80s Excess

There was no guilt about being greedy in the 1980s. There was money to be made, money to be spent, and you had to look really, really good while you were spending it. The recession, which ended in 1982, left the United States with relatively high interest rates. The U.S. was spending far more than it was collecting in taxes, and as a result, borrowing heavily from other nations. In the mid-eighties, big business ruled the ideals. Materialism hit its peak, and yuppies (the young, upwardly mobile set) were living it up by night and getting fit by day. 
Excess, and then some, was the hallmark of the 1980s. Television shows such as Dynasty and Dallas, the main characters dripping jewels and oozing glamour, were extremely popular. Designer labels were a proclamation of success for the emerging Yuppie. Designers rushed to meet the demands of brand-conscious consumers by bringing couture to the department store. Power dressing was serious business. So was shopping. Many proudly proclaimed their love of indulgence via yellow Shopper on Board signs displayed in BMW windows.

Though shoes for dress and business wear retained the classic leather construction, there were a countless number of materials used for different types of footwear. Perhaps the greatest innovation came in the way of athletic footwear. The tennis shoe of the seventies had evolved into hundreds of different styles and brands, each with their own special construction. Air was added in the sole for comfort and shoes were ergonomically designed by podiatrists to give ultimate comfort and shock absorption. 

Women began demanding an alternative to high heels. The image of a power-suited woman in athletic shoes rushing off to work is quintessential 80s. Quotes such as "It's harder to climb the ladder of success in high heels" were taken seriously. Some women began dressing in mannish simplicity while attempting to shatter the glass ceiling. Flats and low-heeled shoes in muted colors and classic styles were popular. In contrast to the conservative business climate, the voice of color became louder in casual wear. There were no shy colors, be they primary or fluorescent. New Wave bands such as Culture Club featuring Boy George and mega stars such as Madonna and Michael Jackson encouraged in-your-face fashion. Moccasins, espadrilles, and other sorts of native shoes were reinvented using these new color palettes. Jellies, made of molded plastic in a variety of colors, were also a huge fad. Even mens' shoes weren't safe, as bright-hued Converse All Stars and patterned Vans (popularized by the film, Fast Times at Ridgemont High) became popular. 

Not much has been written about the 1980's, except that it was the Age of Excess. The 80s flourished with designer labels. It wasn’t what you were wearing, but who. The better the name, the more successful you must be. The key rule to remember for fashion, dress for success.


The Eighties - Women's Shoes

An ad for Dr. Martens which appeared in magazines in the late 1980s. The business and dress shoes for women were styled with classic lines and construction. The classic slingback court shoe was suited to the professional woman of the eighties. Chanel offered seven different variations of this shoe each season. Toes again became pointed, and the heels were slender throughout the decade. Loafers and man-styled oxford pumps were approved with tailored power suits. 

A return to classic shapes and colors and the new shoes and boots for leisurewear are the important aspects of eighties footwear. Designers began to blur boundaries between one type of footwear and another with beautifully sculpted heels on boots, and pumps that reached the ankle. 

The athletic shoe craze was not restricted to men. In 1980, a New York City Transit strike prompted thousands of women to don their running shoes and, high-heeled pumps in hand, walk to work. This phenomenon out-lasted the strike and, for most of the decade, one could see a woman in a perfectly tailored power suit wearing a pair of Reebok running shoes. 


The Eighties - Men's Shoes

For business, styles were conservative and classic. The oxford, brogue, and loafer were all popular, and usually appeared in standard colors such as black and browns and two tones. Slip on styles based on the Norwegian moccasins and desert boots were popular for leisurewear. 

Brand names were the all important style feature in this decade. Tennis shoes had to be the right brand at the right time, and young people often had more than a dozen pairs in the closet to meet the trend. In urban centers such as Detroit, teenagers were killing each other for the running shoes they wore. Young rappers wore tennis shoes not only for street wear, but for dance as well. Though athletic shoes were extremely popular, when Pierre Cardin or other non-sports names attempted to market the style, they failed. It was not the shoe, but the name on it that made it a hot item. 

Trends continued to be hard to follow because of the different groups that continued from the seventies. Yuppies, punks and rappers each made fashion trends their own by adding their different personal touches. 

The Doc Martens that were the anti-fashion uniform of the punk scene in the seventies were, in 1986, acceptable as streetwear for a wider more respectable, yet fashion conscious, youth. The Doc Marten remains a part of many young peoples wardrobe today.

The History of Shoes: Superstition

Rituals

When a young girl wanted to know who her future true love would be she was encouraged to put her shoes one across the other in the form of a "t" (or cross) as she went to her bed. Then the maiden recited the following: 

" I hope tonight my true love to see 
So I put my shoes in the form of a 'T'" 

Alternatively if there was a pear tree close by, she could walk backwards to the tree then circle it nine times. In both cases folklore would have us believe a vision of her true love wound then appear to her.