# Lay off the 80s willya??? (mild, very mild) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 16, 2005, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000 "2005-01-16T06:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/41 "2005-01-18T07:56:16Z")
At any given time, the fashions of about 20 years ago MUST be regarded by all fashionable people as desperately ugly and those of about 30 years ago are permitted to be regarded as kinda hip in a retro sort of way. The same trendies who are straightfacedly proclaiming today’s fashion as objectively georgeous will be the ones proclaiming the very same thing as undoubtedly objectively ugly tomorrow. What a dumbass thing is fashion. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/42 "2005-01-18T08:10:05Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > The '80s are the new '70s. …And when I heard those six words I finally realized how old and out of touch I really was. So be it. Just as there are old dinosaur rockers who play Uriah Heep records at full blast, there is still a part of me that will always be twenty years old in the middle of the Eighties, crashing though the pit or standing onstage at a Ponk Rawk show, singing “I wanna be a problem, I wanna make you scream… OH-OH-OH!” at the top of my lungs, that knows the best drummer in the world is a friend who flips burgers at the local dive and knows that the best way to handle a skinhead is to stand tall wth knees slightly bent and look them in the eye. And I’ll still know that, to a great extent, all fashions are fundamentally stupid, and the people wearing them are, again to a great extent, just cattle following the herd. God, I used to hate the so-called “New Wave” fashions of the Eighties, with all the poof hair and plastic junk they sold in the malls. All the same, the styles allowed people to show who they were, their attitudes, their sexuality, their …whatever, in ways that I just don’t see in today’s stuff. Then again, that’s at least part of why kids take on different styles from their elders, to show that they are different. My older siblings who all had long hair and decorated their apartments with Peter Max posters and stuff from Alice in Wonderland probably didn’t understand why my friends and I wore boots and had dayglow spaghetti-colored mohawks and the like, just as I don’t get the people who wear Retro-Seventies crap. Then again, I’d probably have to hang out with folks that are seriously into house music to find anyone as obssessed with their lifestyle as my friends and I were into our stuff, and I don’t have enough time to waste doing that. ---
**Author:** ![cornflakes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@cornflakes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cornflakes)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/43 "2005-01-18T08:17:30Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > C’mon now. The 80’s replaced my Neil Young, Creedence, Tommy Bolin and Point Blank with . . . ugh . . . disco. I had every right to be pissed. No, 1976 replaced those guys with disco. There were a lot of good bands in the Eighties, you just had to look. Think D.O.A., Agent Orange, Soul Asylum, Bauhaus, Meat Puppets or REM, to name a few of the bigger names. Hell, the first time I heard Nirvana I though that they had to be some sort of a nostalgia act. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/44 "2005-01-18T08:26:26Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > At any given time, the fashions of about 20 years ago MUST be regarded by all fashionable people as desperately ugly and those of about 30 years ago are permitted to be regarded as kinda hip in a retro sort of way. > > The same trendies who are straightfacedly proclaiming today’s fashion as objectively georgeous will be the ones proclaiming the very same thing as undoubtedly objectively ugly tomorrow. > > What a dumbass thing is fashion. I’m told this pattern holds true in architecture as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/45 "2005-01-18T21:03:21Z")
I will not defend my two tone jeans or my questionable hair choices. I will admit that I really really liked big mall hair on girls. I’m a child of the Ronald Regan era. I miss some of the conspicuous consumption and the attitude that bigger is better and a general optimistic attitude. Everything seemed like a big party and the sky was the limit. Yes there was the cold war, but it didn’t seem as doom and gloom to me as some of the security issues we have today. Maybe I’m just nostalgic for my wasted youth when all I had to worry about was my hair, what music to listen to, what to wear, and how to get to the next screen on Ms. Pac-man. Not the 1.5 jobs and mortgage of today. Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/46 "2005-01-18T21:17:47Z")
Ugh. The 80s gave us leggings paired with oversized t-shirts/sweatshirts. There is NO look worse than that. Well, a tube-top and leggings on a _woman of a certain size_ is worse, but the leggings t-shirt/sweatshirt combo is a VERY close second. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/47 "2005-01-18T21:21:45Z")
