80s fashion memories

[TitaniasAss]

I was having a chat with a similar aged colleague today (57) and a couple of our much younger colleagues (both in their early 20s). We were talking about the differences between 'going out' outfits back then and now. I love how younger people now often wear much more comfortable footwear and the younger ones were asking us what we used to wear for a night out. Our essentials were:

High heels (my bunions absolutely do not thank me for this now)
Alexis Colby style shoulder pads
Paisley blouse
Diamante brooch on said paisley blouse
Pencil skirt or peg trousers
Black or barely black sheer tights
Clutch bag
Dangly earrings - my favourites were silver fans
Absolutely no jacket at all regardless of the (Glasgow in our case) weather.
Byzance, Rive Gauche or Ysatis perfume

I should also add that by the end of this conversation we were nearly crying with laughter and I would encourage anyone to have a similar chat with someone younger than you. 😂. Would love to hear your memories.

I'm a tad younger at 53 so was going out in the late 80s. Black 10 denier tights and black suede heels! A mini dress of sorts, scrunched hair , smojey eyes and red lips. I remember wearing a big clip on satin bow in my hair too! 😂

I have a photo of me going to the school disco in about 1987. I had been to Topshop earlier that day so thought i was the dog's bollocks. Long white skirt, white stilettos, peach cropped top,. My hair was big and with a slightly orange tinge due to Sun In. It was waist length, corkscrew permed, side parting and a lot of volume and hairspray.

I had a black v neck velvet straight dress. I called it my pulling dress as I always pulled when wearing it. Usually worn with my black textured stilettos.

I can't remember things like tights though or jewellery I was more into makeup and clothes.

After I met DH going out clothes were either things like rugby shirt and jeans or maternity dresses.

@Makelikeatreeandleaf Sun In!.I used bottles of the stuff until the day that my hair started to literally break in half from over use. 🤣

What about the big 'Fergie' hair bows?
I matched mine to my handbag and stilletoes 😳

Anyone remember white crochet effect tights that had a row of holes down the outside of the leg? I seem to remember sourcing them in Dolcis shoe shop.

Loads of patterned tights (I favoured black, spotted ones) as well as bright ones. I had a shocking pink ensemble of fishnet tights, stilletoes and a wide belt that I used over jerseys to jack in my waist.
I had a few jumpsuits which I loved. One particularly lingers in the memory: it was red and gold with spaghetti straps and came with a self-coloured sash which I used to tie around my head, New Romantic stylee.

Justleaveitblankthen

What about the big 'Fergie' hair bows?

Ohhhh yes. I wore one in black satin to an interview for my first job and was told I looked "too delicate" for surgery.
Actually, I think I would have been too delicate to work for him - found out later he was a real bastard, so lucky escape!
I also got married with a huge Fergie wedding dress bow slapped on my rear - magazines used to go on about "interesting back details on the wedding dress so the congregation have something to look at".
I imagine my be-bowed bum would have palled as an object of interest quick-smart.

Does anyone remember rara skirts/dresses.?
I was obsessed with them.

I'd say early 80s is v different to late 80s, but also depending how old we were at those times. Early 80s my hair was as high as i could get it. I had an eye shadow pallet with a million colours and i would try to use as many as I could! I had the most fabulous cream white leather fold down ankle boots with diamanté embellishments, and I had amazing red button down 501's, a gorgeous peach western skirt. I also had a sweatshirt dress thing, pale yellow with black stars. I could go on and on! It was a riot of colour. Late 80s was more subdued for me. I associate late 80s with charity shop finds, oversized men's wool over coats, ripped jeans. An artist friend of mine took a marker pen to my favorite pair and made the most glorious graphic, that i paired with a black and white silk shirt. Ahhh, loved dressing in the 80s. No money. Lots of creativity.

Boob tubes
Pedal pushers
String vests over t shirts (like Madonna)
Stonewashed jeans.

Does anyone remember disco belts? They were made of brightly coloured webbing and had a fastening much like an airplane seatbelt, but smaller

I remember white stilettos, and then matching belt/beads/earrings. I remember jade green, cerise piink and electric blue being trendy.
I also remember candy stripes, and white cotton everything - skirts, trousers and jackets.

