# Worst fashion trend? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2014, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904 "2014-08-29T19:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/21 "2014-08-30T03:43:31Z")
Ben Casey shirt in the 8th grade… ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/22 "2014-08-30T03:50:27Z")
Members Only jacket (back when they were cool instead of old-man wear) Satin baseball jacket Leg warmers (but only as a joke) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/23 "2014-08-30T06:00:36Z")
I wore a Miami Vice tuxedo to my senior prom in 1986. Sleeveless Billy Idol T-shirt with parachute pants. Ripped and bleach splattered jeans. Neon shoe strings. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/24 "2014-08-30T06:58:30Z")
Carol Brady inspired my mom to give me a shag haircut. Not only was this style hideous, it was a nightmare to grow out. And you desperately wanted it to grow out. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/25 "2014-08-30T07:07:01Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Classic 60s: Bellbottoms, sky-blue Nehru jacket, glow-in-the-dark flower-printed shirt, Carnaby-street paisley wide tie, granny sunglasses, beads & flowers. All at the same time? :eek: I have a recollection of wearing, in about 1968, an orange fringed felt vest. It was beaded and truly awful. At least it wasn’t dangerous, unlike the platform shoes I wore in the early '70s. How I didn’t break an ankle remains a mystery unto this day. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/26 "2014-08-30T07:15:46Z")
> [@Chicken\_Fingers](#): > > Carol Brady inspired my mom to give me a shag haircut. > > Not only was this style hideous, it was a nightmare to grow out. And you desperately wanted it to grow out. You just reminded me. I was given a Twiggy cut under duress when I was maybe 6 years old. My mother did the cutting and my sister did the encouraging. I think she did this because my long hair would get tangled and I was a little brat about brushing it. However I was a small child and did not deserve that. She could have given me a bob, no this was worse. It was ultra short and even went shorter in the back. It was awful. I looked like a boy with a bad haircut. It may have worked for famous stick thin models but not 6 year olds. I wore a head scarf for weeks after that. I don’t think I let her near me to cut my hair ever again, but I guess I did keep it brushed after that. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/27 "2014-08-30T07:32:58Z")
Well throughout the ages in women’s clothing there have been shoulder pads and there have been Shoulder Pads but in the late '80s-early '90s (or somewhere around there) there were SHOULDER PADS. Now I am a narrow-shouldered person and a bit of padding there actually sort of improves my shape, but they went way past ridiculous to looking like you were suiting up for the Big Game. And if you took the humongous ones out and replaced them with smaller, reasonably sized ones, for the shape, it never worked. The shoulders drooped something awful. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/28 "2014-08-30T07:47:12Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Well throughout the ages in women’s clothing there have been shoulder pads and there have been Shoulder Pads but in the late '80s-early '90s (or somewhere around there) there were SHOULDER PADS. Now I am a narrow-shouldered person and a bit of padding there actually sort of improves my shape, but they went way past ridiculous to looking like you were suiting up for the Big Game. > > And if you took the humongous ones out and replaced them with smaller, reasonably sized ones, for the shape, it never worked. The shoulders drooped something awful. They haven’t gone away they’ve migrated to male sportscasters. [http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2013%2F12%2F03%2F52147200\_wide-2533f9d2db7e51659845f79cd91019c1ae59663c.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ideastream.org%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F248377673&h=1685&w=3000&tbnid=Zqj0aw7-dHLpTM%3A&zoom=1&docid=Hzo4jKMuNUqw0M&ei=dYABVKqVGYTLggSDgIG4Dg&tbm=isch&ved=0CCoQMygMMAw&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=240&page=1&start=0&ndsp=22](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.npr.org%2Fassets%2Fimg%2F2013%2F12%2F03%2F52147200_wide-2533f9d2db7e51659845f79cd91019c1ae59663c.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ideastream.org%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F248377673&h=1685&w=3000&tbnid=Zqj0aw7-dHLpTM%3A&zoom=1&docid=Hzo4jKMuNUqw0M&ei=dYABVKqVGYTLggSDgIG4Dg&tbm=isch&ved=0CCoQMygMMAw&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=240&page=1&start=0&ndsp=22) ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/29 "2014-08-30T08:02:53Z")
