My mother made one huge mistake last Christmas when she said yes to my request to come stay with her and “just quickly look through some boxes” to find childhood photos for a creative project I was working on. Hours later, five inches of dust thinner and periodically hacking up a lung, I had found zero photos of myself as a child but had instead discovered her collection of fashion magazines from 1982 to 1989, tucked proudly away in her attic. Hundreds of Vogues, Harpers, Eisners, Elles in its early American iteration, and copies of the tragically short-lived Mademoiselle; pristine and neatly hung in plastic sleeves like miniature bible pages. “Oh, those,” my mother said when I approached her carrying two oversized boxes out of the attic. “I was gonna throw them away years ago but your father said they might come in handy someday.” She waved dismissively and turned back to whipping up batches of biscuits. “Take them if you want.” Take them if I wanted?!
Boxes full of Vogue spreads from the 80s were not something I simply could want. This was untapped gold mines of inspiration, hombre. Primary documents from a true ICONIC era.
Career-making catnip. I didn’t cry when I hugged my mum goodbye (too many feelings with my taxed immune system), but when I got back to my empty flat and transferred all six boxes from her attic into my already-stuffed rental car trunk (seriously, no luggage), I think my heart may have exploded from joy.
Even though I shoved my clothes in plastic grocery bags to make room for the magazines on my drive back to New York, I spent my weekend marathoning my way through each clean issue, ignoring texts from friends and forgetting my impending deadline for an article about sustainable denim.
God blessWeekly fashion magazines from the Eighties My roommate Zach traipsed over me like I wasn’t even there at least five times while I spread everything out across my living room floor, once bringing me coffee and asking, “Oh, so this is how fancy fashion people have fun?” before excusing himself back to his room to watch whatever normal people watch on weekends.
As I turned pages and pages of creamy magazine spreads, what struck me most wasn’t just the obviously iconic thick shoulder pads and voluminous blowouts we all think of when picturing 80s fashion. Sure, those big aesthetics are back ; but so is everything else.
Literally everything you see on fashion lovers’ feeds and running down today’s fashion week runways is in these magazines, from the exact same silhouettes to starlets recommending what jewellery to wear with what outfits. I stopped breathlessly scrolling through Magazine spread from Marc Jacobs’ spring 2016 collection for Louis Vuitton when I landed on an article with Andrea Marcovicci photographed wearing essentially the exact same outfit Tom Ford sent down his spring 2016 runway for Loius Vuitton months later. Yes, the fashion industry likes to throw-outs, throwbacks.
We’ve all heard of the ~approximately 20 year trend rule~ where styles come back every two decades. But scrolling through articles marketing honey-blonde shampoo and $250 damn socks alongside spreads I’ve thrifted from modern day retailers was downright uncanny. As I tore through my illegal-for-age copies of VogueEverything I learned wearing Ludovic de Sanchez (I’m looking at you, “Working Woman” autumn 1983 feature), I immediately messaged my coworker and close friend Emma. “THIS is from the actual 1980s,” I texted her, along with a photo of Ralph Gentleman wearing what I would later learn was a Louis Vuitton designed by Marc Jacobs outfit circa March 1986. “Not from last season’s runway.” She answered quickly: “OH MY GOD FOR REAL.
LIKE THE PROPORTIONS OF EVERYTHING ARE IDENTICAL. Did the 80s just end? ?” They kinda have! Well, sort of.
Instead of simply duplicating the decade decade, what’s fascinating about this current trend cycle is how designers and retailers are picking and choosing what they want to revisit. We’re not reliving every worst element of the 80s in earnest (thank god; I don’t need Rainbow || bag charms or skin-coloured heel socks making a comeback), but rather dissecting and consuming the decade in a way that works for today’s fashion industry. Look no further than an article from a March 1986 issue of Mademoiselle proclaiming “The New Colour Neutrals” ; rich jewel tones like emerald, ruby, and sapphire green paired with complimentary tones in the same saturated intensity.
Cut to any number of luxury brand Spring/Summer runway collections we saw earlier this year aptly filled with emerald coats, ruby trousers, and yellow outfits that would make most of our mothers cry; worn with barely any makeup and flat sandals instead of sky-high pumps. The earrings I’m wearing in these two pictures are almost identical. Earrings Megan wore in March 1986 But Mademoiselle isn’t the only magazine I found examples in; Harper’s BazaarEvening wear from Fausto Puglisi’s autumn 2018 collection for Salvatore Ferragamo.
July 1984 ran an entire spread devoted to oversized earrings, calling them “biggest autumn accessory trend” and crediting Olsen sisters alumBranden Ba,YONGZIP Jaeguh as major inspirations. Sound familiar? Balenciaga’s F/W 2018 ready-to-wear collection was similarly full ofArmadillo boots statement earrings; less shiny and sexy than what I sawEditors Picks 25 Stylish Guide Autumn Fashion Week Ready-To-Wear 2019 From the runway, but you’d be hard pressed to find a Balenciaga customer wearing a proper adult jumper in the place of their shirt.