Yeah, the leg warmers and stirrup pants were hideous, but I liked the denim prairie skirts with the hint of eyelet peeking out at the bottom, paired with the big ruffled shirt. I think that was all I wore in 11th grade (1980-81). ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/48 "2005-01-18T21:27:23Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Jennifer Beals in “Flashdance” - everything looked good on her in that movie. Well, yah, in a “I’m a stripper cum welder screwing my boss sort of way.” Assuming that a person wanted to look like anything else, they were screwed. And, if everyone will recal, the 80’s were the decade that spawned the “leggings as daywear” look. For that alone they deserve to be pitted. Imagine a look that’s SO bad, it doesn’t even look good on a model - now that, is a butt ugly look. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/49 "2005-01-18T21:28:27Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > Yeah, the leg warmers and stirrup pants were hideous, but I liked the denim prairie skirts with the hint of eyelet peeking out at the bottom, paired with the big ruffled shirt. I think that was all I wore in 11th grade (1980-81). 😕 Did you live on a farm? ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/50 "2005-01-18T21:32:30Z")
I was in my 20s in the 80s, and I remember being appalled _at the time_ by the fashions of the day. Big hair Thin ties White socks with shoes (Thank you, Michael Jackson) Ripped sweatshirts Members Only jackets Parachute pants. Mullets Bandannas tied around one leg (Thank _you_, Bruce Springsteen) And while there was some awesome music back then (The Smiths, X, The Cramps, Bad Religion, Black Flag, The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite, Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, Run-DMC, Elvis Costello), the AM radio selections SUCKED! I can’t say that I miss the Reagan era, but there were some good aspects to the 80s–discovering boys, _Night Flight_ on USA, horror movies, being a climbing bum in the national parks. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/51 "2005-01-18T22:47:43Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Imagine a look that’s SO bad, it doesn’t even look good on a model - now that, is a butt ugly look. I don’t have to imagine it. I can Google it: [http://www.revolveclothing.com/productpages/PDC-WJ24.jsp](http://www.revolveclothing.com/productpages/PDC-WJ24.jsp) Give me a waistline or give me…uh…a different pair of pants. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/52 "2005-01-19T02:35:40Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > And, if everyone will recal, the 80’s were the decade that spawned the “leggings as daywear” look. For that alone they deserve to be pitted. “Danskin…Not just for dancing.” Also for your aunt to go to the mall in. I remember that denim skirt and ruffled shirt look, **BiblioCat**. It was probably inspired by some parts Hee Haw and some parts Little House on the Prairie. When I went into grade 7 the colour was burgandy and the slacks were coudoroy. The collars were ruffled and the sleeves were puffed. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/53 "2005-01-19T05:26:24Z")
> [@Try As I Might...](#): > > What about parachute pants? Jams shorts? Yeah, I’m having trouble finding anything… > > You should have seen me in my member’s only jacket when I was in the 6th grade (and I wanted to have a Billy Idol haircut)… horrible, horrible, horrible. And i love the 80s, but come on… horrible. (shudders) Huh…Well, my fave styles were the crop tops and the skirts and pants with the “set in” V shaped waists. VERY flattering if you were hourglassed. I also liked the peplum waisted jackets SANS shoulder pads, even back in the 80s SNIP SNIP out come the shoulder pads. And I like big hair. Okay, not Dolly Parton big, but to me, curly locks with a little lift beats the HELL out of the “I got my head caught in a woodchipper” Meg Ryan do, or the mom hair poof, OR the flat nothing straight 60s revisited nonstyled style. But, that’s just me. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/54 "2005-01-19T05:27:58Z")
PS, when I think “Cute 80s styles” I think Paige from Knot’s Landing, NOT Alexis from Dynasty, or even worse MC Hammer and friends from MTV. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/55 "2005-01-19T17:48:44Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > Huh…Well, my fave styles were the crop tops and the skirts and pants with the “set in” V shaped waists. VERY **flattering** if you were hourglassed. I don’t think that word means what you think it means… ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/56 "2005-01-19T17:49:55Z")
Oops! I forgot this: 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/57 "2005-01-19T18:37:18Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Well, yah, in a “I’m a stripper cum welder screwing my boss sort of way.” > \ Well, my friends and I wanted to _be_ Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. 😃 (Or at least live in an ultra-cool warehouse and dance like that.) ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/58 "2005-01-19T18:57:17Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Well, my friends and I wanted to _be_ Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. 😃 > > (Or at least live in an ultra-cool warehouse and dance like that.) Oh me too. I probably wanted to wear the outfits as well. That doesn’t make it right. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/59 "2005-01-20T01:47:08Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > I don’t think that word means what you think it means… Well, what I mean is that the cropped tops camoflaged a “too big” bust, and showed off a slim waist, and the way the cropped tops were kind of “floaty” above the waist also balanced out the hips making them look smaller. The V shaped waists accentuated a tight midriff, tiny waist and flat tummy, imho, my best body features (at that age :()…sooooo…Flattering. Did I spell it wrong? ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000/60 "2005-01-20T01:49:14Z")
> [@alice\_in\_wonderland](#): > > Oops! I forgot this: 😃 That’s okay, it wasn’t needed… 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lay-off-the-80s-willya-mild-very-mild/285000.md?page=2)