In the ’80s there were many fashion trends that we look back on now and laugh. At the time these trends were a MUST HAVE, and every mall was picked clean. Honorable mentions include acid wash jeans, Members Only jackets and anything neon. Here are the Top Five Worst Fashion Trends of the 1980s.
5. Jams Shorts
Jams Shorts, a popular clothing item in the 1980s, were closely associated with the surf scenes in California and Hawaii. The Jams look was baggy and bohemian, with wild prints and clashing pinks and greens. It was a clear departure from the more subtle color combinations and detailing of existing – more conservative shorts.
4. Leg Warmers
Leg Warmers are coverings for the lower legs, similar to socks but thicker and generally footless. They were originally used as dancewear by ballet and other classic dancers in order to keep the leg muscles warm to avoid cramping. Leg Warmer popularity in the ’80s was partly due to the influence of the films Fame, Flashdance and the concurrent aerobics craze.
3. Parachute Pants
Parachute Pants were typically worn as menswear and were often brightly colored. They became a fad in the 1980s in part to the increased popularity of breakdancing. When Parachute Pants were marketed as mainstream fashionable clothing – they were often made of lightweight synthetic fabrics making the pants more suitable for fashion than breakdancing.
2. Stirrup Pants
Stirrup pants (or stirrup leggings) are a type of close-fitting ladies’ pants that peaked in popularity as street fashion during the 1980s. The Stirrup Pants tapered at the ankle, extending to a strap that is worn under the arch of the foot to hold the pant leg in place. The stirrup pants style was promoted as being “easy to wear” and giving “most figures a long, lean line”.
1. Shoulder Pads
Shoulder Pads are a type of padding used in men’s and women’s clothing during the ’80s to give the wearer the illusion of having broader and less sloping shoulders. Shoulder pads became the defining fashion statement of the 1980’s era, known as power dressing and giving off the perception of status and position onto those who wore them.
Yeah right…