Clothes of the Eighties, Clothes Beginning with B

The eighties saw a wider variety and quicker change in clothing styles than currently. That's why I thought this list would be fun for others to read and add to, so feel free to send me any suggestions. Years are approximated, since some fashions tended to last longer in some regions opposed to other regions.

This page currently edited by: Dagwood. Past editor: Banasy

Clothes beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]
 
Name Sex What When Description
B.U.M. Equipment Both Clothing mid to late 80s B.U.M. Equipment made some pretty sweet sweatshirts back in the day, I remember one that was already printed with the logos inside out and was supposed to look like you were wearing it inside out...very cool
BASS Shoes M/F shoes Late 80's The BASS shoes that were a slightly more modern version of a Top Sider. The trick with these shoes was to curl the laces on both sides so that you slipped into them and you had 2 little curlicues on either side. They were a unisex shoe.
Back to the Future sunglasses both accessories 1980's These were funky glasses that you could get at Pizza Hut.
Bad Boy Club sneakers by surfgear male shoes mid 80,s A high top Keds looking sneaker with the BadBoy Club logo patch on each one. Mine are black with yellow skull and cross bones all over them. I have never seen any other pair on kicks like these, in fact, a guy offered me $200.00 a mall to take them off my feet. I hope I was smart by putting them away and keeping them to this day.
Baggies Female Clothes 1981 Before M.C. Hammer, jeans fitted at waist, hips and ankles, HUGE in the legs.
Ballerina style shoes female shoes 1980's Ballerina style shoes typically worn with scrunched down socks made a brief appearance during the early to mid 80s, probably during the Flashdance Era.
Balloon Sneakers Female Sneakers 1980s They were Thom McAnn sneakers. The most popular stock #'s were for white ones 79816 and for the black ones 79820. They had no support but were comfortable anyhow. Fayva shoes came out with a sneaker that was similar called Candies but I don't believe sold as well. The balloon sneakers I believe sold for $14.99.
Banana Clips Female Accessories 1986 Long, banana-shaped hair clip. They have two sections, with teeth, like a comb, that come together and clip around hair. Ususally worn verticaly down the back of head, with all hair except the big bangs pulled back. Worked best if your hair was thick and curly. Still seen ocassionally
Banana Republic Both Clothing 1985 Clothing that had kind of a rugged safari look
Bandana Male Accessories 1983-86 Besides the ones around the knee, guys used to also roll these up and wear them like a big necklace. They also used to tie them around one or both wrists, sometimes over the hand area as well.
Bandanas tied around knee area Male Accessories 198? Brightly colored bandanas tied in a knot around the leg.
Bangle Bracelets F Jewelry Early - Mid 1980's This plastic bracelet was a kind of slip-on bracelet in a wavy shape that circled the wrist with. The coolest girls would wear 2 at a time on each wrist, in colors that matched your outfit, of course!
Bangle bracelets Female Accessories 1983-84 These came in sets, 10-15 of them in a pack. They were made of lightweight metal and came in goldtone, silvertone and colors. You wore them all at once, halfway up your forearm.
Barbara Hunter Female Boogie Oogie Funky Chunky Charm Necklace 1980's I saw one of those great charm necklaces with the plastic charms on ebay. It was in a box with the label Boogie Oogie Funky Chunky Charm Necklace. Back in the 80's they were so cute. I know that I want almost everyone of those charms that they made back then. They also made an album for them that is super rare by Imperial Toys. You clipped them on the inside and there was a flap to put over them in order to protect them.
Baroque-Style Clothing (Prince Look) Male/Female Clothes Early-Mid 80s 17-18th Century Lace Long-Shirts/Trenchcoats/Heels. Very popular in the gay club scene at one point in time. Often veiwed as "risque" by the mainstream.
Barrettes With Ribbons Female Hair Accessories 1981-1982 Girls wove colorful skinny ribbons through metal barrettes, tied them off, and left long strands of ribbon hanging off the barrette before cutting the ribbon. You'd usually wear two barrettes like this, one on each side, and the ribbons often had the same color scheme as your outfit.
Baseball jersey both shirts 82 They were basically a white t-shirt with contrasting color 3/4 sleeves; your last name printed in block letters on the back, worn with your red tag levi's and boat shoes.
Bass Chukka Shoes Unisex Shoes 1983-199? These shoes were the most popular at my high school. You could get "knock offs" but you weren't cool unless you had the Bass brand. They were a brown moccasin with a rope shoe lace. Don't forget to put a knot in each of the laces instead of tying them normally.
