The Return of Big Hair?
I spy with my little eye: mousse, gel, teasing combs, and (gasp!) perms? Is the flat-hair era dead at last? It’s an 80s girl’s dream come true! Celebrities Go Big With Hair Celebrities are boldly going where many of us have gone before—into brazenly big hair territory. Here’s a look at some trendsetters who are inflating their locks for that sexy, fluffy, decidedly THERE hair we loved in the me decade: Lady Gaga sported an enormous...
Essential Summer Brands of the 80s
When I moved to Tampa, Florida in the mid-eighties my eyes were opened to a world of new things and new experiences like . . . beaches (yay!) the invasion of boys who came to visit for spring break (double YAY!) and Cuban Sandwiches (TRIPLE YAY!!!) My wardrobe was also introduced to less clothing and new brands. Brands that weren’t dark, designer jeans or Members Only jackets – these were tropical, bright, beachy fun wardrobe...
Feathered Bangs Photo Gallery
Before the I’m-Closer-to-God-Than-You bangs trend took hold, feathered bangs were all the rage in the 80s. Check out these radical user submitted photos. To add your own bodacious feathered bang photos, email your pic to itslikeemail@liketotally80s.com....
Feathered Bangs
By Lori Ferraro Before the gigantic hair movement of the late ‘80s all us girls back in junior high were vying for one look and one look only. Feathered hair with feathered bangs. In New York we called feathered hair “wings” – like you would go in for a haircut and request wings and know you weren’t in for something spicy with a side of ranch. At thirteen my family moved from New York to Florida (perfect age for a big move) where they...
Patterned Shoelaces – My Saving Grace
By Karin Bell Go back to the early 80s, if you will, to a time of endless wonder and fashion possibilities. Back when we made our own fashion rules; we laughed in the face of conservative clothing. Ha! You non-cushioned shoulders! Ha! You deflated pants! In the midst of all the laughter, I was battling a dilemma…deprived was I of those awesomely cool Air Jordans or Adidas Grand Slams that would have made me cool. I had Keds....
Beautifully Bushy Brows of the 80s
By Lori Ferraro In the eighties, we thought that skinny, over-plucked, penciled eyebrows were, like, totally for bluehairs. We wanted our brows to be luxuriantly full and natural, like chic little caterpillars over our eyes. The poster child of the full brow look was, of course, Brooke Shields. Here’s some footage of the Pretty Baby herself with her mother, Terri, and Barbara Walters showing just how lovely a natural brow can be: Not...
Overalls in the Eighties
By Julie Anderson The 1980s had some undeniably bitchin’ fashions. Acid wash denim, parachute pants, neon everything, and stirrup pants come to mind easily, right? But, there’s one 80s fashion trend trend that might seem a bit out-of-place amid all that glitz and those linebacker-padded shoulders – that is, unless you lived through it. Overalls, dude. Totally. Overalls were casual and playful, sporty and relaxed. Perhaps not the most...
Gold Chains in the 80s
The 80s were all about glitter and shine; and what’s shinier than gold? It makes perfect sense, then, that gold chains would be all the rage in the mid-80s. Perhaps Spandau Ballet said it best in their 1983 hit, Gold: Gold Always believe in your soul You’ve got the power to know You’re indestructible Always believe in, because you are Gold This particular fashion trend transcended gender, and guys were just as likely to...
Lip Gloss: Pucker up, Buttercup!
Before we were allowed to wear actual makeup, girls of the 80s loved their flavored and tinted lip glosses. We stowed them in our purses, because periodic reapplication was a must. Those sheer colors and glossy shines didn’t last for long. But that was TOTALLY okay, because these luscious glosses were sweet treats as well! A little hit of Dr. Pepper or strawberry lip gloss was just as yummy as a mouthful of Nerds or Pixy Stix, but it...
Knickers
By Julie Anderson Knickers were girls’ and ladies’ pants that ended below the knee. They were cuffed and fuller in the thigh than, say, capris or clamdiggers. There were relatives of gauchos, another great eighties trend, but pretty distant cousins. (And all you people from outside of the United States can just stop with the snickering. We know good and well what you mean when you say “knickers.” These are NOT panties we’re talking...
The Return of Huaraches
It was the spring / summer season of 1986, Falco wanted us to Rock Me Amadeus and Robert Palmer had us Addicted to Love. Fresh off of seeing Ferris Bueller in the theaters, we were twisting and shouting about all that summer would hold. We had a new pair of Jams, some Wayfarers and new highlights courtesy of Sun-In. We were ready for summer. All we needed was the perfect pair of sandals. Enter Huaraches. They’ve been trying to make a...
Coca-Cola Rugbys
By Julie Anderson Coca-Cola rugby shirts were SOOO cool in the mid-eighties. With bold primary (or sometimes pastel) wide stripes and that famous cursive logo, we thought they were totally radical. My best friend had one and wore it, like, EVERYWHERE with her pinstriped pleated jeans. Coke rugby shirts were so cheerful! So colorful! So sporty! Heavy D & The Boyz performing “Mr. Big Stuff” in 1986 certainly gave the trend a nice...
Underoos: The Underwear That’s FUN to Wear!
By Julie Anderson In the late seventies, Larry Weiss came up with a really great idea: print superhero costumes onto kids’ top-and-bottom underwear sets. In retrospect, it was marketing genius, but the idea was rejected by Hanes and then dropped by Scott Paper company. Fruit of the Loom, which had been lined up to supply the blank underwear for screen printing, stepped up and bought Underoos in 1978. It was a wise decision....
Press-on Nails
By Julie Anderson It’s 1987. You need to be full-on glamorous (for, like, prom or homecoming) which means shoes dyed to match your gown, pantyhose, a labor-intensive hairdo involving LOTS of styling products, and long, polished nails. However, back in the eighties we didn’t have a Star Nails in every strip mall. Sure, fancy salons had manicurists who could give you acrylic tips, but after springing for our Dyeables and our dates’...
80s Blue Jeans: The B-list
Sadly, we couldn’t all afford Gloria Vanderbilt or Guess jeans in the 80s. Even if we did boast a pair or two or three, we still needed some other jeans to fill out our casual-wear wardrobes. Enter the second-tier designer jeans. Like B-list (and C-list) actors, these jeans were probably just as good as the A-list varieties, they just didn’t manage to luck into the big time and didn’t command the big bucks. Just because they aren’t...
