what were the 1980's like in North America?

Question

how about the fashion,economy,people's relationship,(homosexual,gay),can you talk about it?

Answer 1

Well, we were coming down off disco, so silver was out. We'd had enough shiny stuff so when Flourescent t-shirts came around we loved them, along with big long T-shirts that said F-A-G or some such statement. Boy George hit it big with Culture Club in the early '80's and it was so great to see your parents hitting off with a drag queens number. Then around '83 I heard of Madonna, but didn't hear her on the radio for over another year (see how far ahead gays are!) she made it big, Like a Virgin went all out. Rap finally started getting played on the radio around 1986 or 87 around here with Paula Abdul and some MC or MJ or whatever. Paula herself was doing quite well, album wise, as Miss Janet Jackson, riding a high for the last few years. Michael was fixing to become white, soon. Sorry, rambling . . .

oh, and the first time I ever saw MTV, it was a couple weeks old and was soo cool! Videos, ALL THE TIME! lol, how funny is that? It was the video "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac, I still remember.

Answer 2

From a geeky guy who went to high school in the 80's, I was a fashion observer.... I didn't have any money to own to pursue style. (I will try to avoid rehashing stuff other answerers have said already)

FASHION: Early 80's was like a hodge podge of stuff in fashion. Tight designer jeans were hanging in (Calvin Klein, Jordache). But hair and other clothes seemed in flux. Not long enough to be 70's, not short enough to be GQ or preppy. Blah. No real style at all in those years.

Mid eighties hair got shorter..started creeping up over the ear. Guys started using hair gel. Guys didn't use hair product before then. It was girly. GQ started changing the tide.

Bright Miami Vice colors started showing up, then too. People said the 80's were really shallow, because of the glitz, slick, modern, emphasis on gaining weath or keeping fit...

THE RICH FOLKS soaps like Dallas and Dynasty were the hot thing. Health clubs/aerobics popped up all over. I don't think there were fitness clubs before the 80's (besides the YMCA or boxing gym). Surf brands like Quicksilver and Local Motion were hot at my school in 1984. Nike was hot. Reebok was challenging-- growing on the steam of its all white aerobic shoes.

I'd say 1987 was the peak of "high class" "sophisticated" 80's style. It was very over the top. The early 90's grunge look was a backlash to the glamourous, bright structured looks.

People don't mention it as much as parachute pants, but cargo pants were hot in the mid-80's. Hotter than parachute pants, so I kind of snicker when I see what success Old Navy and others have with their cargo pants in the recent years. Leather pants and fake leather pants also got their start in the 80's. Knickers (for the ladies) and tights were also hot in the late 80's.

A big difference between the mid 80's and now regarding clothing.... Back then even with growing interest in trend watching, there were still MANY clothing brands pumping out lame clothes with no style or the wrong style. So my mom could very EASILY find some with the WRONG style or pretty LAME for me to wear.

In the late 90's and now, almost everything has good design. Product lines are changed out every season. Dept. store buyers are more savvy and demanding. But in the 80's Sears would make a cheap tennis shoe called the Winner. It would be the same blue color and gum colored sole for THREE YEARS in a row! Today shoes style change out several times a year. Today a blind person at Target could propably pick up something that would look pretty cool AND it probably would not be that expensive. TEEN AGERS don't know how good you got it in this respect. It is damn easy to git yer fash'on. However originality has taken a hit in the 90's and now. The emphasis has been on taking things from the past and reinventing them. Hoodies and tight tees in the 70's. Capris and skinny black pants from the 60's. Corduroy sport coats. Jogging suits. There has been nothing distinctly representative --fashion-wise-- to mark the last 10 years.

WEIRD OBSERVATION: Clothes haven't gotten that much more expensive in 20 years. Levis 501's were about $25 on sale. A decent button-down oxford would be about $20-25. Our production expertise has gotten better and companies are finding cheap sources of labor elsewhere. American Apparel being the exception, the fashion industry is sewn with the hands of thousands of peasants.

REGARDING the question from the answerer who asked about why the 1980's was the "decade of decadence".
The 80's was the "decade of decadence", because of the over the top looks and lifestyle. No other decade previously could match it. But the modern youth don't see it. Why?

Because while the looks of the 90's and now have toned down, our lifestyle has continued to grow more decadent. It has become the norm. No one bats an eyelash when people say "my car's 5 years old. I need a new one." We buy more clothes and shoes than we did in the 80's. We spend more on cosmetics and grooming products. We have new expenses... $50 a month on a cell phone or broadband access. These were consider luxuries only a few years ago. When I was growing up an expensive TV was $500 and you could get a huge 25". Now you can get a 32" for less than that. My brain says that's a bargain!!

But my friends would say that is lame...you need a 60" rear projection or a plasma. Let me tell you....you DON'T. We only make you believe you do. (I work in advertising/marketing.) Seriously I can ENJOY watching "24" on my old 32" TV just as much as on an HD system with Surround Sound.

Answer 3

Parachute Pants & Mullets
"Take On Me"-Aha
Real Estate Boom = Rich Investors
Lots more cohab. w/out marriage
AIDS Paranoia
Ronald Reagan
Gay culture becoming more flamboyant
"Breakfast Club"

Answer 4

i grew up in the 80's, was a great time, great music with a meaning, time of weird haircuts and fashion often called the decade of decadence but i never did understand that part

Answer 5

great music movies tv concerts.rock t shirts and jeans.great president.yuppies.rubiks cube hair metal parachute pants izod
penny loafers square ties members only jackets the brat pack

Answer 6

really depends on who you were at the time all the topics u chose are as diverse now as they were then.... I just remember
(being of the sixties ) it seemed like the death of music !

Answer 7

They were, like, totally awesome! And, like, the clothes were, like, bitchin'! Like, I wore, like, a million o-rings for bracelets, and wore, like, leggings under my skirts, kinda like now, but cooler, cause it was the 80's. My friends & I would wear, like, a million Swatches at once, like, all over ourselves. Like, we were way cooler then.

Answer 8

bad music, bad mixed matched clothes and hair. and ppl were poor

Answer 9

the 80's...

Madonna & her cone-shaped breasts...
aids...
neon colors everywhere...
mc hammer pants...
slap bracelets....
rap... (the good old stuff)
fraggle rock...
pee-wee's playhouse...
aqua net hairspray....
tall bangs...
high tops...
scrunchies...
leg warmers...

Answer 10

actually the 80's were dead.