After the dark movies of the '70s, Hollywood found its lighter side again in the '80s. The result was a collection of feel-good and dance-oriented movies that filled a void left by audiences' unfulfilled desires. These movies have endured over time and are fondly remembered for their art direction and fashion sense.
The '80s were a time of possibility, which the bright color palette and revealing clothing of the decade suggest. Haircuts were also in a wild and free-spirited way and went through various transformations from the beginning to the end of the decade.
American Psycho (2000)
Protagonist Patrick Bateman is a Wall Street yuppie so immersed in 1980s fashion and media culture it drives him to kill. Bateman may be a shell of a man, but he nonetheless looks sharp. He dresses in tailored Armani suits, red power ties, eats at only the most in vogue Manhattan restaurants, and suffers an anxiety attack when he can't reserve a table.
For Bateman, one's sense of fashion boils down to the most minute details, such as what shade of white he and his colleagues choose for their personal business cards.
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Sneaking in at the end of the '80s is Spike Lee's film about racial tensions among minority groups, Do The Right Thing. The film is prophetic in foreseeing the fashion trends that would predominate the early '90s.
Baggy shirts paired with knee-high shorts, mid-top shoes, tube socks, brim hats, and others with the bib flipped back all form the aesthetic of the film's characters. The film also popularized the oversized sports jersey and highlighted the cleanliness of the fade.
Dirty Dancing (1987)
Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey co-star in one of the sexiest films of the decade, 1987's Dirty Dancing. Besides the timeless choreography and soundtrack, the film also encapsulates the simplest but most classic fashion statements of the 1980s.
Grey has her hair styled in a perm and wears a belly high button down on top of tight blue denim. Swayze keeps it minimal, and audiences remember his role in the film best for his black on black tucked-in sleeveless shirt and tight denim. He also has a medium-length, floaty pretty boy cut.
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
The first big teen movie of the decade, 1982's Fast Times at Ridgemont High shows the '70s influence on early '80s fashion. Sean Penn plays a breezy surfer type who still has long shoulder-length blonde hair. In comparison to films that came only a couple of years later, the characters are dressed more conservatively.
Often, they are portrayed in their formal work attire, whether it be the girls in their tights and knee-high dress skirts, or the boys, one of which includes a young Nicholas Cage, wearing a bib and embarrassing carton hat. The film is filled with '80s novelties.
Flashdance (1983)
1983's Flashdance is one of the most famous dance movies of all time. Part of its fame comes from lead actress Jennifer Beals's style. The cover poster for the film includes her most iconic outfit which features her big voluminous '80s perm, cropped shoulder pullover, which her red heels offset.
Throughout the film, she often trains in a leotard, and during the day wears casual denim jeans with torn knees and a white tank top.
Footloose (1984)
Kevin Bacon stars in 1984's Footloose, as a big city teen adapting to small-town life. The attire and hairstyles of the characters summarize the fashion sense of the decade. Bacon wears tight faded denim jeans with a sleeveless white undershirt, tucked in of course, or at other times he pairs his light denim with a mid-week gray pullover.
He also matches this outfit with worn white sneakers, carving the edges of male fashion icons, such as Grease, so they are equally as tough but a little less polished and more jagged. As for the ladies, Ali Singer who plays opposite of Bacon has the trademark '80s voluminous perm.
Pretty in Pink (1986)
One of the more fashionably conscious films of the decade, 1986's Pretty in Pink captures the loud and bright fashion trends that audiences imagine when they think of the '80s. Lead character Andy Walsh is the epitome of teen fashion, wearing pink naturally, but also lipstick, various colors of eye shadow, fake pearl stud earrings, brim flower hats, denim vests, polka dot pants, and the list goes on.
Andy's male counterpart, Duckie Dale, also shares a similar fashionable eccentricity, showing a particular affinity for the sports jacket, suspenders, round lensed shades, and tipped back brim hat.
Scarface (1983)
The Miami Vice aesthetic of Brian de Palma's 1983 Scarface gives the remake a bold neon facelift from its original black and white old Hollywood appearance. Floral patterns and colors abound. Men usually prefer white and light blue suits to the classic black and white.
No matter what the occasion, characters always leave a couple of buttons loose on their shirt. Michelle Pfeiffer's character has a more minimalist style, but her dresses are often cool colors made of satin or are bejeweled like the diamonds in her low hanging earrings.
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Assembling a single member from the variety of cliques populating high schools at the midpoint of the decade, The Breakfast Club functions as a barometer of '80s teen fashion.
This colorful cast of characters shows how the spectrum of fashion covers denim jackets thrown over plaid shirts, varsity jackets, tucked-in pinks v-necks and bob cuts. The film also has two characters who show how not to dress in the '80s.
Top Gun (1986)
In one of Tom Cruise's most iconic roles, 1986's Top Gun brought some new fashion trends to the second half of the decade. In particular, Cruise's aviator jacket and aviator glasses became instant classics after the movie's release and are still popular today.
Compared to the first half of the decade, the character of Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell has a cleaner crew cut that breaks with the mullets and longer pretty boy looks that were previously popular.