So first up, the trend for 80s clothes. When veteran French label Balmain unveiled their Spring/Summer 09 collection, they basically opened a gaping void in the time-space continuum and sent the Western world back to the 80s (no one seems to mind though). In fact, the trend has been taken up by other similarly influencial designers. Alexander Wang has been channeling the 80s vibe as far back as 2008 but his Spring/Summer 09 collection also hit the right moment to turn a niche appreciation into a full-scale phenomenon. Have a look on vogue.com to see the full collections.

Balmain’s acid wash skinny jeans, taking some serious influence from the original 80s penchant for acid washed denim.

Wow. Just wow…

Alexander Wang’s sheer black embroidered dress is a clear homage to 80s cult film ‘Vamp’ starring mental 80s icon, Grace Jones.

This has permeated from high-couture fashion right through to the highstreet. Crop tops, shoulder-pads, double-breasted blazers, rolled up sleeves, acid wash jeans, high waists and lace – all making a definite comeback.

Socially, it seems logical that parallels would be made between 2009 and the decade of excess. The era of yuppies, Thatcher and economic prosperity suddenly gave way to recession in 1987, the largest one-day percentage dive in stock market history. The same could easily be said of the current economic climate.

Another reason for the sudden interest in 80s clothes could be that after twenty years, the 80s can now be ‘officially’ viewed as vintage. I say ‘officially’ because there doesn’t seem to exist a conclusive way of defining  the classification of vintage clothes. I once interviewed Hannah Turner Voakes, who owns a vintage boutique in Shoreditch, and asked her how she classified her stock.

“I would define vintage as anything that is less than a hundred years old but more than 20 – more than a hundred is considered to be antique clothing and I personally believe that 20 years is the right amount of time to help people recognize that you are wearing clothes that you have purposefully chosen, rather than just being out of date fashion wise… I don’t think people need to be anal about classifying vintage-one should wear what one likes whatever its age but for me, the 80’s is definitely the latest decade that I would stock”
(Hannah Turner Voakes, 2009)

Whatever the reason, the rise of this trend has created more interest in original, vintage 80s clothes. Why spend £2,000 on a Balmain jacket (in fantasy land) when you can buy a unique and far more affordable vintage piece? The beauty of vintage shopping and swap sites like Covertcandy, is in purchasing something embued with nostalgia, individualism and credibility. A highstreet ‘copy’ is somehow not quite the same.

My advice is to always opt for the vintage piece. It may be a little harder to hunt down – by its very nature, your not likely to find these things on the highstreet – but it’ll no doubt be cheaper and better value (the quality of workmanship has decreased in recent yeasr but thats another blog post for another time…). So, happy shopping vintage magpies. Get yourselves an original 80s denim shirt, rip off the sleeves and bask in the glory of your fashionability.

Comments, suggestions, thoughts and theories always welcome.