80s Awesomeness! ~ 159

Oh yeah.  Raise your hand if you DIDN'T wear these.  And they looked so totally real, just resting on top of your nail like that.  And when you managed to rip one off, even though it's not your real nail you still cringed a little anyway.  And then just rubbed that sticker glue off of your fingers.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 149

Are you gagging yet? You should be. For some god horrible reason the Bedazzler was huge. Was that jean jacket just not flamboyant enough? Bedazzle it! What CAN'T you put plastic rhinestones on? How people didn't go blind between light refracting off of all the glitter and day-glo, I have no idea.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 142

Nope, it's not about the actors; it's about the sunglasses. Oh yeah. Ray Bans. Everyone wanted them because they were oh so sexy and, I mean, just look at the people wearing them! Why would you NOT want to be like Madonna or Michael Jackson? I mean, seriously. And of course, this particular style is making it's way back into fashion. Because it was so seriously flattering . . . ?

The Little Black Dress and Zoot Suits by Alison Marie Behnke

Published October 1, 2011.

What would you have worn if you lived during the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s? It depends on who you were! For 1930s high fashion, nothing beat Coco Chanel's women's suit—a slim, straight skirt with a matching boxy jacket. And for a classy evening, men donned black tuxedos and velvet smoking jackets. Read more about depression era and wartime fashions—from the form-fitting little black dress to polo shirts, stylish snoods, and chic chignons—in this fascinating book! (netgalley.com)

When this book popped up on NetGalley from Lerner, I was all over it. 40s fashion is usually how I like to dress when dressing fancy, simply because the styles were geared towards a more curvaceous body (which is what I have). Plus they had some awesome hair. So now there's a book that highlights all of the great moments in war time fashion? Yes, please!

This isn't a book with a plot; it's just something that's nice and informational about the clothing and general style of the era. From the hair to the clothes, accessories and shoes, for both men and women, LITTLE BLACK DRESS does a great job of highlighting the best parts of the fashion. Not to mention I got introduced to some awesome designers whose designs I might just have to take to a seamstress because, well, I want some of these dresses, quite frankly.

I only had a couple of complaints. One, I wish Behnke would have mentioned Betty Page, whose style had a huge influence on the culture of the time, along with the hair style known as the victory roll. It was a very popular wartime style that takes some practice to manage. I didn't see either of these mentioned and I felt the book could have even better if they'd been added.

Also, someone got a little liberal with some of the photos and using Photoshop. I liked most of the photography. Looking at old pictures always draws me in but some of them were wildly colored with backgrounds that weren't flattering to the part of the image that they were trying to make pop. I think a more subtle background with a simple 3D effect in the foreground would have been more than enough to highlight the fashion in those particular photos. (This is in the NetGalley digital advanced copy edition.)

Other than that, loved it and I want to buy it for my collection. It's a good book to have for reference (for costumes, for instance, or, if you're like me, for actual dressing) and it's just something nice to look at. It'd make a great coffee table book. One thing LITTLE BLACK DRESS really proved is that the styles that emerged in these three decades really made a lasting impression on culture as a whole. There's a level of class there that isn't seen too much today and now so many designs fall back on those older ones for inspiration, although they take it to levels now that demean the original class of the style. In a world where trash is class and the less you wear means the sexier you are, it's wonderful seeing images in a time where glamour really shown. Where sex appeal wasn't just in the type of body you had but in how you held yourself, in a time where clothes were made for bodies, not the other way around.

Seriously, I loved this book and if you're into the same kind of fashion I am, you'll love it too.

Ban Factor: Low - It's a book about dresses and suits. How horrible can it possibly be?

80s Awesomeness! ~ 135

As if leggings are anything new. These things were smeared all over the 80s, and all over the asses of many a woman (whether or not they SHOULD have been wearing them is another thing entirely). I remember wearing little girl leggings back in the 80s, coming halfway down my shins with lace at the bottom. So imagine my surprise when I see those things popping up again in a serious way 20 years later.

At points it can be horrifying, like those metallic pink things above. Just don't think leggings are anything other than a zombie throwback from decades past.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 127

Mini Skirts!!!

Photo from Like Totally 80s

Or a tube top. Depending on how you were feeling that day. Yup. You have the 80s to thank for this particular type of ho clothes. Frequently worn by hair band groupies, the mini skirt barely covered your south side cheeks and few women were actually able to pull the look off without looking like a total pile of trash. Unfortunately us for, this style stuck and can still be found on the token bar skank at your neighborhood bar.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 120

The Makeup!!!

It's almost painful to look at. Super heavy on the cheeks to insert some semblance of cheekbones. Super heavy on the eyes for god only knows what reason. To stand out, maybe? But in the 80s, the heavier the better. You couldn't wear enough makeup in that decade; guy or girl.

