
1981 saw a brief fall vogue for knickers. Continuing a trend begun during the late 1970s, cropped pants and revivals of 1950s and early '60s styles like pedal-pushers and Capri pants were popular. Women's pants of the 1980s were, in general, worn with long inseams, and by 1982 the flared jeans of the 70s had gone out of fashion in favor of straight leg trousers. Widespread fashions for women in the early 1980s included sweaters (including turtleneck, crew neck, and v-neck varieties) fur-lined puffer jackets tunics faux-fur coats velvet blazers trench coats (made in both fake and real leather) crop tops tube tops knee-length skirts (of no prescribed length, as designers opted for choice) loose, flowy, knee-length dresses (with high-cut and low-cut necklines, varying sleeve lengths, and made in a variety of fabrics including cotton, silk, satin, and polyester) high-waisted loose pants embroidered jeans leather pants and designer jeans, though jeans were not as widely worn as during the 1970s.


The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade.


( Jackée Harry, 1988)įashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Among women large hair-dos and puffed-up styles typified the decade.