Bat-wing Blouses Female Clothes Mid To Late 80s These were blouses available in any colour - the brighter the better. They had sleeves which started at around the waist and were tapered at the forearms (resembling bat's wings). You also had to buy one long enough to put a belt around the waist and it usually came with a big bow or some costume jewelry.
Batik Female tops and skirts 1983 A fabric made in India (I think?) really light weight cotton, usually had prints of birds and/or flowers on it. Some skirts shaped down into a V-shape and had fringes at the end.
Bayou Jacque Male Tee shirt 80s Made fun of the Panama Jack line of clothing. Purchased in New Orleans, showed an alligator sitting in a wicker chair wearing a white suit and hat like Panama Jack. Thought it was funny.
Beat it Jackets male clothing 1980's Worn mostly in the black community. Leather jackets made popular by the one and only, Michael Jackson in such music videos as "Beat It" and "Thriller". They came about up to the waist, and at the collar it was a strap that you snapped together if you zipped it up. They were also worn with both sleeves rolled up.
Beer cap badges Both Tie-pin/jacket badge 1980 - 81 Beer caps carefully removed from bottle so they were flat (before twist off caps), with a safety pin attached to the back with glue or wax. Worn on your long skinny "punk" tie, or as a badge on your jacket. Gave teachers fits because they "promoted" underage drinking.
Bellbottoms Female Clothes 1986 The 60s fashion that seems to make a comeback every decade, basically the pants flair out towards the bottom, they weren't as big as their 70s counterparts though.
Ben Davis Male Work Shirts 81-86 These were short-sleeved, zipper-front shirts with tight, vertical blue and white stripes and two flat chest pockets. The original Ben Davis' have the distincive red, "grinning gorilla" logo-tag on the left chest pocket. One would associate these shirts with service station attendants or grease monkeys (auto mechanics). The Ben Davis shirt was normally matched with white, black or blue Levis 501s and Wallabys. The wearing of a long sleeved black or white "Long Johns" thermal underwear shirt underneath was not at all uncommon.
Benetton Rugby Female Big oversized rugby 1985-1987? Came in blue and white and green and white - worn over leggins w/slouch socks (EG Smiths) over...when it was warmer out - the sleeves would get cut off of the rugby's for a summer look!
Bennetton Shirts Female Shoes 1984 They were green and white or blue and white striped. The stripes were really wide and in the center was a rectangular patch that said "benetton" with the little Benetton logo. Benetton also did t-shirts that either spelled out "benetton" across the chest or were a solid color with the logo on the chest.
Bermuda Bags Female Accessories Early-Mid 80s I had one in junior high (roughly 1983) that came with 3 removable, reversable covers that buttoned on and off (in other words, you got 6 different purses out of one - altho' everyone knew it was the same purse so you weren't really fooling or impressing your friends - just matching outfits). The colors I had for the purse were: solid navy/reversed to navy plaid; solid kelly green/reversed to preppie pink with kelly green trim (preppie pink is a hot pink, not quite neon; was a big color for Izod shirts too); and a solid red/reversed to a red plaid.
Bermuda Shorts Both Shorts 1989ish Bermuda shorts rocked! They came right to the knee and came in a marvel (at the time) of illuminous colours...the brighter the better!
Best Friends Necklace Female Accessories mid-80's Necklaces that came two to a set. A heart that says "Best Friends" (two words, Friends on the bottom) "broken" in the middle, so one side says:
Be
Fri
and the other says:
st
ends
Beth F Spudz McKenzie T-shirts mid-80s/late-80s Everyone had at least 1 t-shirt with the Budweiser dog.
Beverly Hills Polo Club female shirts 1984-1985 The t-shirts (all colors, usually pink or green) had "Beverly Hills" above the polo symbol and "Polo Club" below it.
Bi-Level Haircut Hair Both 1983 A hairstyle worn by both men and women, with neat, short fronts, cut above the ears (at first steeply angled by ears; later more horizontally cut above the ears), and an abrupt drop-off behind the ears from about 4 inches to two feet long or longer all of the way across the back. Back was also frequently permed in either sex--a part of the androgyny movement of the early 80s.
Bicycle shorts Both Clothing 198? Skin tight and bright shorts, about knee length.
Big Bangs Female Hair 1988 Part of bangs were teased to amazing heights, the higher the better, then moussed gelled or sprayed to within an inch of its life. The very front part was curled under on the forehead.