> [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > Well throughout the ages in women’s clothing there have been shoulder pads and there have been Shoulder Pads but in the late '80s-early '90s (or somewhere around there) there were SHOULDER PADS. Now I am a narrow-shouldered person and a bit of padding there actually sort of improves my shape, but they went way past ridiculous to looking like you were suiting up for the Big Game. > > And if you took the humongous ones out and replaced them with smaller, reasonably sized ones, for the shape, it never worked. The shoulders drooped something awful. I’ve got broad shoulders for a woman anyway, so I always took them out and things looked fine on me without them. The thing that I thought was strange was that they were in everything, including sweaters! The worst thing I can remember wearing was pants with patches in contrasting colors. Og they were ugly! ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/30 "2014-08-30T09:14:31Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > The thing that I thought was strange was that they were in everything, including sweaters! I bought a t shirt which had shoulder pads stitched in. I removed them. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/31 "2014-08-30T16:25:21Z")
At my junior high school in the early 1980s, corduroys and unlaced sneakers were considered cool. I shudder to remember taking part in both fads. ---
**Author:** ![campp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@campp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/campp)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/32 "2014-08-30T16:33:16Z")
Big bell jeans, white gauzy shirt, wide leather belt with gigantic metal artsy buckle, and the obligatory bandana sticking from back pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/33 "2014-08-30T16:49:42Z")
In the early 70’s, I was in elementary school and lived with my grandmother, who worked at a polyester double-knit fabric factory. The employees were allowed to buy “remnants” at a deeply discounted price. My grandmother could sew. I leave the rest of the horror to your imagination. Nothing in my closet is made of polyester double-knit, nor will it ever be. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/34 "2014-08-30T18:10:51Z")
Its threads like this that make me feel not so bad about being perpetually out of fashion. I always look like shit, but at least I don’t regret it. ---
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/35 "2014-08-30T18:48:52Z")
Bare feet. ---
**Author:** ![Lucky\_13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucky_13/32/13209_2.png) [@Lucky\_13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucky_13)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/36 "2014-08-30T19:18:20Z")
Lacy Madonna-style blouses, with a neon tank top underneath. Add a ribbon for my hair and the look was complete. My mom never would have allowed me to buy a “Boy Toy” belt, and I will be forever grateful to her for that. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/37 "2014-08-30T19:38:55Z")
When I was in junior high in the early 60s, there were several: trenchcoats, for some reason, were briefly popular. White Levis, Purcell low-cut sneakers were another. High school, mid-60s, my hairdo fell on softer times because of The Beatles. Black Levis. Late 60s, early 70s: bell bottoms, butterfly collared shirt, Nehru jacket, and one of those leisure suits that was a horrid blue and had white stitching. Check, check, check and check. What the fuck were we thinking? Never had a mullet, thank god, but the pompadour with the sides slicked back: oh, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/38 "2014-08-31T00:25:20Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’ve posted this before because it makes me laugh so hard: [The stylings of my first husband](http://www.juliecarter.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/steve-scan.jpg). I…think I had those pants. > [@Infovore](#): > > Members Only jacket (back when they were cool instead of old-man wear) > Satin baseball jacket > Leg warmers (but only as a joke) OMG! I wanted a satin baseball jacket _so goddamned bad_ when I was in 6th grade. So bad. Ugh. A broke-ass 6th grader is never going to save enough allowance for a satin baseball jacket, unless it’s one of the cheap ones from Sears and I knew better. > [@Wile\_E](#): > > You just reminded me. I was given a Twiggy cut under duress when I was maybe 6 years old. My mother did the cutting and my sister did the encouraging. I think she did this because my long hair would get tangled and I was a little brat about brushing it. However I was a small child and did not deserve that. She could have given me a bob, no this was worse. It was ultra short and even went shorter in the back. It was awful. I looked like a boy with a bad haircut. It may have worked for famous stick thin models but not 6 year olds. I wore a head scarf for weeks after that. I don’t think I let her near me to cut my hair ever again, but I guess I did keep it brushed after that. Same story here, but I was 8 and it was a Dorothy Hammill cut. Boy with a bad haircut indeed. For those mentioning leggings and big sweaters, surely you mean stirrup pants, right? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/39 "2014-08-31T00:38:21Z")
> [@lorene](#): > > I…think I had those pants. Pics or it didn’t happen. Thankfully for you. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2014, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904/40 "2014-08-31T00:44:49Z")
Im old enough to remember when it was compulsory to wear white socks (preferably terry toweling)with black trousers and shoes. A few years later white socks with dark trousers was the biggest faux pas of fashion. I dont know what modern society’s attitude to white socks and black trousers is today. Hopefully the look has been rehabilitated. Oh, and not to forget fingerless gloves. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-fashion-trend/696904.md?page=3)