Note to admin: This is NOT a Decadology thread, it's purpose is not to debate on what year is what, but to debate how fashions, pop culture has changed...

If you say the early and late 80s are so-different in terms of fashion.etc, can you point out the main differences between a typical street scene in 1981 and 1989? In other words between the era from Kramer vs Kramer to Fast Times, to the era of Jump Street, Karate Kid II, Jump Street.etc. What differences would you notice in fashion, slang, how the cars looked etc.?

Note to admin: This is NOT a Decadology thread, it's purpose is not to debate on what year is what, but to debate how fashions, pop culture has changed...

If you say the early and late 80s are so-different in terms of fashion.etc, can you point out the main differences between a typical street scene in 1981 and 1989? In other words between the era from Kramer vs Kramer to Fast Times, to the era of Jump Street, Karate Kid II, Jump Street.etc. What differences would you notice in fashion, slang, how the cars looked etc.?


I think (from pictures of my family around 1989), there were more new/renovated buildings and fancy stores, more big box stores, and newer cars. And less people with moustaches  ;D.

I think (from pictures of my family around 1989), there were more new/renovated buildings and fancy stores, more big box stores, and newer cars. And less people with moustaches  ;D.


Oh yeah, I can most whole-heartedly relate to the moustache thing. I remember few men wearing moustaches in the early 90s (much more than today, though) - nothing compared to the 70s/very early 80s look. Hair was probably a bit more bouffant as well (Hair grew to its biggest about1984). Cars seemed surprisingly similar between the two ages - alot of cars in about 1974 actually looked quite 80s to me (in movies like Stepford Wives, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - both set in 1973-74). That was something that really astounded me.

Oh yeah, I can most whole-heartedly relate to the moustache thing. I remember few men wearing moustaches in the early 90s (much more than today, though) - nothing compared to the 70s/very early 80s look. Hair was probably a bit more bouffant as well (Hair grew to its biggest about1984). Cars seemed surprisingly similar between the two ages - alot of cars in about 1974 actually looked quite 80s to me (in movies like Stepford Wives, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore - both set in 1973-74). That was something that really astounded me.


Also, there were more new office buildings in the less "glass tower" style by 1989...just more development in general.

Also, there were more new office buildings in the less "glass tower" style by 1989...just more development in general.


Don't you think the streetscape of the 70s was in general 'dirtier', and 'grittier' than the rather glossy, polished 80s? Both shopping malls, street-scapes etc. You saw alot of 'mom and pop' stores, small businesses, ethnic greengrocers.etc in many cities, which are now only widespread in places like New York, some communities in L.A., Sisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans - mainly the more cosmopolitan areas.

Don't you think the streetscape of the 70s was in general 'dirtier', and 'grittier' than the rather glossy, polished 80s? Both shopping malls, street-scapes etc. You saw alot of 'mom and pop' stores, small businesses, ethnic greengrocers.etc in many cities, which are now only widespread in places like New York, some communities in L.A., Sisco, Philadelphia, New Orleans - mainly the more cosmopolitan areas.


Yeah...there were still more mom and pop stores in the '70s than there are now, or even c. 1985.

This trend of globalisation, monopolization, and concentration of power into the hands of rich, rather distant execs at the expense of the 'little guy' will just get worse as we progress through the 21st century. We're already seeing it with Walmarts sprouting all over the US like weeds.

One of the easiest ways I find is to look at the cars.

In the early 1980's, you will see a lot of economy cars.  This is because of the change due to the various gase shortages and pice increases.  Look for older Toyotas, VW Beetles, Datsun's (as opposed to Nissan's), and the like.  Other then VW, European cars will be rare.  You will have a higher percentage of economy import cars.  Classic Mustang and Trans Am is big for the sporty type.

By the later 1980's, things had changed.  European imports became big, especially BMWs.  You will also have more sporty imports.  Most of the midsize cars will be of the style of "a boxy European running shoe" (in the words of a famous commercial of the time).  Sports cars will more likely be in the style of the IROC and Comaro.

As for fashion, early 1980's will largely be leftover 70's era clothes.  Flared jeans, boots, some polyester in a "natural" sort of color.  Leather was just returning to fashion, as well as suede.  Hair styles were longer, and less "poofy" for the women.  Afros were still worn, and eyeglasses and sunglasses were large and flashy.  By the end of the decade, the afro was gone, and eyeware largely resembled what we wear today.  Rayban style of sunglasses had replaced the old "rinestone shades" that were big in the 1970's.

