Attire for Women

ATTIRE FOR WOMEN

Eclecticism Led by Individuality and History

After a decade of fashion freedom in the 1970s, women had become accustomed to creating an individual look from many options rather than conforming to the dictates of the fashion runways of Paris and New York. And in the 1980s women were practically forced to call on their individuality, rather than try to keep up with the quickly changing fads: in a decade that reveled in the past, stylistic revivals formed a dizzying parade. Each fashion season designers brought out styles that borrowed from a different historical period, modernizing them with new fabrics and colors. Among the revived styles were nineteenth-century bustles and crinolines, turn-of-the-century cami-soles and petticoats, 1920s drop-waisted chemises, 1940s large shoulders and shirring, 1950s toreador pants and off-the-shoulder stoles, and 1960s and 1970s Day-Glo minis and ethnic fabrics. An eclectic style resulted when designers mixed decades: a contemporary miniskirt with a 1950s-inspired bustier, for example. But women themselves also created variety by combining and modifying trends, mixing them with longtime personal favorites—for example, a trendy flippy skirt with a T-shirt and a worn denim jacket decorated with antique pins. Another example of the freedom women felt from fashion authorities was the lengths of skirts. No single length dominated in the 1980s, and when the miniskirt attempted a comeback late in the decade many women held fast to their mid-length or long skirts, forcing designers to pay heed to their needs and tastes.

NANCY REAGAN

Not since Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s was there a more style-conscious first lady. Well acquainted with elite fashion designers before the 1981 inauguration of her husband, former actress Nancy Reagan's expensive taste and conservative style made fashion headlines throughout the decade. She was known for her trim suits, simple linear gowns, and her signature color, red. While some were outraged by the extravagance of her $25,000 inaugural-ball wardrobe (a price she denies), she had fans among American fashion designers and the fashion industry. Designers for whom Nancy Reagan showed enthusiasm, such as Bill Blass and James Galanos, were keenly aware of her valuable fashion influence, and they offered her expensive dresses and suits free of charge. In an era of haves and have-nots, this practice caused disapproval among those who were accustomed to paying for their wardrobes. (In 1982 she promised not to accept the designers' gifts, but she had gone back on this vow by 1988.) She was also criticized for her concern with clothes and china over more-political issues. During a decade in which women were gaining a powerful voice in the political and professional worlds, Nancy Reagan, like the ultra-feminine style that designers pushed on women, seemed to represent a relic of the past: the traditional woman's role as decoration to flaunt her husband's wealth and power.

Sources:

"The Best in Fashion: Nancy Reagan Salutes American Fashion," Harper's Bazaar, no,.3277 (December 1984): 162-165;

Coco Chanel advertisement, Vogue, 177 (September 1987): 205;

Hayncs Johnson, Sleepwalking through History: America in the Reagan Years (New York: Norton, 1991);

Chris Wallace, The First Lady: A Portrait of Nancy Reagan (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1986).

Elaboration and Decoration

By the 1980s many women were in the workforce, holding or striving for powerful positions in the professional world and making enough money to spend on luxuries. Their wardrobes reflected their new status, growing salaries, the 1980s emphasis on wealth and ostentation, and a return to traditional femininity after the 1970s unadorned, "natural" woman. Women's styles intensified as their tastes became more-expensive and elaborate: simple 1970s cotton became more expensive 1980s linen, glossy leather became alligator or lizard, crepe de chine became silk jacquard. In general, plain became ornamental: fabric prints were bold and colorful rather than, as in the previous decade, subdued and earthy. Women in the 1980s wore ribbons, ruffles, bows, and feathers on their dresses, a trend unseen in the 1970s. Hair and makeup even became more elaborate: the 1970s just-blown-dry look was replaced with deliberately tousled hair, held in place with mousse and gel, or with new, diverse hair ornaments such as bows or fabric-covered elastic.

Makeup and Traditional Femininity

After a decade in which makeup was seen as unnatural or antifeminist, in the 1980s women began shadowing their eyes, outlining their lips, and slathering themselves with the newest sun-protective/moisturizing/wrinkle-erasing makeup. Self-improvement techniques did not stop at the surface of the skin: plastic surgery, silicone-enlarged lips and breasts, and aerobic exercise became more common. Ironically, as women gained entrance into and respect in the professional world they worked even harder at maintaining their physical appearance; their efforts to decorate and beautify themselves were throwbacks to traditional femininity.

