athleisure has made its comeback. The closest trend to legwarmers today are the long socks people are sporting with their tennis shoes (though that too was trend in the 80s). Keds were sometimes worn back then with scrunched up, long socks.
SCRUNCHIES
Some of you may have lived in the early 80’s and were a victim of this trend: the scrunchie. Those multicolored fabricated messes that tied your hair back while making a big statement? Yep, that was a scrunchie and usually nobody was seen without more than a few from their heads to their wrists.
BIG EARRINGS
When it came to 80s style, the bigger the accessories, the better in order to show your personality and have fun.
NEON
As previously mentioned: neon. Neon is possibly the most popular style choice for attendees of 80s themed parties. That’s probably since nobody realizes the other trends that could have been worn–until now after reading this perhaps.
CUSTOMIZED JEAN JACKETS
It may come as no surprise to you that this is a current trend spotted on the runway during fashion week many weeks this year. You may have seen a few people sporting jackets with personalized patches to commemorate their individuality.
ACID WASH
Have you seen acid wash anywhere? Nope. That one stayed in the 80s.
RIPPED JEANS
Ripped jeans may remind you of those skaters who almost run into you while you’re walking to class. Turns out they rip up their jeans on purpose and not just because they may fall sometimes. They have made a strong comeback.
OVERSIZED EVERYTHING
The 80s took oversized to the extreme and wore oversized everything. In a previous Chronicle archive newspaper, there was even a section mentioning how “the baggier, the better” when it came to fashion in the 80s for U students, with the article even referencing Vogue.
HAIR WITH VOLUME
The hair in the 80’s lived up to the theme of making a big statement by having hair be literally big and fluffy!
COLLARED SHIRTS/ POPPED COLLARS
In the Chronicle’s archives, men and women were frequently spotted sporting collared shirts. Some were popped up to signify a preppy style … or possible arrogance?. Ever watched an 80s movie where the guy with the popped collar tends to be the stuck up, popular kid at school? Not quite sure why that stereotype was created with the popped collared tee, but there you have it. Be wary should you ever decide to try it out.
CROP TOPS
Crop tops have made their way back into the fashion world again if you hadn’t already noticed. They’re nearly impossible to wear if you do not want to reveal too much, unless paired with high-waisted bottoms.
As you may have noticed, 80’s style tended to be focused on making a statement by wearing bigger jewelry to baggier clothes. Colors in neon to sparkly attire brought out a whole new light into the world, literally.
It can be fun taking a look back into a few of the trends and realize how some have come back around again.
@Casualcolie