1981:  Kids with boomboxes dancing on the corner.

1989:  Not.

1981: Dirty late '70s/early '80s look
1989: Less dirty late '80s/early '90s look

1981: Dirty late '70s/early '80s look
1989: Less dirty late '80s/early '90s look


The late '80s were more developed and more corporate looking, especially in big cities. More new skyscrapers, more new home construction in a similar style to today, more "fancy" stores aimed at yuppies, more lofts and such, more big box stores and way less mom n' pops. Also, adults dressed in a much more similar manner to today.

1980 - clear blue skies, kids playing out, front doors unlocked, quiet, teens at the mall

1989 - smog filled skies, kids indoors, gates padlocks and grills in front of doors, noisy traffic, kids loitering in gangs at street corner

Okay so I'm wearing my rose tinted glasses and when I say 89 I really mean 99.  :P

1981:  Kids with boomboxes dancing on the corner.

1989:  Not.


You wanna bet on that? Boomboxes were a popular part of early 90s street-culture - just watch films like Boyz in the Hood, film clips by M.C. Hammer.etc.

You wanna bet on that? Boomboxes were a popular part of early 90s street-culture - just watch films like Boyz in the Hood, film clips by M.C. Hammer.etc.


No.  I was making a joke.  Sorry that you failed to see the humour in my post.  Here, I'll be more serious:

In 1981 in Phoenix, on my street there were no houses across the street or right behind our house.  I would say in the confinements of the square mile I lived in (Interstate 17 to 35th Ave East-West and Bell Rd to Union Hills Rd N-S) only 50% of the area contained residential and commercial property.  By 1989 that had gone up to 90%. Virtually no desert for a kid to ride his BMX bike in.  The hot jeans went from Jordache to Guess.  Colors in clothes were even brighter (I had a couple Quiksilver shirts in 1989 that would blind people).  People were done here with boomboxes by then - it was all about the boom in your car.

Note to admin: This is NOT a Decadology thread, it's purpose is not to debate on what year is what, but to debate how fashions, pop culture has changed...

If you say the early and late 80s are so-different in terms of fashion.etc, can you point out the main differences between a typical street scene in 1981 and 1989? In other words between the era from Kramer vs Kramer to Fast Times, to the era of Jump Street, Karate Kid II, Jump Street.etc. What differences would you notice in fashion, slang, how the cars looked etc.?


How do you tell a scene from 1991 apart from one in 1999?

There's your answer.  Trying to explain to someone who can't understand it might be too challenging.  I do know this, I used to think the early 80s were very 70ish.  So I totally get it when kids think that the early 90s were very 80sish.  No matter how much someone older then me told me how 1980 and '81 were not the 70s, I still thought of those years as being like an advanced form of the 70s.

How do you tell a scene from 1991 apart from one in 1999?

There's your answer.  Trying to explain to someone who can't understand it might be too challenging.  I do know this, I used to think the early 80s were very 70ish.  So I totally get it when kids think that the early 90s were very 80sish.  No matter how much someone older then me told me how 1980 and '81 were not the 70s, I still thought of those years as being like an advanced form of the 70s.


I can relate to somebody saying 2000 and 2001 are '90s (to an extent, I would agree with them). They'd see all the flannel and coffee cups, and Creed songs and forget that the first season of Survivor aired in fall of 2000 and that the always-faint '90s atmosphere was almost zero by 1999, much less by 2001.

To answer the 1991 to 1999 question: look at the cars. 1991 - boxy cars everywhere, except maybe for your rich neighbor's new model (even that would be boxy compared to a new car, or even a car made 5 years later). 1999 - a good mix of older boxies and rounder '90s cars.

A 1981 street would look ALOT more dated. For one, most of the cars would still be the vaguely "vintage looking" ones from, say 1965+. A good amount of '70s holdover fashion, and not as many people, if any, with "personal electronics" (i.e. Walkmen).

I think the colors on logos and buildings was "flashier" towards the end of the decade. The '89 street would probably have at least 50% '80s cars. It would just look almost like a less teched up, more primitive version of how a street looks today, but I do see traces of that "old" look lingering around c. 1981.

