When you think of 1980’s fashion, you might think neon, shoulder pads, and big hair. But cyclical fashion has a funny way of bringing trends from decades past to the forefront in a new light. As fashion evolves, when we say a previous decade’s fashion is trending once again, what we mean is that the looks of now harken back to silhouettes and details of the past. While there are the occasional pieces that remain the same throughout time, typically, we’re facing a new twist on an old classic. As you become an expert at understanding and decoding trends, you’ll see referential looks time and time again. 

This phenomenon makes 1980 fashion much more palatable today. The 1980s have been calling back to us, and we’re getting nostalgic for a time of pop music and big hair. Let’s take a look at how 1980s trends have evolved in this new era. 

The Drop Waist

Three words. Drop waist everything. With adjacently-trending Y2K fashion, lower waistlines have become all the rage (Sorry, this long-torsoed girl will never give up her high-waisted jeans). What follows is a trend of drop-waist skirts and dresses, often in diamond-shaped and pleated silhouettes. Think 80s prom dress with a bodice that extends beyond the natural waistline. Adorable. More casual silhouettes of the drop waist dress appeared all over in the 80s, with style icons like Princess Di. These dresses often dawned floral patterns and loose, shift-style bodices. The 2020s version of this look is much more form-fitting and offered in neutral hues.

Bows Everywhere

If you’re a trend follower, it’ll come as no surprise to you that bows are on this list. Bows in hair, bows on dresses, bows on shoes, you name it. Bows, in some sense, have always been around in particular sects of fashion, particularly for little girls. In the 1980s, bows came into the mainstream for the modern woman, appearing in hair, and fastened on clothing, in larger than life sizes. Remember that 80s prom dress I asked you to recall? Oh yeah, you betcha there were bows. The 2020s bow is much more understated, but remains the hero of any outfit. Tafida is out, and a simple silk ribbon is in. It’s a more demure approach to the 1980s trend, but it certainly evokes that same hyper-feminine attitude. Bows are adorned in the same ways, on hair, on shoes, and, as trends evolve, in new ways, like on phone cases, purses, even stationary and candles! Are you partaking in the bow trend?

Lots of Volume

If you’re watching the celebs hit red carpets, you might have seen lots of big, voluminous hair. Think Miley Cyrus at the Grammys. In recent years we’ve seen the return of the 1970s curtain bang, and the resurgence of the 1990s layered look. It’s clear that volume is in. Modern takes of 80s trends will extend into this year, as fluffy, voluminous hair, and shaggy styles like the modern mullet remain on trend. We’re most likely not going to be walking about with Miley’s full-on hair sprayed ‘do (never say never), but volume is here to stay, and nothing says volume like 1980’s hair trends. 

Bubble Hems

Volume is also a theme for clothing, cropping up in bubble-hems, a budding trend for 2024 skirt and dresses calling back to the “bigger is best” mentality of the 1980s. Urban Outfitters, Anthropology, even ASOS are taking to this trend with mini and maxi skirts and dresses in this decade’s usual trending hues. In the 1980s, the drop-waist bubble skirt was all the rage with pop-princesses and fashion girls. The bubble-hem made a resurgence in the 2000s as the must–have mini-skirt. The trendy hemline can teach us a masterclass in the combining and dividing of trends throughout the decades. A fashion mitosis, if you will. The drop-waist bubble hem skirt has been revived as two separate 2020s trends. And the resurgence of the bubble hem in the 2000s harkens to the Y2K aesthetic that has become the mainstream trend of the past few years, combining two decades into one lasting trend. How cool is that? 

Puff Sleeves

Along the same lines as the bubble hem, puff-sleeves have been echoing the same yearning for volume we’ve been experiencing recently. The puff-sleeve trend has been around for several years now, in varying shapes and sizes. The 1980s were all about the puff-sleeve, from formal gowns to button-up blouses, a large sleeve appeared just about everywhere at one point of the decade or another. In the 2020s, those sleeves look about the same. From dresses to trendy tops, puff sleeves may find themselves attached to new necklines and in new, more neutral fabrics. 

Polka Dots

In terms of pattern, polka dots call back to the pattern-obsessed clothing of the 1980s. While the 2020s have been a constant of neutral shades and solid-fabrics, those same 1980s polka dots have returned in more modern silhouettes. Big and small, most often black and white, polka dots call back to that dress in Pretty Woman and some Cindy Lauper realness. Yet again, polka dots might actually bring you back further, to the 1950s, to a pin-up style dress and victory curls. As trends evolve, patterns typically remain relatively the same and are applied to new styles unique to that decade. While we’re not seeing the florals of the 1980s, we are seeing the dotted-pattern on more simple and elegant silhouettes of this decade. 

As trends come and go, it’s important to remember that they’re always referential, recalling a time from the past with a new-spin. It’s often the case that trends of the past are new takes on an even older trend. Wearing history in new ways is not only exciting for the fashion girls, it’s a good indicator of what might come next. Do you like the 1980s trends you’ve seen lately?