If it wasn't electric blue it was some god awful shade of orange. Whoever thought that orange was a good eyeshadow color needs to be slapped.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 104

What is it you're looking at? Other than an ugly-colored Old Navy shirt? Why the popped collar, of course! You weren't anyone if you didn't pop your collar in the 80s. You were super fly if you double-popped as this photo representation suggests. I mean, just look at Duran Duran -

If that's not cool, I don't know what is. Unfortunately now if you pop your collar, you're not so much cool but a raging douche that's watched a little too much Growing Up Gotti -

Sometimes de-evolution is a sad thing to see.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 95

Shoulder Pads!!!

Nothing says delicate femininity quite like looking like a linebacker. Now, ladies used to say such shoulder padding "completed" the look. It looked more "put together." Compared to what, I'm not sure but I'm glad we've de-evolved to a more incomplete look in the years following this pandemic.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 89

80s Dresses!!!

Ever so distinct, the 80s dress is forever seared into our brains. No matter how hard we try to forget, those ruffles just won't let us. If you were unfortunate enough to be of dress age in the 80s (and don't think you had to be a teen and up for these styles, parents totally wedged their young girls into like-minded fashion), then you should have the visual proof locked up in some musty attic somewhere. Don't try to deny it. The lie is evident in the fear in your eyes.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 81

Oh yeah. You're looking at that right. That's crimped hair right there. And don't start denying. You know you did it. You know you had a crimper. I had a crimper. I did this horrible, horrible style to my hair. Who thought this was a good idea, by the way? As if all the teasing and blow drying and hair spraying wasn't bad enough, lets press our tresses between two searing hot metal plates to give it a jagged edge, tilled road look. Genius!

This is not to be confused with scrunching. Scrunching hair isn't bad. When your hair is curly, it's one of your style options. This is crimping. This is bad. Bad, bad, bad.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 74

Jellies!!!

Oh yeah. What could be cooler in the summertime than plastic shoes? Nothing says hip like sweaty foot stank. Yet you weren't cool unless you had a pair of jellies. The more you had, and the more colors they were, the cooler you were. I'll admit it. I had a lone, clear pair. Obviously low on the cool scale but on there nonetheless.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 69

Stirrup Pants!!!

Horrifying, aren't they? Just remember, they're, like 4 inches away from being those leggings everyone wears today. Those originally came about 6 years after these things so don't go thinking there's a big gap. You're horribly, horribly wrong.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 62

Swatch Watches!!!

If you didn't have like a million of these and wore them all at once, you so weren't cool. The goal was the collect as many Swatch Watches as humanly possible. And while they're made from pretty cheap plastic, they weren't cheap to buy so it was another branding thing back in the day. Still, I wouldn't mind owning a few. Then again I'm just tacky like that.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 49

While Aquanet isn't something that can be outright worn, enough of it was used on a single do to starch a suit stiff. We can thank Aquanet for such styles as . . .

and

Thanks, Aquanet.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 37

Bracelets!!!

Not like the concept of a bracelet was born in the 80s and it's not like they're not worn anymore. But I'm talking about those huge, gaudy, loud, plastic bracelets. You know the ones. They clanked whenever you moved your arm. And let's not forget those rubber bracelets that Madonna made so popular. You had to have those wedged into your arm somewhere too. And you weren't cool unless you had at least 6 inches of arm covered in bracelets. For sure.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 30

Acid Wash!!!

This was one of the uber-styles in the 80s. Horrid, isn't it? Yet it's coming back . . . Whether you wore the style like a denim cowboy or in those jeans that were full-on mom-style (like 18 inch inseam that slimmed at the ankle) with funky-colored tube socks rolled over them, you were at the apex of IT. And they were soooooooooooo easy to make too. All you needed was bleach and a bath tub and maybe a safety mask and you were good to go. This is one style I don't understand coming back. It was absolutely ugly then and, well, it's still really ugly now. Blech.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 23

L.A. GEARS!!!

You just weren't cool if you didn't have a pair of L.A. Gears. While this fashion lasted into the 90s, it was made in the 80s. Even if you didn't actually work out, you had to have a pair. It was only right. And pair them with maybe six pairs of multi-colored socks. That was just the epitome of hip, right there.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 14

Totally Awesome Friendship Pins!

I so had these things all over my backpack. My friends and I made dozens and dozens of them. So much easier to make than the bracelets (although we made those too). Granted you had to have a special kind of patience for these what with the little beads that got all over the place. Check out this website for funky ideas on how to make your own with some pretty cool designs! We never had the special designs. Just the random blobs of color.

80s Awesomeness! ~ 2

This week for 80s Awesomeness! it's--

LEG WARMERS!!!

You know you had at least one pair of these totally awesome, rad, pointless things. But OMG I had to have them!!! If I remember correctly, I didn't wear them as fashion, just for gymnastics. I swear. Really. I was too young to bank on the fashion side.

I think now, if girls do wear them, they're over those stab-you-in-the-eye high heels as a sort of throw back fashion statement but this was a pretty common way to wear them back in the day. I guess they kind of acted like reverse socks and had dual functionality in keeping your legs warm in the winter but I'm sure they'd get pretty itchy in the summer. But seriously, you were such a loser if you didn't have a single pair of leg warmers! I mean, why wouldn't you? Look at them!