If the 1981 street scene was set in an urban setting, you very well might see an African American character using slang like "blood",
"jive turkey" and some other such soul language.  Such slang was virtually gone by 1989, and there was a more modern hip hop speak that was not that different from the 90s or even today.

The difference between 1981 and 1989 is quite noticeable, but nowhere near the difference between 1991 and 1999. To me, the period 1976-1981 had its own 'look' - it was between the semi-old fashioned look of pre-1976, yet not totally modern as in glassy office buildings, 'bright' singnage as was the post-1981 period. It is probably easier to notice this effect in indoor buildings which are frequently renovated like shopping malls and department stores.

^Yes and I thought 1981 and 1989 were like night and day, the cars and fashions were totally different from my perspective.

From your POV you think 1991 and 1999 were very different, that's probably because you see 1999 as more "yours", you want to perserve it and keep it because its a time you accurately remember,....the same way I would have seen 1989 as more "mine" if this was 1995 and I was having this same converstation with someone older then me.  I would have thought there was little difference with 1971 and 1979 and that 1981 and 1989 were like night and day. 

Guys, like I've said a billion times before all this stuff we go round and round talking about is nothing new.  Everyone thinks their generation is the coolest and on the cutting edge when in reality you are just part of the grand scale of a history of humanity.

^Yes and I thought 1981 and 1989 were like night and day, the cars and fashions were totally different from my perspective.

From your POV you think 1991 and 1999 were very different, that's probably because you see 1999 as more "yours", you want to perserve it and keep it because its a time you accurately remember,....the same way I would have seen 1989 as more "mine" if this was 1995 and I was having this same converstation with someone older then me.  I would have thought there was little difference with 1971 and 1979 and that 1981 and 1989 were like night and day. 

Guys, like I've said a billion times before all this stuff we go round and round talking about is nothing new.  Everyone thinks their generation is the coolest and on the cutting edge when in reality you are just part of the grand scale of a history of humanity.




I'm not saying my generation is the coolest at all - there are some things I like better about it, and some things I wish had never changed. IMO, the 'look' of things experienced two great changes in the 70s/80s - one about 1971-1974, and another in the early 80s - about 1981-1985. These following great periods of architectural upheavel (a rebellion against brutalist, functionalist, utilitarian ethos of the 60s and early 70s with 'smarter' buildings in the 80s). Cars, of course, have evolved rapidly since their inception, and I think after fashion and music they are the best way to date a period.

Compare the Boston skyline c. 1980 with that around 1990..huge difference..(though 1970-1980 would be even bigger a difference). The cars man..yeah clothes and hair and stuff like that change like the weather, but cars on the road in 1981 were still mostly cars from the late 60s through late 70s (muscle cars had not yet attained classic status for the most part and were just plain old 8-year-old cars..and there was the economy car explosion in the 70s..I remember as a four year old still seing a LOT of VW Beetles around Boston around 1981). By eighty-nine, VW Bugs were mostly laughed at and cars started to get big again as gas prices fell throughout the decade. Cars were a lot more aerodynamic by the 1990 models appeared in 89 than those of the boxy early 80s.

How do you tell a scene from 1991 apart from one in 1999?


Businesses by 1999 often had a telephone number and a www.whatever.com in their ads and many cities had an "internet cafe", and most had a few Starbucks. WWW would be meaningless to most people in 1991, as would the term "internet cafe"..jusy wouldn't make any sense. And in 1991, Starbucks was notably absent from most places east of Seattle and Portland.

A street scene in New York would obviously be different from 2001 and 2009 as well..

>:(

Compare the Boston skyline c. 1980 with that around 1990..huge difference..(though 1970-1980 would be even bigger a difference). The cars man..yeah clothes and hair and stuff like that change like the weather, but cars on the road in 1981 were still mostly cars from the late 60s through late 70s (muscle cars had not yet attained classic status for the most part and were just plain old 8-year-old cars..and there was the economy car explosion in the 70s..I remember as a four year old still seing a LOT of VW Beetles around Boston around 1981). By eighty-nine, VW Bugs were mostly laughed at and cars started to get big again as gas prices fell throughout the decade. Cars were a lot more aerodynamic by the 1990 models appeared in 89 than those of the boxy early 80s.