Dress for Success

But women's fashion was not all luxury and adornment. In the previous two decades women had increasingly entered the traditionally male professional world, and by the 1980s they made up a significant segment of it. In this decade they grappled with how to dress practically and stylishly without sacrificing their professionalism—or, simply, with how to dress like women in a male world. In the late 1970s and early 1980s women subscribed to the idea that a traditional masculine business suit would assure them respect and authority in the professional world. Anything that was sexy or that called attention to their femaleness was seen as a threat to their professional status. Accordingly, they wore standardized suits that came to be known as the "dress for success" style: a conservative navy or black blazer and knee-covering skirt with an unadorned white shirt closed at the neck with a tied bow, conservative low heels (changed into at work after a commute in cross-trainer sneakers made by companies such as Nike, Etonic, or Adidas), and a loose, androgynous trench coat. Even aside from the business suit, women's styles borrowed from masculine prints such as pinstripes, and women wore ties and pants inspired by menswear. If not dressing like men, they were hiding their femininity in loose, boxy, Japanese-designer-inspired clothes. This androgynous style was, however, waning by 1985 and was soon to be replaced by curvier, softer, more-feminine silhouettes.

Bolder, More-Feminine Suits

By middecade a shift was seen in the dress-for-success suit and in the theory that inspired it. Gradually, the suit's tailoring became bolder, the shoulders wider, and the colors brighter. The new theory was that the dress-for-success suit only demonstrated a woman's lack of status by reflecting a lack of freedom in dress. So, women rising up the corporate ladder became confident enough to wear more-individualized and creative suits. They chose from a wider range of colors and from options such as pants or short skirts. Women in conservative fields such as law, and those who were still struggling to gain status in the corporate world, however, did not feel comfortable with these style options and stayed with their inconspicuous suits throughout the decade. For those who dared, designers such as Donna Karan created work clothes that included shaped dresses with wide belts; short skirts; colorful scarves; higher heels; and chunky jewelry. Launching her own line in 1985, after leaving Anne Klein and Company, Karan introduced the kind of clothing that she felt was missing from her own career ward-robe. With comfort and practicality in mind, she created shirts that stayed neatly tucked (bodysuits and then body blouses) and knit clothes that traveled well and matched everything. By the end of the decade power dressing was still the goal, but women had a few more options.

Fitness

The jogging trend of the 1970s evolved into a fitness craze in the 1980s. A healthy escape from the demands of a busy professional life, exercise became the new pastime for both men and women. Women, in particular, were trying to prove their competence in the professional world, and they transferred this sense of competition into improving their appearance. They became immersed in body improvements that began with aerobic dance classes and sometimes led to surgical changes such as cellulite removal, tummy tucks, and face peels. Clothes of the decade were greatly influenced by this obsession. The exercise gear that women (and men) wore to aerobics classes was soon seen on the street as well. The new fabrics were comfortable, breathable knits—cotton fleece and shimmering spandex that hugged the skin, showing off newly formed arm muscles and lean legs. The fabrics were used in everything from stirrup pants, leggings, tights, tank tops, midriff-baring tops, bicycle shorts, and jogging suits. One-piece bodysuits or other body-hugging items were layered with loose sweatshirts or T-shirts ripped to reveal a shoulder, as seen in the movie Flashdance. The layered look continued into fall and winter with bulky, oversized sweaters worn over short skirts or leggings and flat, ankle-length boots. Confident with their newly toned bodies, at night women wore textured or patterned stockings with whimsical shoes, cotton or Lycra short skirts, short chemise or tight T-shirt dresses, and, underneath it all, lingerie from bustiers to garters. Tidy and masculine in their suits all day, women were happy to flaunt their new bodies in the evening and on weekends.

Formality

Whereas leisure looks had dominated in the 1970s, in the 1980s dressing up—elegance—came back in style. The return of formality and ostentation was partly an effect of the presence in the White House of Ronald Reagan and the fashion-conscious first lady. Nancy Reagan's fitted, linear dresses without fussy detail contrasted with another trend: elaborate dresses with bows, feathers, or ruffles, in lively fabrics from floral or animal prints to polka dots and wide stripes. But women had many other options; they dressed up in billowing taffeta ball gowns or short black dresses. Television characters, such as Sue Ellen on Dallas and Alexis on Dynasty, inspired beaded or sequined dresses with big shoulder pads, alluring costume jewelry, furs, and high heels.

The Country Look

The Laura Ashley country look—dresses, skirts, and home furnishings in cabbage-rose prints—was also fashionable. The British designer Ashley and the American designer Ralph Lauren provided women with classic velvet, lace, and linen in the form of long skirts and traditionally feminine blouses. Lauren prided himself on making clothes that were not trendy but classics; he said, "These clothes have a heritage, they're not frivolous, but things to treasure even when they get old."

Sources:

Susan Faludi, Backlash: The Undeclared War against Women (New York: Crown, 1991), pp. 169-214;

Caroline Rennolds Milbank, New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Fashion (New York: Abrams, 1989), pp. 264-294;

Jane Mulvagh, Vogue History of 20th Century Fashion (London & New York: Viking, 1988);

Blanche Payne, The History of Costume (New York: HarperCollins, 1992);

Lynn Schurnberger, Let There Be Clothes (New York: Workman, 1991), pp.396-410;

Doreen Yarwood, Fashion in the Western World: 1500-1990 (New York: Drama Books, 1992).