Same here. I was a young teen in the early 80s and wore lots of bright colours along with black fishnets randomly then coloured ankle socks and black patent high heels.

By the end of the 80s I was an indie kid. Bought my clothes from Aflecks Palace. Ripped Levis 501s, doc martens, stripy tops and red lipstick.

Exactly that! I’ve just had a flashback to the early 80s dayglo ankle socks and my beloved ra-ra skirt.
By the late 80s, I was dressing as an Edwardian poet.

I had a spiral perm!
And I've actually just bought some 10 Denier black tights for the first time in 40 years! I saw someone else wearing some with a knitted dress last week & they looked great so I'm going to give them a go!

"By the late 80s, I was dressing as an Edwardian poet." That mage me laugh @TribulationPeriwinkle !

And I tried for the perm, but ended up with quite a tight afro thanks to it being done in mum's friend's kitchen. My hair took a beating in the 80s.

I'm the same age as you and I was one of the original goths in the 1980s, I basically looked like a member of Strawberry Switchblade if anyone remembers them. Dyed black, crimped, backcombed hair with half a can of Boots extra strong hold hairspray (in the pink can) holding it up.

Tonnes of make-up, white panstick, black eyeliner etc, all black clothes. I thought I was the bees knees. I'd toned it down by the time I went to uni in the late 80s but it was such a great time to be young, the music, the freedom. I had such a blast. Thank God that the internet wasn't a thing then

Oh God! - Early 80's dayglo everything- I've got pics of me in my yellow skirt/orange top and those weird jelly shoes. Then my indie/goth phase- wore a 1950's mac from Affleck's Palace for 2 years at 6th form college along with the Doc Martens in the later 80's. Also in between a stiletto heel wearing phase with a black mini skirt/shoulder padded silky blouse with a brooch on- what happened to brooches? I could sprint for a bus in those 3inch heels. I've not been able to wear any sort of heel since first lockdown and only buy shoes based on how 'comfy' they are now. I miss the 80's and 90's- life was very different pre internet and phones with cameras- all the cringeworthy shite on a night out was forgotten about by the next day.

Black Lacey tights, black and white check skirt with buttons up the back, (could be dangerous) patent kitten heels, black jersey and a black drs bag. Add Doris Karloff Lipsy from Miss S, I thought I was the bees knees 🤣

I have very polarized memories of the 80s. Mid 80s I was definitely in a New Wave/Edwardian poet mashup phase: black vinyl jeans, slouchy boots, baggy mohair jumpers and my Nan's 40s and 50s dresses for a night out. She had a silver Chinese silk number that I think I wore more often than she did. Late 80s was a riot of pastel cotton with stilettos. I even used to walk to work - a couple of miles each way - in said stilettos.

@PeachyKeane i was just going to mention Aflecks Palace. (Student at Manchester uni 1985-1988).

I bought a man’s shawl colour dinner jacket. I wore it with a wing collar shirt with a diamanté broach at the neck, a black mini skirt and black patterned tights. Mis-matched earrings. I was a picture.

I also remember, earlier 80s, lots of wide belts that I wore over big shirts slung low over the hips. Usually teamed with some ski pants from miss selfridge.

I remember disco belts. Late 1970s where I was.
Wore them with baggy jeans and a Hawaiian shirt!!

Can I just say batwing tops? I spent most of my teens in existential angst. There was a lot of baggy, black knitwear and black knitted tube skirts or black drainpipe jeans. I think the only colourful thing I owned was a pair of red pixie boots, although I did have some Nike hightops. I was like a female version of Robert Smith, hair included. I remember my mother cried when I dyed my hair black.

I was a teenager. I wore bright green leggings with stirrups (so bright green that it was later recycled into being a frog costume). I paired these with pink suede shoes with a bow on the front that I loved! (Pink and green ....such a combination). Topped off with a batwing jumper. I would have probably worn deeley-boppers too but my mum refused to buy them so I had a supply of home-made scrunchies in my permed, but limp hair. I was confused in more ways than one.

Skintight (used to sit in bath with them on to shrink them to legs) jeans with leg warmers

fluorescent socks, different colour on each foot

Baggy long jumpers

Massive rock hard hair

Rimmel Heather Shimmer lipstick

Impulse spray Musk

Joven musk oil.
I used to wear so much it practically made paint crinkle six feet away.