Big Belts Female accessories 80's Big belts worn around the waist of a baggy top/jumper was definitley the in thing!
Big Blazers Female Clothing 1981 Very preppie, usually worn with shoulder pads.
Big Earrings Female Accessories 198? Large and dangly, all styles.
Big John Jeans Male & Female Denim jeans, jackets, and shirts 1983 - early 90's Japanese jeans
Big Socks Female Scrunched Socks Mid 1980s Tanned legs and canvas sneakers, visually tied together with giant, scrunched cotton socks. White and bright, contrasting colors were favored.
Big Winter Coats with Sleeves That Unzipped Both Clothing Early 80s Down (or whatever)filled winter coats that had zippers at the sholders,when you unzipped them the sleaves came off and you had a down (or whatever) filled vest.
Big sweaters Female Clothing 1980's belted with a v-style belt on the outside
Big, baggy 'MC Hammer' pants Male Clothing Late 80s Big and puffy on thighs tight on legs, usualy metalic colored
Big, baggy socks Female Clothing 198? 2 pairs at a time in contrasting colors pushed down
Biker Shorts both spandex shorts mid to late 80's These were spandex shorts that bikers wear, but at this time we would wear them just to be cool. My sister and I had great ones that were all black with black and white checkerboard pattern on the outside of the legs. They came in all kinds of colors and if you had them, you just felt soooo cool :)
Billabong Guys And Girls Jackets 1980's These were those cool multi-colored corduroy jackets that everyone HAD to own.
Birkenstocks unisex shoes 1975-1992 Cork-soled suede 2-buckle hippie sandals, came in many colors, usually paired with "crazy" socks or toe socks, most popular among hippies, heads/"druggies", and the older "hello Kitty" crowd. Phenomenon known as "rocks-in-Stocks" occurred when walking on unpaved terrain, "sloshy-socks" when wet. Maintainence required frequent re-corking of soles, creative washing to remove foot stench.
Bizarre hair colors, neons Both Hair 1983 Inspired by the punks of the 80s
Black Ballet Slippers Female Shoes 1981- Black ballet slipper-like shoes. We used to wear them with stirrup pants.
Black High Tops Both Shoes 1989 If you didn't have a pair of black high tops ...of course they tied up and then they had velcro at the top....you just weren't cool..at least at my school.
Black and White Checked Clothes Both Clothes 1980- Popularized by ska bands such as Madness and The Rudys usually wore this style of clothing. Checkered shoes were a staple of the 80's also, popularized by Sean Penn's character in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
Black ice-climbing sun glasses Male Accessories 198? Leather shields on side, bendable ear wraps at end of arm
Bleached Blonde Hair, all but the tips Female Hair 1980's The lead singer of Berlin could be seen with this hair style, usually straight hair was done in this style.
Blue Eye Shadow and Colored Mascara Female Accessories 1980's Thick, almost painted on, blue eye shadow is worn with any outfit, at any point in the day.
Blutchers Both Shoes 1983 The coolest blutchers came from LL Bean. They were brown leather tie shoes that girls would twist the shoelaces of into curly pig tails and guys would leave untied. Could be worn in the summer with bermuda shorts and no socks or with socks and any style pants in the winter. These were best when completely worn out.
BoJo Male / Female Jeans Late 80's They were imitation Z Cavaricci pants. I'm pretty sure that was the name. They were like the Kmart Imitation brand for kids who couldn't afford or didn't want to spend the ridiculously priced money for the Z Cavaricci's. Good luck! You've got your work cut out for you on this one! Tommy!
Boat shoes both shoes 1980s Dark brown boat shoes with flat leather laces which always came undone. Later, lighter brown boat shoes came out with round laces that you tied "PIGTAILS" at the ends.
Bob Smith Male Madonna-style bracelets 1985 In 1985, everyone (girls) were wearing these up to their elbows! Madonna started this trend after one of her music videos. These rubber bracelets became one of the biggest fads of that decade.
Body Glove Female Clothes 198? ?
Body Glove Female Clothes 1986 Black knee length bicycle short with green stripe or hot pink with white stripe.
Boiler Suit Both Clothing mid to late 80's White, Sellafield looking canvas boiler suit. White leather, silver buckle embellished belt with white stilletoes for a sophisticated night out or orange belt and orange stilletoes for a more funky look! Khaki, airman material boiler suit worn with a yellow waistcoat, red belt and red shoes.
