1980s Women

The 1980s began with the highly-anticipated second instalment of the Star Wars saga, “The Empire Strikes Back,” followed closely by Steven Spielberg’s “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Both movies not only ensured stardom for actor Harrison Ford, they established blockbuster franchises as the new measure of success in the film industry. This “bigger is better” mantra became a prominent theme of the 80s, a decade in which business routinely experienced hostile takeovers, buyouts and mergers, a decade marked by consumerism, perhaps best summed up by stockbroker Gordon Gekko’s famous “Greed is good” line in the 1987 movie “Wall Street.”

Notably, all three of the aforementioned movies featured male protagonists. In the early part of the 1980s, women were still struggling to succeed in a “man’s world.” In fashion, this upwardly-mobile drive was personified by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Thatcher established the “power dressing” look, with tailored suits, no-nonsense court shoes and handbags that became so synonymous with Thatcher’s political style as to be included in the Oxford English Dictionary, where “to handbag” is defined as ruthless or insensitive actions taken by a woman politician.

One lesson learned from the “power dressing” style would persist throughout the decade: image was everything. This lesson was taken to heart by the younger generation of the 80s, powered by the debut of MTV, which forever changed the way youth evaluates music. With the advent of music videos, the style of the artist became as significant as the music itself. Personalized style became a necessary component to success. This resulted in a hodge-podge of fashion trends, from acid-washed jeans and torn sweatshirts to shoulder pads and parachute pants. Madonna’s ever-changing styles during the 1980s exemplified the era’s eclectic fashion.

The 1980s was also the era which brought “yuppies” to the fore, the upwardly mobile young professionals seeking to enjoy all the perks of the good life. Jay McInerney encapsulated the lifestyle with his book, Bright Lights, Big City. By night, young professionals might be found indulging in the hedonism of 1980s club life, but by day they portrayed themselves as serious business men and women, dressed in a conservative “prep school” attire. Brooks Brothers and Polo Ralph Lauren designs popularized the preppy look, while retail clothing stores like The Gap mass-marketed it.

By the end of the 1980s, women had secured their place in the professional world, as a family’s ability to maintain a middle-class lifestyle became increasingly dependent upon a two-income model. The end of the decade also brought access to the growing internet into more and more homes and offices, marking the beginning of the global economical and cultural changes that would come to the fore in the 1990s.