The 60s brought bee-hive hair and The Beatles. The 70s brought flower power and Star Wars. The 80s, in my mind, brought the best stuff. Not bringing down any other decade but the 80s to me seemed to be good all around.
Fashion was a whole other thing. It was a melting pot of baggy and tight, pattens and solids, highs and lows, and funky and fresh. I'm going to use Kelly LeBrock who plays Lisa in Weird Science (1985) as an example.
1) Lace tights.
2) Suspenders.
3) Sequins.
4) Pencil skirt.
5) A shirt cut to be made into a straight-across bra.
6) Afro-like hair.
Some of the few things that I absolutely adore on her during the movie. Even Anthony Michael Hall and Ilan Mitchell-Smith with their floppy hair and pin-stripe suites makes me appreciate this decade more. It was so free-lance, anything goes and I think that's what gave it the edge that no other decade can compare to.
It's nice that there are stores now where you can purchase such types of clothing and that some people are taking an '80s' approach to their outfits, but it can never be the same. I saw a girl the other night who had baby blue baggy pants with the elastic at the ankles and a small purse with a long skinny strap, but then on top she was wearing a 'non-80s' cardigan and had a Lauren Conrad-style braid on the front of her head.
I envy those who lived during this period of time, but I guess I'll have to deal with watching St. Elmo's Fire, Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller's Day Off and imagine what it would have been like...
