Photo by Muffy Aldrich
The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Friday, October 14, 2022

Some 80s Clothes

Photos from My Archives

   
   









































 

46 comments:

  1. Is that you Muffy in the blue turtleneck, in the 1980s?

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  2. The men's clothes as pictured look the same as men's clothes today.

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    1. Nope. Mens clothing today is mostly very tight fitting, strangely so for those of us that were adults in the 80's.
      Shirts and pants were of a looser cut for ease of movement.

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    2. Don't worry....everyone else gets it.

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    3. Anyone with opposable thumbs who's ever been shopping gets the fact that the men's clothes pictured do not look the same as men's clothes today. So yes, no, I won't worry.

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    4. Ok opposable thumbs, if you agree with my reply comment to Anon October 14, 4:17 PM, what is your question to me?

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    5. Maybe we got fatter?

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    6. Anon October 15 2022 9:47 PM, I wasn't speaking to you, I was speaking to 9/14 14:07. Believe it or not, not everything is about you. Hopefully this has now been explained to you in language simple enough for you to understand, and you will be able to move on in life and have a good week.

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  3. Charming! It all looks so familiar. No reason to change.

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    1. It's literally all changed. That's the point.

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  4. Sigh…this is “my” era; it’s like revisiting my old wardrobe. The really nice part is that the overwhelming majority could be worn today without alteration.

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  5. As much as it resembles clothing both before and after, many of the pieces being identical, there is a very subtle 1980s sensibility that is unmistakable.

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    1. Wow! I'm really old. The men dress the way I did when I was in college in the mid 60's. Back then we called it "Ivy League'>

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  6. Pretty much what I still wear....

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  7. Oh, those photos were fun to look at! The clothes are still pretty much similar to what I wear today, except for the following: 1) I wore so much Laura Ashley as I worked for the company (and at a local flower shop) all through university, 2) my colour palette has changed a bit; much less pink-and-green (a bit puerile at age 60), and more muted earthy colours and navy these days, 3) no more in your face large monograms on the fronts of jumpers/sweaters (I find a much smaller, less obtrusive one placed somewhere discreetly to be better), and no longer 'de rigueur', and importantly 4) there are no rules for the 'uniform' for me (I abhor the idea of being obsequious to a particular 'code'); again at my age and level of maturity, I enjoy the freedom of dressing the way I want, which for me simply means comfortably, sensibly, and well turned out, without being flashy or slavish to fashion.

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  8. Always love these!

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  9. Agreed with previous comments. One thing about revisiting photographs from 30-40+ years ago that really stands out, though, is how nicely presented people were. Even when dressed casually. You cannot help but notice the difference. Sigh.

    Kind Regards,

    Heinz-Ulrich

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    1. Absolutely 100% agree Heinz!

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    2. You are right. This was my era. There's been an inversion that has occurred since then: The youth in my day wanted to dress like adults; today the adults want to dress like children.

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    3. That's a stunning and insightful observations. And so sadly true.

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    4. There's been a loss of pride in personal appearance . It's not expensive to look good ; just takes some minor effort for considerable results .

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  10. I had that skirt with the adjustable tab-button waistband - it my favorite, went with everything.

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  11. Yep, that was my style! It still is but for the long skirts; I'm now a pants-wearing senior lady!

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  12. Don't miss the clothes, but sure do miss my 280 SL

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  13. At 74 years everything I saw I still wear as its classic American clothing, timeless.

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  14. It's such a pleasure to read the comments.

    Carlton Chiswick


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  15. These photos make me very happy. One thing to be pointed out -- this way of dressing was by no means in the mainstream. Funny to remember that the disco movement was happening in parallel.

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    1. It wasn't necessary the dominant culture, but by the mid-80s LL Bean's mailorder catalogs had done a lot to nationalize the northeastern aesthetic, and J. Crew picked up shortly thereafter.

      Of course, some version of the Ivy League Look has been part of academic culture since the Second World War, even at out of the way small liberal arts colleges across the middle of the country.

      By the late Reagan years, the aesthetic of the photos above seemed pretty common to me, at least in some circles.

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  16. What wonderful memories! Really do appreciate it!

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  17. Photos suggest that I haven't purchased any new clothing since the 1980's or earlier.

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  18. The Sail Loft in Rockport had the BEST blueberry muffins on the Maine coast. How I miss it!

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  19. Absolutely marvellous collection of photos here Muffy . I like the lady with the red cartridge bag with yellow tipped blue cable sweater .

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  20. The outfit in the first photo is nearly identical to the “winter” uniform of the Catholic girls school I attended in the 80s in south Florida. That take me back!!

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  21. Oh the 80s!!! I had hordes of shetland sweaters. Fair Isles galore, the monogrammed, and I even had the whale intarsia sweater!!! I have only a couple left; my mother having gotten rid of them after I moved away thinking I wouldn't wear them again. Timeless styles, I still dress like this. --Holly in PA

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    1. I had a kelly green wide-wale cord pair of trousers with little navy whales that I loved and wore with many of my Shetland jumpers in my teens and early 20s. The most comfortable ever! Once in a blue moon, I do online searches for critter cords but can never find them anymore (and I don't like what's on offer at Castaway Nantucket, unfortunately).

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    2. They have some critter cords on OConnells in the vintage section - spotty sizes

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  22. Could we roll back even just a few more years? I yearn to live in a time when Abercrombie and Fitch was an outfitter that sold shotguns, rather than an example of what is wrong with the world today.

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  23. I would love to have that blue turtleneck sweater and each and ever one of those khaki skirts!!!

    --EM

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  24. Oh, yes... Lotsa flashback memories there !

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