Wednesday, May 20, 2009

A request for maybe the awesomest ongoing post ever

CousinMouse writes:
As a leading expert on the fashions of the 80s, can you please explain what the differences are between the styles of those days and those of today? Seriously, I have not observed any big differences. The 90s, too. I hear young folks saying "that looks so 90s" and I see no distinguishing features other than it looks contemporary.

Maybe a subject for City Mouse or a facebook note?
There may be others out there who struggle with this same very important issue. It is our responsibility to help them out.

Send me your pics of the 80s and 90s, specifically those that highlight differences between the fashion of that time and this one. Or post links to them in the comments. I'll add to this post regularly (sorry if you're reading this in a reader; you'll just have to keep coming back), and we will do what we can to educate a dude who acquired some of his signature pieces from the collection of 40s clothing my parents had in the barn in the 70s.

I'll kick us off with a pic from 1990. Note especially hair, eyewear, and footwear.

5 comments:

Cousin Mouse said...

Fashion bits I remember from the 80s/90's: everyone wearing black (of course I was in art school, so duh), long-sleeved rugby shirts with big horizontal stripes for guys, "relaxed" jeans, and for women of child-bearing age black, tight leggings worn under loose, short dresses.

Everyone still wears black, I notice.

bzzzzgrrrl said...

Are you still in art school? Or just D.C.? :)

Cousin Mouse said...

DC, not art school (but visits to art schools indicated black still in). Is DC unusually noirish?

Anonymous said...

I find it hard to believe that this post didn't get lots of comments. Maybe no-one else is brave enough to share photos. (I'm sure not.)

I've found that I can't really see a fashion trend while I'm in it. Proper identification seems to require the long view... except for the so-called "gangsta" style baggy pants of the late nineties and early aughts. That one jumped out at me right away as something that would look completely ridiculous to the wearers' future offspring.

Anyway, the 80s -- that makes me think of big hair, big buttons, shoulder pads, hair bows, and acid-washed jeans that taper at the ankles. Pretty silly looking now, but at the time it all looked normal to me.

bzzzzgrrrl said...

I have been taking a stroll through the 90s watching Friends today. Scrunchies, high waists, jackets, the continuation of the huge sweater, and vests. Plus the whole grunge thing, which didn't affect the kids on Friends as much as it did the rest of us.