80s Costumes are Still Popular

Why People Wear a Costume from the 1980s

80's costumes make sense as a Halloween costume this year (or any year) for several reasons. First of all, we are still in the midst of a general retro 1980 period where throwbacks to the 80s are very much in style.

Second, these antiquated costumes are a great option because so many of the clothes and fashions from the 1980's look like they might costumes anyway; it takes only a little bit of imagination to bring it all the way to 80's costume territory.

Americans hold a special place in there heart for the 1980’s. Whether it be music, board games, video games, fashion, movies of TV shows, people often really love the sense of nostalgia that comes over them when the 1980’s are mentioned.

Therefore, it is no surprise that people absolutely love choosing 80’s costumes to wear of Halloween. Because there is such variety for men, women and children, it is easy for groups of friends or families to dress up as very recognizable characters to entertain other.

Some people loved the 80’s so much that they wear 80’s costumes on days that aren’t Halloween.

Some popular 80’s costumes come from mimicking 80’s rock stars. Many memorable hair bands, or bands whose members have big hair, made a huge impression in pop culture.

Costume Wigs

People with short hair can buy wigs and tease them to make the hair high. They can also dye the wigs any color they’d like since rainbow hair was common in the 80’s. Crimping and curling hair was popular for men and women in the 80’s.

Rock stars also tended to wear very tight pants when on stage. These could be denim, polyester, silk, etc. The tighter the pants, the better. It was common to wear headbands across the forehead and wristbands. Leather was also big for 80’s rock stars.

Become a Movie or Singing Star

Another popular 80’s costume is dressing up like Madonna. More of a singer than a rock star, her style has evolved so drastically in the last 30 years, but everyone still emulates her 80’s style. She often wore tights, short skirts, wacky headbands, fake pearls, heavy mascara, lingerie, fingerless gloves, sunglasses and huge jewelry. Her hair was normally crimped or curled.

The Prom Queen Costume for Girls

Another popular 80’s costume is the 80’s prom queen. Dramatic cascading hair dews, long gloves and heavy make-up are must haves. Also, an 80’s prom dress can be found online or at a consignment shop. Make sure it is a bright color such as teal, magenta, tangerine, purple, etc., have huge shoulder pads and some kind of bugle beads, rhinestones, sequins or cutouts.

More is more when it comes to the 80’s prom queen costume. You will also need a larger-than-life tiara and a bouquet of some sort. Preppy styles were also popular in the 80’s. Ralph Lauren, Perry Ellis and Bill Blass put out all kinds of cardigans, knee socks, polo shirts, headbands and crisp shirts. Tie a sweater over your shoulders for good measure.

When I deal with period costumes, I like to think beyond the obvious. The way I do this is to come up with a list of 80's celebrities.

Celebrities are notorious for trying to follow the latest fashions, and looking back in time, you will see that the most 80's looking people are celebrities. People like Michael Jackson and Don Johnson epitomize in one way or another a definite fad or mod look and are great ideas for 80's costumes.

Excluding those, celebrities are sometimes difficult to turn into an 80's costume. This is because, even though the celebrities are dressing at the height of fashion at the time, they still are just people dressed in clothes; many of them do not wear clothes that scream "costume".

Movie Character Costume

For this reason, I like looking at specific characters the celebrities might have played in a movie. A great example of this is Tom Cruise in Top Gun. Dressing in a flight suit with "Maverick" on it is a great idea for 80's costumes.

Whatever your approach to 80's costumes might be, bring your own ideas and creativity to it to allow your costume idea to really pop at your Halloween costume party this year.

Your Costumes Are Not Complete without Halloween Hats - Got your outfit for All Hallow's Eve yet? Did you remember the hat?