It's a local thing as well. It depends on the city, it's history, development, economic development.etc. Places like the Rustbelt/Great Lakes region, which experienced an economic slump from as early as 70s and 80s will probably have more relics of that period than say, a very fast-growing place like Phoenix or Las Vegas, which is very new and glossy because a shiny new skyscraper, or a subdivision of apartment blocks seems to magically materialise every few weeks or so. So your perception of the change of architecture and streetscapes will also depend on the neighbourhood you live and/or grew up in.

81 = pants are either Old Bell Bottoms if you're poor, and Parachute Pants if you're rich.

89 = Bugle Buy pants that had a different color on the inseam so when you French rolled them,
the roll had a design. Also baggy pants that were meant to be french rolled.

In 1989, my dad found a closeout store that had parachute pants 4 for a dollar.
(Normans in Bay City Michigan). I had 8 pairs and they went great with my
Micheal Jackson fake leather Coat.



Yeah, I associated parachute pants (particularly in orange, they have to be in bright fluro orange  ;)) with the period 1979-1984. Probably the peak 'Early Techno period' when Boom-boxes, tape mixers, electronic drum-pads were indispensable from both a fashion and music POV. Bands like Devo, P.I.L. and the like are largely guilty of popularising this trend, as well as very early rappers like Run D.M.C, Africa Bambaata.etc.

Well I cant really say what 81 was like, but I remember 83 on up well, and back in 83 or so there was alot more older cars on the roads around here, and some of the old mom and pop stores were still open, however this changed by 89, when more modern things really started taking over, new stores, new shopping centers.. A new Mall opened up in fall of `89 and really took off with its new classy look..  Another thing many new residential areas sprung up in the later 80s locally. And the clothes.. became more colorful as the 80s went on.. And in the home.. green or brown/yellow was really in before 84 for furnature.. Many "dime" phone booths closed and got torn down by 89 also, replaced by nothing or just the normal " pay phone ". I remember regular gasoline was still around to.. in closing locally in the later 80s everything turned modern, cleaner, brighter, and bigger.

--
Dave.

Another thing people have not pointed out are at gas stations. In 1981, all gas pumps still had mechanical readouts. In 1989, electronic/digital displays had largely replaced many of the readouts at the pumps (though mechanical were still common in places, especially rural areas). It's similar in a way that the biggest change between 2001 and 2009 at gas stations were electronic price displays at the signs. Certain types of businesses were also different. 1981, very few video stores; 1989, they were EVERYWHERE. What other types of businesses underwent a shift in the '80s?

I guess the best way to tell apart, is to watch a movie that takes place in a city, in 1981, then watch watch one takes plae in a city in 1989.

First of all, the cars are different, they were more boxier, kind of larger, and for the most part, hold outs from the 70's.

The clothing was different, and only slightly movie away from the 70's style of clothing, and on to more stylish in some ways clothing.

More mom and pop and independent stores, especially grocery, news stands, convince stores, and record stores.

In some place, brake dancing was starting to appear, for the first time, and large boom boxes were almost common place.

In stark contrast, 1989, saw cars becoming compact, clothing less stylish and more comfort based.

Grunge had yet to appear on the scene, as of yet.

Starbucks, Gap, and Old Navy, were only slowly expending their stores.

More glossier, tall, glass like buildings, such as skyscrapers, were appearing more and more.

Mom and pop and independent stores, were getting squeezed out of business, and struggling to make ends met, and cell phones were not yet popular, kind of getting there years later.

And finally, boom boxes were replaced by Walkmen and/or CD players.

How do you tell a scene from 1991 apart from one in 1999?

There's your answer.  Trying to explain to someone who can't understand it might be too challenging.  I do know this, I used to think the early 80s were very 70ish.  So I totally get it when kids think that the early 90s were very 80sish.  No matter how much someone older then me told me how 1980 and '81 were not the 70s, I still thought of those years as being like an advanced form of the 70s.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    They were somewhat to an extent, I started highschool in '81. Disco was almost out , and country/western craze filled in the gap of the transition including fashion, if you didn't follow a trend such as.. punk,  "cool" cloths were not so disco-y but more natural tone style and kinda dressy,just like the decor. That '70s orange w/brown,harvest gold was old,natural earth tone furniture with brass accents and plants was becoming popular and a bright and "open look" was in. Uh, I think that's when white walls "steril look "started.Danny