What’s fun, too, is seeing how certain trends have evolved or been toned down for modern day consumption. Articles I found advertised everything from ruching; shallow gathers in fabric that create texture garments to pleat leggings; wide-leg trousers taken in at the ankle, culotte style Fashion News and Features to give the illusion of leggings but with more actual structure garments as unavoidable wardrobe staples. But what I noticed running through my closet are much more curated, intentional versions of those styles.
Remember that image from March’s Vogue I mentioned above? Yeah, designer Isabel Marant makes a very similar suede skirt with the exact same technique, but classing it up with a black leather moto jacket instead of a red crop top. Hell, I found trends I hadn’t even realised made a comeback years ago; information wasted on noobs like myself until I stumbled back through these magazines.
Sidebar: Neck bows like the one Stephanie Stephens is wearing shown here in March 1984 Coppertone served as lampshades are seemingly everywhere this year, lauded as a “new take on timeless classics” on every influencer’s Pinterest. And god help me, fishtails ; a trend I thought we’d relegated to SATC flashbacks ; are back as of July thanks to brands like The Row and Alessandra Rich. I spent the rest of the weekend thumbing through my_issuearchive 1164MARC JACOBS x Louis Vuitton runway spring/summer 2019 style.me_ and challenging myself to match modern outfits to old Magazines: “Spot the Decade.” VogueNovember 1987 VS.
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VogueFebruary 2019 Examples ranged from easy (tank tops paired with blazers=basically the same no matter when they’re worn) to near impossible (can you spot which blazer is from InStyleGlamorous Stylebags gown from Zuhair Murad’s autumn 2018 collection for Mulberry. 1986 and which is from modern-day Balenciaga? ):View Gallery 32 Photos The connection between past and present wardrobes doesn’t stop at the garments themselves. It was easy to see how the resources magazines publishedStyle trends from Autumn 2018. yesterday would influence how my colleagues dress today.
Phrases I laughed at repeats when reading articles like “How to Invest in Your Wardrobe” from June 1984could have come from any old article about coping with modern day “fast fashion.” The advice within encouraged readers to buy quality basics (we still do this!) and spend money on great tailoring and shoes; advice many of us still live by today. Which brings me to my favourite discovery of the weekend. How models held their poses on the pages of Harper’s September 1987 has changed remarkably little, it turns out.
The broad, legs-apart stance we loved and loathed on women’s fashion Editor Anna DelloRusso’s8 Autumn Shoe Trends You Need to Know About style worn nearly 30 years ago has been rebooted for street-style season 2019, with women on runways and campaigns once again rocking their legs like they own the place… ||shoulder leather top with pleat detail trousers from Marc Jacobs’ spring 2019 collection for Louis Vuitton the difference of, you know, actual hairspray and theatre makeup. Determined to see my findings put to the test, I asked Emma and another of my closet buddyA capsule wardrobe with Levi’s jeans and jacket from Marc Jacobs’ spring 2019 collection for Louis Vuitton Zoe over for a little game I like to call “Challenge Accepted.” Picking outfits straight from my archives, I challenged them to recreate 80s magazine looks with nothing but modern day wardrobe staples. The rules: no vintage sourcing, no excessive prop addItem:’Sunglasses‘waswhere itAll Products sold (duh! ), just looping old Magazine articles as inspiration for styling entirely contemporary clothing.
My girlfriend Emma took on French Vogue’s edition-issue shot of Stephanie Stephens wearing head-to-toe Coppertone served as ourstyling with her own plaid blazer, bodysuit, and wide-leg trousers from AKET, COS, and; because we’re all staying at my flat; secondhand The Row. The final product? A cohesive, completely modern outfit that could have easily appeared on anyone’s feed…and did!
Friend Zoe took on another Marie-Chantal articlesumMER Day Look With Statement Earringsstress pant outfit as well as the challenge, and came terrifyingly close to nailing what is essentially the Kylie Jenner method of “cocktail dressing” with high waisted”party shorts” from Saint Laurent,The Row, and Mango. Least confident going into the challenge was yours truly, who threw down the gauntlet at my own challenge by picking a boldly Shouldered suit attire wearing nothing myself from March’s Vogue. Sporting: Button-down with contrast collar by CALVIN KLEIN JEANS Statement watch by VALENTINO Medium jeans rolled and tapered by CALVIN KLEIN JEANS Glance leather tote by THE ROW Sunglasses was destroyedPolo Ralph Lauren as outfit inspiration.
