their brand Air Max. Leather high-tops became fash-
ionable as well.
Trendy underwear was worn by men as well as
women. With baseball star Jim Palmer as the new
Jockey promoter, new focus was directed at skimpy
bikinis and bold prints, which were modeled by star
athletes in magazine ads. Oakland Raiders quarter-
back Howie Long appeared in ads for Hanes bikinis
and colorful briefs, creating a demand for those
items. Colored and patterned bikinis, or low-rises,
which ensured a trim pants silhouette, became wildly
popular among men of all ages. Another trend in
the 1980’s was the outdoor look, an ensemble look
that featured huge hiking boots, jeans, and flannel
shirts for city wear. Leather jackets, popularized by
Michael Jackson, became trendy, especially if they
were oversized and worn with a slouch. Late in the
1980’s, brown leather aviator jackets, styled after
Word War II fighter pilot jackets, made a comeback.
Impact While some fashion trends of the 1980’s,
such as leg warmers, faded quickly, others became
part of the mainstream and lasted. Although gay
men have often been thought of as trendsetters in
the fashion world, in the 1980’s, elements of gay
fashion exploded into the mainstream. Tattooing
and piercing entered the mainstream as well.
Women in the workplace attempted to demonstrate
their professionalism by adopting power suits, but
soon casual clothes became more common in the of-
fice. Fashion models started to become celebrities
in the 1980’s, and the most famous of them were
termed “supermodels.” Individual models became
associated with the brands of makeup or perfume
that they represented, and they enjoyed wide public
recognition. Moreover, as the country recovered
from recession and the energy crisis, glamour re-
gained its fashionable status in the 1980’s.
Further Reading
Acker, Kerry.Ever ything You Need to Know About the
Goth Scene.New York: Rosen Publishing Group,
- An analysis of the phenomenon of the goth
style and attitude that was so popular during the
1980’s.
Austin, Stephanie.The Preppy Problem.New York:
Fawcett, 1984. Explores the pros and cons of the
new popularity of preppy fashions.
Brewer, Christopher.Fashion. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2003. Examines the relationship
between the important fashion magazines, such
asVogueandElle, and the high fashion designers.
Martin, Richard, and Harold Koda.The Historical
Mode: Fashion and Art in the 1980’s. New York:
Rizzoli, 1989. A beautifully illustrated book that
traces the roots of 1980’s fashion to their histori-
cal sources.
Sheila Golburgh JohnsonSee also Androgyny; Business and the economy in
the United States;Designing Women; Fads;Flashdance;
Hip-hop and rap; Jackson, Michael; Madonna;Mi-
ami Vice; Power dressing; Preppies; Reagan, Nancy;
Reagan, Ronald; Valley girls; Women in the work-
force.Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Definition Teen comedy film
Director Amy Heckerling (1954- )
Author Book and screenplay by Cameron Crowe
(1957- )
Date Released August 13, 1982
Fast Times at Ridgemont Highwas one of the best
1980’s films documenting the realities of high school from a
teenage perspective. It included frank but humorous discus-
sions of sex, drug use, family relationships, work, and the
difficult transitions to adulthood. A number of budding
stars and future Academy Award winners appeared in the
film as struggling teens.
Directed by Amy Heckerling and based on the un-
dercover experiences of Cameron Crowe in a South-
ern California high school,Fast Times at Ridgemont
High(1982) broke new ground in the mainstream
portrayal of youth culture in the 1980’s. Crowe
adapted his best-selling book into a screenplay that
followed the lives of about a dozen characters
through a year at Ridgemont High School. Though
the film is set in Southern California, its larger
theme of loss of innocence and becoming an adult
had much wider appeal.
The experiences of Brad Hamilton (played by
Judge Reinhold), his sister Stacy Hamilton (Jennifer
Jason Leigh), and their mutual friend Linda Barrett
(Phoebe Cates) form the emotional center of the
film. Brad begins his senior year with a bright out-
look, but his fortunes quickly change. By the end of
his senior year, he has lost his girlfriend and gone
through a string of fast-food jobs. His sister, Stacy, is360 Fast Times at Ridgemont High The Eighties in America