One of the worst things you can ask your mother is if you can “quickly glance through” her dusty boxes in the attic to find some old photos. On December 26th last year, five hours, several layers of dust, and endless sneezing later, I had zero old photos of myself but did discover her collection of fashion magazines from 1982 to 1989. Hundreds of Vogue’s, Harper’s Bazaar’s, Elle’s (remember when Elle was American?! ), Mademoiselle’s—they were all pristine, protected by plastic sleeves that crinkled loudly as I searched for pictures of kittens and stumbled onto her archive of fashion history.
Madeline, my mother, hadn’t looked at many of these since she left them in these boxes 30+ years ago. All of them were issues I could have easily picket through while flipping through today’s fashion magazines. Tickets to visit the past. “Oh, those!” my mom said when I deposited two dusty boxes in the kitchen. “I was gonna throw them away years ago, but your father thought they might come in handy one day.” She waved me off and returned to rolling out her cookie dough. “You can take them if you want.” Take them if I want?!
These were the Holy Grail. Archival evidence.
My job aspirations realized in plastic-wrapper-covered stacks.
If my ecstatic reaction could have shredded those precious plastic sleeves, I would have cried there on her linoleum floor. But I composed myself and loaded all six boxes into my rental car’s passenger seat, sacrificing all trunk space for actual luggage. My clothes got wrapped in trash bags on the way back to NYC.
Obviously. I spent the whole next weekend on my living room floor buried in archival evidence, too busy rifling through relics to reply to friends’ texts or even acknowledge that my deadline for an article on sustainable jeans was approaching. (“Really? Now?” my roommate Zach smirked as he climbed over me to grab more coffee from the kitchen. “Is this what the cool kids in fashion consider fun?”) My newfound pastime wasn’t just that everything vintage reminded me of what’s currently trendy (big shoulders?seen it.
Flashy earrings? yup. Maxi dresses? muy bueno.) Though we like to think we’re at the forefront of creativity, fashion magazines have a surprising way of rhyming history: styles, themes, and entire articles from Vogue circa 1985 could’ve been published last month. We all know that fashion repeats itself every ~20 years give or take, but I was intrigued to find so many direct excerpts—from the pages of nearly 40-year-old magazines.
Fashion. The most obvious overlap between then and now? Obviousness.
A Sept. 1984 spread in Vogue showcased models in oversized blazers with strong shoulders, belted waists, and wide-legged trousers that hadn’t left Bottega or The Row’s runway shows ten minutes ago. Yes, the styling was different—and considerably more hairspray-ed—but the actual shapes were eerily similar to what we’re now praising as innovative.
“Look at this,” I texted my friend Emma, sending her a photo of the spread. “This is Vogue, 1984. Not Ten.
Wolff’s latest collection.” Her reply came moments later: “Wait WHAT. The proportions are *exactly* the same. Did they RIP us? ?” Sort of?
But that’s what makes this resurgence of the 80s unique: it’s not bringing back every trend under the sun. (Thank GOD—we wouldn’t have survived the perms or makeup eyes). Instead, we’re revisiting one of the decade’s most powerful fashion moments with a modern twist. First: the color story.
Inside a circa 1985 issue of Elle was an article touting, “The New Neutrals.” Jewel tones emerald, sapphire, and ruby were worn together, layered over each other as if they were all various shades of beige. Runways for Bottega, Ferragamo, and Gucci this season showcased not only the same colors but styled them in the same monochromatic head-to-toe ways, minus the fingerless gloves and parted hairstyles. Speaking of accessories.
A March 1986 issue of Mademoiselle had a full-page photo spread—and accompanying article—devoted to statement earrings. Metallic materials were molded into architectural hoops and hoops-within hoops that rested against the models’ shoulders. “Let your earrings do the talking,” the vintage article urged readers. Copy and pasted straight from any article on earrings written today, we’d think.
Where this resurgence gets interesting is seeing how trends have been adapted for 2019. Scrolling through those decade-old magazines, I saw page after page of ruching: fabric cinched together and stitched to create texture. Across bodices, sleeves, skirts—whole dresses were built with this now-ubiquitous texture we’ve been sold as “new.” While designers like Isabel Marant and Ulla Johnson are still utilizing that gathered fabric look, we’re seeing the texture incorporated into flowier materials and with more streamlined sewing for a softer vibe.
Then there were the trends I hadn’t realized we were repeating until I saw magazines from a time when Mom Jeans were still denims mom hated. Trends I hadn’t thought about since college French class, let alone spotted in barely-edited Instagram photos all over my feed. Like “cocktail dressing,” as Vogue dubbed it in late 1983.
