80s fashion makes comeback, serves to improve modern style

80s fashion trends seem to be making a comeback and maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Now, I’m the last person in the world who should be giving their two cents on the current state of fashion given that my typical outfit is sweatpants and a t-shirt but hear me out.

Back in the day, 80s fashion mostly consisted of high waisted pants, printed shirts, sweatbands and hideous choices of haircuts.

While I thankfully can’t speak for the sweatbands or haircuts, high waisted pants and printed shirts are appearing more and more in mainstream retail stores. The prints on said t-shirts aren’t as loud as they were back in the 80s, but more toned-down versions of 80s prints are certainly coming back into style. In recent years, 90s and especially Y2K styles were more popular, but there has been a recent resurgence of 80s fashion, perhaps due to influential TV shows with the “80s aesthetic” such as “Stranger Things,” “American Horror Story” and “I Am Not Okay with This.” In 80s nostalgia TV shows such as those, many of the styles shown could be perceived as very over the top at times, or at least it seemed that way from our 2023 point of view.

But that's what 80s fashioned tended to be- Over the top. But fortunately, the very vibrant and loud aspects of 80s fashion don’t seem to be the main styles making a comeback. 2023 fashion seems to mostly be focusing on accents of vibrant colors, mostly red, cargo pants and sheer clothing, all popular staples of fashion in the 80s.

The only difference between now and then is that 2023 fashion trends seem to be slightly more toned down than the in-your-face version of 80s outfits. Instead of ankle boots, people are wearing converse. Big chunky jackets are now being replaced with more form fitting alternatives and polka dotted dresses are practically non-existent; instead, people are wearing more solid colors and subtle patterns. And honestly, I see this as a major improvement. Fashion is constantly evolving and while it’s not always an upward trajectory, for the most part, trends tend to weed out the less enjoyed aspects while the highly favored ones persist and, in some cases like with vibrancy and specific 80s clothing, come back around years later.

80s aspects combined with 2023 clothing is maybe one of my favorite things being revived currently. People are starting to wear more and more acid washed clothing in their outfits, power suits are becoming more common in professional settings and best of all, color is making a comeback.

I can’t be the only one that's noticed in recent years, that there’s been a dwindling sense of choice when it comes to color in the fashion community.

Specifically, in men’s fashion. Back in the 80s and even in the 90s you could find any color you wanted for any clothing item you were looking for.

Walking into a shop in the mall was like walking into a candy store.

So much color and variation everywhere that it was hard to know where to start. But now, in men’s fashion especially, but even in women’s fashion as well, when I walk into a clothing store all I see is a muddled mess of whites and browns and other dulled color options.

That’s why I’m so happy to see the return of some of the more fun and extravagant styles from the 80s.

Now they are better than ever. Keeping the fun aspects of 80s fashion without some of the more, shall we say, embarrassing styles of the past. Admittedly, I don’t know or appreciate much about the consensus of popular trends but one thing I have always been able to admire about the fashion world is the ability to leave behind the outdated styles to make room for new ones, while also preserving ones that were heavily admired in past years.

It makes me feel assured that whatever trends appear or even reappear in the future will put the fashion world on a fun, colorful new path that will have something for everyone to enjoy.