Bolero Jacket Female Clothes 1980's Short to the waist jacket with 3/4 length sleaves, ie..like what a bullfighter wore
Bolo Tie Both Accesory 1985 Bolo ties with a white dress shirt buttoned to the top were big with waver boys and girls at my school, often worn with a vest and giant, ratted hair a la Robert Smith.
Bon Jovi Curls Both Hair Related 1986 - 1988 Big, wavy, long hair: Curled and colored to resemble Jon Bon Jovi during his "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" haydays.
Bondage Trousers Male/Female Plaid Pants With Zippers Sewn Out Of Order 1985 To Today Plaid pants with zippers sewn out of order and sort of suspenders hanging down from the back. Worn by alot of 80's punk bands and still today by Rancid and The Casualties and alot of REAL punk bands.
Bongo Jeans Female Slim Fit Jeans 1986 Tight fitting jeans that were tappered at the leg. They came in different colors the most popular were the acid washed. Mostly females wore them.
Bonjour Jeans Female Clothing 1981 - 1983 Designer jeans from a company that today makes cheap women's clothing for discount stores. They had a pattern on the pockets that looked like three spokes but was actually a "U" portion over a "T" portion.
Boundary Waters Female Sweatshirts 1985-ish Sweatshirts in different colors with the Boundary Waters logo (row of ducks) on the front. You could get them from Hudson's. Very popular when I was in Jr. High in Michigan.
Bow Shoes Female Shoes 198? Little wedge/slipper shoes with the little bow on the top of the foot. Came in navy blue w/white bow, or burgundy leather.
Bows Female Accessories All Eightes Big, ridiculous gargantuan bows either on top of the head or at the nape of the neck.
Boxer Shorts female For Girls late 80's I remember wearing boxers either under your skirt or by themselves. We wore them low on our hips to cover our thighs, heaven forbid someone see your bare thigh!!
Boz style hair cut Male Hair 198? short crew cut on top, and long in the back.
Braided Hair Female Hair 1984 Taking a chunk of hair and french-braiding it up and over the other side of the head
Breezin' Jackets M/F waist-length ski jacket 1980-1982 A pull-over ski jacket that went to just below the waist and had a zipper that went from the collar to mid-chest. Breezin' Jackets were typically a solid dark color (most often blue or black) with a three-color horizontal band across the chest and back. These were required articles of clothing for popular middle-schoolers in colder climates during 1981.
British Knights male high-top sneakers 1987-88 The cool boys in my school wore black and white high top BK's.
British Walkers Female Shoes 1982 British Walkers were a two toned color suede shoe with tassles on the front. They were popular in New York..Guys sported them with Kangols, Mark Necks and a pair of Cazel frames. What happend to British Walkers?
Brittania Bell Bottoms M/F bell-bottom jeans 1980-1982 Tight in the waist and butt, but gigantically wide from the hips to the ankles, Brittanias were the jeans of choice for many teenagers from 1980 to 1982. The look was further enhanced by a wide-handled plastic comb sticking out of a back pocket, feathered hair, and a skin-tight Izod polo shirt.
Brittish Flag T-Shirt Male Clothing 1983 Sleeveless T-Shirt poularaized by Joe Elliot of Def Leppard. He wore this shirt exclusively during the 1983 "Pyromania" tour.
Brooch, Oversized & Rhinestoned Both accessories 1985-'86 Usually worn pinned just under the collar of a long-sleeved, button-up shirt. Very early-goth/-alternative. Robert Smith wannabes (of both sexes!) worn 'em.
Bubble Dress F Clothes 1986-8ish The dresses that had a big bubble for a skirt over a straight skirt never longer than just over the knee lenghth. Mine was pink with black designs on the shirt part and had a low v neck with what looked like a tank underneath but all 10lbs of dress was one piece! I also had another pink one with a high mock turtle neck thing that kinda folded down.
Bubble Skirt Female Clothes 1987- A skirt with a built in slip that the hem of the skirt was sewen into. The slip portion was shorter then the skirt so that when worn the skirt would bubble out and back in.
Bubble top female shirt 1989 It was those ultra cool shirts that came in a multitude of colors...had elastic along the top edge and along the waist. It was to be worn off the shoulders and hit your stomach about two inches above the belly button.
BubbleGum Jeans Female Jeans 1984-88 The tightest stretch jean ever made, were usually ribbed in light blue or pink and were worn only by the skinniest girls in the neighborhood.
Bubblegum Jeans Female Clothes Mid eighties Jeans that were really small with ridges running down them. They were made of elastic denim that stretched to normal size when you put them on.
