International Journal of Costume and Fashion

The Korean Society of Costume (한국복식학회)
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U.S. Fashion Trends in the 1980s: Postmodern and Modern Styles of Dressing of Female College Students

  • Kim, Eundeok (Department of Retail Merchandising and Product Development, Florida State University) ;
  • Damhorst, Mary Lynn (Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, Iowa State University)
  • Received : 2013.11.16
  • Accepted : 2013.12.26
  • Published : 2013.12.31
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Abstract

The purposes of this study were to document the fashions adopted by young women in the United States in the 1980s and to explore if and how the dynamic shifts toward postmodernist values influenced those fashion trends. Fifteen U.S. women who were college students in the 1980s were interviewed for the study. In analysis of the data, we focused on social changes during the 1980s and the cultural impact of postmodernism vs. modernism as influential factors. Both postmodern and feminist ideas challenged the mainstream cultural framework of capitalism. U.S. women's styles and behaviors concerning dress reflected characteristics of postmodern consumption patterns, which include nostalgia, ethnic dress, androgyny, eclectic and novel clothing combinations, surprising or humorous appearance, and nonconformity. Despite the critique of conformity and conservatism in dress that had emerged in the 1960s and remained in at least minority or subversive trends, the importance of brand names and designer labels increased in mainstream fashion. This study helps us better understand the dynamics of fashion as it reflects societal and value changes in a transitional time in history.

Keywords

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