The article featured models in what they called “party shorts”—high-waisted, above-the-knee shorts worn with blazers and heels as an evening outfit. Recently, these shorts have resurfaced at Saint Laurent, Chanel, and Jil Sander, praised by editors as a “refreshing take on party dressing.” Refreshing? They were EVERYWHERE in the 80s.
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I started playing a game I dubbed “Where are they now?” flicking back and forth between old magazine covers and Google search results for today’s answer to the trends I was finding: The Tommy-gun coat? Page 45 of December 1986 Vogue. Crop tops with bougie blazers?
Elle, March 1985. Haircut razored bangs? Harper’s Bazaar, June 1987 (warning: extremely perm).
Tweeny trucker hats? Vogue, January 1983, proof that some things never go out of style. “What’s fascinating about any era’s fashion is what’s happening at that moment culturally and economically that influences designers,” Dr. Miranda Chen, adjunct fashion history professor at FIT told me over coffee when I asked her about my discovery. “The Trump Women are similar to the career women of the 80s.
There’s wealth, corporate feminism, power and the desire to emulate that power translating into trend.” One editorial that stuck with me was in August 1986 Vogue. The photographer, Jamie Sims, snapped on-set portraits of a successful female investment banker in her Wall Street office. She wore a wide-cut suit jacket with hefty shoulder pads and piled on gold necklaces so thick they looked like steel.
The black and white photos feature her arms confidently crossed and a throwaway quoteCaption if we swapped her perm for a beachy wave? Too on-point not to share. As evidence of design-less trends began to pile up, I wanted to know why.
Why do certain trends come back in zeitgeist-y ways while others stay locked in the past? To answer that question, I reached out to my friend Tyler, who consults on industry-wide trend forecasting for one of New York’s largest fashion companies. “Trends are cyclical because they have to be adaptable to multiple fashion moments,” Tyler explained over Sour Panthers and bemoaning my obsession.
“Look at these suits,” he said, tapping an advertisement from Elle’s October 1985 issue. “The reason these came back is because the suit itself is versatile. It can be dressed up, down, styled layering, with prints—it works with everything.
Trends that never come back are too niche, too costly, or require too much time or effort.” I mentally applied this theory to the handful of unforgettable 80s trends that thankfully will never come back in full. An article touting “Matchy Matchy” dedicated an entire spread to models with turquoise eyeshadow paired with turquoise sweaters. Harper’s Bazaar recommended “statement” pantyhose featuring neon stripes and even leopard print.
And don’t get me started on the hairstyles. One article devoted several pages to “creating deliberate volume,” which included sketches on how to roll your hair into finger-thick layers. Are we doomed to continually repeat the 80s then?
As tired as I am of Pinterest-y takes on trends I remember mocking my parents for wearing, I know better. Below, I broke down six 80s trends we’re revisiting in 2019—and where they came from. Maximal Blazer Where they’re from: November 1987 Vogue Baggy sweater underneath a form-fitting blazer?
Taylor wears them. Sally wears them. We all own at least one and wear them too much.
Buttery Leathers Where they’re from: Elle, January 1984 These days you’ll find buttery leathers at Stella McCartney and Veja.
While we’ve swapped out babyPhat bags for eco-friendly logos, today’s iterations are just as soft. Sleek Metallics Where they’re from: Harper’s Bazaar, July 1984 Tom Ford may or may not be stealing these looks directly from Diane Keaton’s closet.
Either way, it’s a trend that’ll never go out of style. Metallic bodices with high-necklines channelled Kendall Jenner’s praised Calvana gown, while wide-legged suits worn with oversized sunglasses recalled Tory Burch’s modern power woman. Mom Tees Where they’re from: September 1984 Elle Mom tees today aren’t too far off from 80s counterparts.
These days, Arket and COS provide a base level of tees we’ll (try to) refuse to bulk buy. Whichever way you slice it, mom tees are here to stay. Just remember they have a strong fashion lineage.
Wide-Leg Denim Where they’re from: March 1983 Vogue Wide-leg denim is more popular than ever. Split jumpsuits from Gucci, oversized pairs from Miu Miu and any street-style snapshot from Beyond Festival are proof. We may worship at the altar of wide-leg jeans, but they’re definitely not a new concept.
Gap bodysuit Where they’re from: Vogue, February 1984 Gap bodysuits were spotted on Stella Tennant at Loewe, Iris Apfel (obvi), and Rihanna at Alexander Wang showing that not much has changed since we were stalking Ivana Trump on the Tonight Show.