Buckle Bags Female Hand Bag 1982ish Came in a few colours. Vinyl. Most popular was black and white. A smallish bag with two big buckles on the front with little pockets. The only purpose of this handbag was to hang keyrings/keychains all over it. The bag had it ends folded down with press studs and a large metal zip.
Buckle boots male boots 1980s We in the goth scene used to wear these boots with really pointy toes with lots of straps and buckles a bit of a heel on them. Usually a chain going under the boot and a strap over and across the back... way evil looking
Buffallo skirt Female Denim And Cotton Or Net Skirt 1980's Originated at Flip of Hollywood and popularised by such stars as Madonna and Cindy Lauper, the Buffallo Skirt was a Denim triangle waist and various fabric bottom varing from cotton, fishnet, to neck ties and scarfs. Worn with a t-shirt and the anklesock and heel or shortboot combo this was a very 80's melrose and club scene look.
Bugle Boy Male Clothes 1988 Verrrry popular in the late 80s among the young men. Bugle Boy made shirts, jeans, cotton pants, and jackets.
Bullet Belts Both Clothing 82-86 Originally, was a spent machine gun belt (the bullets clip together with metal pieces - so someone would gather the brass and the clips and reform the belt as it would be fed into a machine gun) worn around the waist, with the part where the bullets would be facing down. You could open same at any time by bending the belt against itself, causing the clip under the most stress to pop its shell casing out. Then they appeared with bullets attached, but the ammunition wasn't live. Eventually chrome versions of same were manufactured and sold. They were heavy, and pricey, but VERY much a part of early to mid 80s metal. Worn by Hellhammer, Celtic Front, and a host of others.
Bullethole Jeans both clothing late 80s Jeans (acid washed of course!) covered with little holes all over. As a bonus, they'd eventually fray and you'd have extremely cool shredded up jeans.
Bundeswehr Tank Top both Tank Top 1980's 1980's West German Army surplus tank tops with a patch on the front that says "Bundeswehr".
Bushy Eyebrows female Cosmetics 1980-88 First seen on Brooke Shields and then on Madonna, the anti-tweezer look was prevalent in film, music videos and in high schools usually coupled with brightly colored eye shadow on the brow bone and lid in contrasting colors like yellow and blue.
Bustier Female Clothes 1985-88 This was a big part of the madonna look. They were lacy, boned tops witha built in bra. They were strapless and usually came up a little over the midriff.
Button Covers Female Accessory Late 80s So fashionable. Covered up your unsightly blouse buttons by inserting the flat bottom under the button and then snapping the decorative top over it. The button cover came in a wide variety of styles. I had at least ten of them (all different) and sometimes wore them all at the same time (!). Cameos were popular, but they came in brushed gold, fake pearl and other designs. I still have mine...just in case they make a comeback. Hahaha.
Button Front Painters Shirts Men Clothes 198? Mens button front shirt with little straps on each sleeve to hold up the rolled clump of fabric on the sleeve.
Button Purses Female Accessories 1982 Purses which had wooden handles and buttons at the top so that you could change out the cloth covering of the purse to suit your mood...very popular in the early eighties.
Button Your Fly T-Shirts Both Clothing late 80's Levi's shirt that said "Button your Fly" across the entire front or back.
Button-Fly Jeans Both Clothes 198? Levi's introduces the 501
Button-Up Foldover Jeans Female Clothes 1985-87 These were usually multicolored jeans that buttoned up to a triangle as high above your belly button, and then you were suppose to fold them over your zipper. Usually worn with tucked in oxford.
Button-down Shirt With Long Tail Female Clothes 1985-87 Just a regular button-up shirt, but with a longer "tail" in the back than in the front (often the "tail" was split into two pieces, like a tuxedo.) Worn untucked, of course, usually with jeans. Popular colors were purple, mint green, yellow and pink. Often worn with those Madonna-inspired BIG hair bows in matching colors.
Button-down shirt with a belt over it Female clothes 1987-1989 A button-down shirt with a wide belt worn over it. Kinda made the shirt look like a dress.
Buttons Both Accessories 198? Big metal promotional buttons with photos of old and current, hip and has-been bands like Genesis, Led Zep, The Fixx, Duran Duran, The Who, Big Country, The Waitresses, Pink Floyd, and of course The Beatles. You could also get old tv shows or dumb jokes ("My Karma Ran Over My Dogma"). Worn many at a time on jackets or were pinned all over backpacks.


Clothes beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]

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