When it comes to atrocious fashion, is it even possible to pass the 80s? (perm, extension)

[mistyriver]

Originally Posted by CraigCreek

It's a matter of taste.

I am an English country dancer, and believe me, those classic and nostalgic floral patterned, full-skirted, tight-waisted, scoop necked mid-calf dresses are nothing the Queen would have ever worn past her twenties or early thirties. But they looked great on dancers, who tend to retain slender figures, and "worked" - moved well and were comfortable to wear while dancing, I'm told. Not dowdy at all, but a romantic, nostalgic look that went well with historic dance.

BTW, Laura Ashley had a very popular children's clothing line that certainly was a "young aesthetic". Lots of my friends' young daughters wore Laura Ashley, back in the day.

I loved Laura Ashley back then. The dresses were lovely and flattering (I was tall and slender) and as you said, romantic and I had several. I dressed my daughter in LA too as a baby in toddler and her nursery was done in LA.
There was nothing dowdy about it as I recall. Beautiful fabrics and design. But I think it was meant for young women. It would have looked silly on older women.

[Debsi]

I’m seeing more 80’s throwbacks every time I go to the store lately, so I find this thread amusing.

Pre-ripped jeans and leggings with stirrups, to name a couple items. I imagine I’ll see the ankle-zipped straight leg Guess jeans I once lived in by next week...

[Arkay66]

Originally Posted by floridarebel

This isn't 1997. Nobody wears saggy pants anymore.

Haven't been out and about around here, have you?

When not in uniform, I always preferred what I call a classic look:

Low rise boot cut jeans or denim shorts
Tee shirt and/or blue denim or plain cotton work shirt, flannel shirt in cold weather
Birkenstocks, sneakers, moccasins, or boots, depending on what I'm doing
A leather belt, if necessary
Wide brimmed hat
Sunglasses

Have worn that style since the 1960s, and it always fits in.

Only the colors have changed (except the blue denim).

"Fashion" is something I observe for humor's sake. However, I have to say that when it came to just plain tacky, the huge bellbottoms and fake fur vests of the 1960s are on top of that list.

The polyester leisure suits of the 1970s are next, and anything with giant shoulder pads from the 1980s are third.

The skinny jeans and/or leggings of today are fourth. Really, people, if you haven't got the build (as I don't), these aren't a good look for you.

Fifth is anything from any era that looks uncomfortable, or that looks like someone is into the world's oldest profession.

But I save my contempt for the ugly shoes. This decade has seen some spectacularly ugly women's shoes. Eww.

[mschrief]

I'm going to a concert in a couple of weeks featuring 80s music. The audience is encouraged to dress appropriate to the era, but I am stumped...what to wear?

I'm thinking a short black lace skirt, lace up peep toe ankle boots and a denim jacket.

For the life me I do not remember anything special about my wardrobe at the time. I wore Kasper suits with big shoulder pads, etc.

[Sunbather]

is it specific to a kind of 80s music? a cross section of popular 80s music? Post-punk, synth pop, late stage hair metal? That might help make a determination. Like any other era, there was a large subset of sub-cultures etc. to pull from. Looking at movies from that time period is a good choice too. Heck, even the NYC punk scene differed in style from the DC punk scene differed from the west coast scene.

[old_cold]

I can't think of any fad, no matter how stupid it looks now, being worse than wearing your pants so that they look like you forgot to pull them up after a sitting visit to the bathroom.

[canudigit]

Originally Posted by mschrief

I'm going to a concert in a couple of weeks featuring 80s music. The audience is encouraged to dress appropriate to the era, but I am stumped...what to wear?

I'm thinking a short black lace skirt, lace up peep toe ankle boots and a denim jacket.

For the life me I do not remember anything special about my wardrobe at the time. I wore Kasper suits with big shoulder pads, etc.

If you want to go for the "boy toy" Madonna look, try a full skirt, slinky top, sheer black hose with high heeled lace up boots, several strings of beads and large emblem necklaces around your neck, big hair, natural (thick, even) eyebrows, black eyeliner, and huge, chunky earrings.

If you are looking for the mall rat look, a stone washed mini skirt (good luck finding one!), neon t-shirt underneath a denim jacket, thick bobby socks with high top Reeboks (again, good luck finding them), huge, chunky earrings, and impossibly huge hair, preferably with a scrunchy or two worked in there somewhere.

I remember '80s fashions vividly and with some nostalgia because it takes me back to a time when I was young and carefree and the only thing I worried about was if my McDonald's paycheck was going to be enough to buy the Stray Cats' latest record. LOL.

[Ellise]

Originally Posted by Arkay66

The skinny jeans and/or leggings of today are fourth. Really, people, if you haven't got the build (as I don't), these aren't a good look for you.

Eww.

Leggings and skinny jeans are number one on my all time list of fashion atrocities. Almost nobody has the build for them. Leggings aren't pants, they're meant to be worn under a tunic, but that doesn't stop people from wearing them as substitutes for pants. Skinny jeans combined with everyone's habit of wearing their clothing two sizes too small results in the "I'm about to burst out of my sausage casings" look.

On a chilly morning in the south recently, I saw quite a few young women out walking around in their skinny jeans or leggings, flats and bare feet (because socks look ridiculous with those things). They looked cold and uncomfortable, talk about being a fashion victim.

[Sassybluesy]

I bet most of us have been a fashion victim at least a time or two. :-)

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by Sassybluesy

I bet most of us have been a fashion victim at least a time or two. :-)

So true, just found a photo of me in a leisure suit.