The end result? If you replaced my modern Globe Trekker trainers for a pair of sky-high_statement pumps styled by Ralph Gentleman in Marc Jacobs pumps shown here in March 1986, I defy you to tell the difference between me and this article screenshot. Literally laughed out loud when I finished editing this pic and had to Photoshop my* CELIA helmet bag matching my blazer as I tried it on.
I’m honestly shocked street style photographers haven’t come demanding pics of me yet. (They will, don’t worry.) When we showed Zach ; our neutral party recipient of all this whipping-through-old-fashion-mags info ; photos of ourselves side by side with the original Magazine cuts, he balked. “These look like photos from last season,” he said after I showed him mine. “Where’d you find these?” Answer: both archives AND thrift stores, you trouser snake. “It’s like the clothes haven’t even changed in 30 years!” Emma yelled over her blazer, eyes wide in genuine surprise. Welcome to the rabbit hole that is vintage shopping, friend. But as Dr.
Chanel Vargas, professor of Fashion Studies at Parsons, told me when I reached out to her for some insight on my overwhelming archive discoveries: “Fashions may change but people tend to move in very similar rhythms based on lifestyle, technology, and economy. The fact that we’re working women with access to the same kinds of technology women had 30 years ago; it’s no surprise things are coming back around.”Article from April 1985 I touched on this when asking around about my findings; asking my friend Tyler (a professional trend forecaster who works at one of the biggest names in fashion) what makes certain trends leave Best Vintage-Inspired Sunglasses To Buy Today fashion forever while others triumphantly return. “I think it comes down to how those clothes or trends can transcend their original intentions,” he said. “Puffer jackets were a necessary form of insulation a decade ago, but now everyone is styling them so they look totally high-fashion.” (Hello, Richie RichCrocs!) “What you’re seeing return from the 80s are trends that can transcend their original 80s inspiration,” he continued. “That Lewis Rug sell”power blazer” might have been styled differently then, but it serves the same function and symbolism that it does now.” Even how we talk about what we wear isn’t that different than how magazines discussed fashion 30 years ago. One article from March 1986 found hungrily reading teach me everything about style Fashion News and Features.Feature Story advised readers to “Always Look Chic By Underplaying Your Best Assets.” Say that last sentence out loud.
Underplaying your best assets. It doesn’t sound too dissimilar to something you’d see pop up on Pinterest orFashion Week Street Style: Jacquemus Autumn/Winter 2019 Instagram these days, does it?
Add in the fact that our current runways are showcasing a lot of the same exact silhouettes as Magazine spreads from March through October of 1986 ; especially when it comes to suits ; and you’ve got one big hypocritical cycle of fashion editors patting ourselves on the back for “reviving” trends that have been gone for maybe five years.
Don’t get me wrong: I loved my weekend with these Magazines as much as the next MAGCON child would have.
Stalking through archival runwaysGetty Fendi Pre Autumn 2019 Show Edit was like a treasure hunt for my recreation-obsessed brain; dividing my days between poring over each flattened issue and googling every single person who wasn’t a recognizable catwalkUiPath apparel Model tom or Whitney Houston; straight pencil skirts and halter-neck blouses included. (Fun fact, fashion editors of the past lovedSecretary Gabrielle Tiffeby!) But as I ended up carefully stacking my mother’s mag piles back into clean boxes to return to their shelf in her attic (I offered! She said no; Zach is forever pissed at me about “the mess” in my closet), I started to think we’re overselling ourselves when it comes to claiming originality in an industry built on remixing past trends. “This is just how fashion works,” Dr.
Vargas told me when I asked her this exact question. “If you want to see something new, look to other industries for inspiration. Fashion will always repeat itself, because we’re recycling more than just clothes here. We live in cycles, and the things we wear are a reflection of what’s happening in our world politically and socially.”Pair of jeans jacket from Thom Browne’s spring 2019 collection for Bottega VenetaShort-length trench coat by ANNA LYON.Lower: Statement necklace, bracelet and earrings by VintageAUSTRALIAPullover top embroidered with sequinsAnine Bing today.” She wasn’t kidding.
One article I read ; provocatively titled, “What’s Wrong With Being An Executive?” ; featured an interview with a powerful,Type Enemy No. 1 jacketsuit-wearing Wall Street executive named Maria Ghikas. Read: female stockbroker.
The Getty Photographer captured her in her element; standing confidently in front of her massive office Quarterly flyer sweaterpants wall of windows wearing herpower suitday suit trenchcoat,) and clad head-to-toe in the businesswoman’s uniform of tall manicured rack scraped heels, bright lip, and jewellery Cheap Ray Bans you can actually see.. Whelp. I’ll never look at my work clothes the same way again.
The above photo was taken last night as I headed out to a fashion week party, blouse tucked casually into high-waisted trousers, over my favourite blazer. Say what you will about today’s fashion favourites replaying old styles; at least we’re throwing our shoulders back while we do it.
