How to Make 80s Clothing

The 80s were a time of neon colors, layered socks, jelly shoes and acid wash jeans. It's no wonder that many people like to bring back 80s fashion when prepping for a costume or Halloween party. See how you can easily make 80s clothing out of items you might already have at home or can easily - and cheaply - be picked up at the store.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Oversized sweatshirt
• Brightly color socks
• Leggings
• Acid washed jeans
• Anything neon

How to Make 80s clothing

1. 

   To start your 80s outfit, consider what to wear on top first. One of the easiest items to make is an off the shoulder, oversized sweatshirt. This look was made popular in the movie Flashdance. To start, buy a sweatshirt in your preferred color (gray is best, or any bright or neon color will work). Make the head hole larger by cutting off the collar of the sweatshirt with scissors along with a bit of extra fabric. Consider making the sleeves shorter and looser by cutting off the cuffs as well. Wear a brightly colored sports bra or tank top underneath and layer the sweatshirt over it. Make sure one bare shoulder is showing. Another easy, and simple, idea is to do a type of "preppy" look simply by tying a sweater around your shoulders. This was another popular style in the 80s (for both men and women).

2. 
   Leg warmers

   For your bottom half, there are a few options. Consider a pair of opaque tights or leggings. And don't forget about stirrup pants! To add some flair, add either some brightly colored scrunch socks (layer them for a better 80s affect), or cut of the foot part of a sock to create some "instant" leg warmers. If you want more clothing, try throwing on a short jean skirt over a pair of leggings - miniskirts were all the rage in the 80s.

3. Another option for your bottom half is a pair of acid wash jeans. Acid wash jeans are probably easy to find in thrift stores, however, if you want to do it yourself, the process is simple but takes patience and observation. First, fill a clean mop bucket with bleach. Put your jeans in the bucket for a short time, just until the bleach has absorbed. Take them out and wring the extra bleach out of them. Take some rocks and scrub the jeans with them continuously until the bleach has really been rubbed down into the jeans. This should give your jeans the stonewashed look that was popular in the 80s. After you've unsatisfactorily stone washed your jeans, put them in the wash with other white items you're OK with bleaching. Dry as normal.

4. 

   For shoes, consider using an old pair of white Keds or even searching for a pair of jelly shoes that have recently become popular again. High-tops were also popular - either in all white or brightly colored styles. Try looking at some of the newer fashion-wear shoes by athletic companies. Many are bringing back the brightly colored styles of the 80s.

5. For jewelry, large, bold colors were popular. Consider a pair of large, brightly colored hoops (the thicker the better!) and a large beaded necklace in a fun color.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider looking at the fashion of 80s style icon Madonna. While the above steps give you a fairly easy and stereotypical 80s look, following some of the singer's cues might also give you some more original ideas.
• Shoulder pads added to a blazer was also a popular style for women.

[BrianBosboom]

on 11/30/2008 I would highly NOT RECOMMEND using these tips to Acid Wash your jeans. Unfortunately, I followed them, and this turned a pair of perfectly good Royal Blue pants, into ALL bleached. You should NOT FILL the bucket with bleach! This is way too much, and instead of getting the desired look of being lightly bleached here and there, it will kill all the color entirely. Rather, fill a big bowl of bleach, get a sponge in it, and dab here and there on the pants, bleaching it to your liking. If you do what is recommended here, you will completely bleach your pants, and have no control over the degree of "bleachitude" on them whatsoever. However, if you have a pair of pants you want turned entirely into a cream-ish white color, follow the steps provided in this article.

[BrianBosboom]

on 11/30/2008 I would highly NOT RECOMMEND using these tips to Acid Wash your jeans. Unfortunately, I followed them, and this turned a pair of perfectly good Royal Blue pants, into ALL bleached. You should NOT FILL the bucket with bleach! This is way too much, and instead of getting the desired look of being lightly bleached here and there, it will kill all the color entirely. Rather, fill a big bowl of bleach, get a sponge in it, and dab here and there on the pants, bleaching it to your liking. If you do what is recommended here, you will completely bleach your pants, and have no control over the degree of "bleachitude" on them whatsoever. However, if you have a pair of pants you want turned entirely into a cream-ish white color, follow the steps provided in this article.