Hi Y'all!


As many of you know, I completely love all things 80s, and for the most part, I do recognize and understand most of the fashion trends. But one of the trends I don't seem to get all that well is the Valley Girl trend. I mean I have the movie, and I even looked up vids on youtube, but I can't really get a hand on the basics for the trend. Could someone please explain it to me. Is it preppy, is it girly, is it a mix of the two? Like what colors, types of clothing and make up go with these looks?

Thanks!


And I know all about the totally tubular and trippindicular phrases. LOL!

problem with valley girls is they didn't know what they wanted to be... they were preppie by birth (having grown up in San Fernando Valley)

their language seems to have come from the beach/surf culture but adapted to suit their needs.

as for the attire- the reason you can't pin it down is because it too was a variation of styles.... the closest anyone can come (to my knowledge and I am by no means an authority on the subject) but it seems to me- the closest thing to Valley Girl style is the Madonna look. By that time tho almost everyone was dressing like Madonna  and  plenty of people across the country were wearing preppie clothes....

really it is the vernacular, the jargon, the speech patterns that identify a valley girl and not the clothes. 

Hey Snoz,

Gosh, that kinda took the wind outta my sails. LOL. but thanks for the help! And trust me, years ago I printed out a whole list of jargon for the valley girl and in the 80s in general.


I use "cool beans" to death.  ;D

Hey Snoz,

Gosh, that kinda took the wind outta my sails. LOL. but thanks for the help! And trust me, years ago I printed out a whole list of jargon for the valley girl and in the 80s in general.


I use "cool beans" to death.  ;D


sorry 'bout that....



I just lifted this from Wiki....it sort of reiterates what I was saying...

Valley Girl (or Val, Val Gal) is a stereotype  leveled at a socio-economic and ethnic class of American  women who can be described as colloquial English-speaking, materialistic, self-centered, hedonistic, quirky/cute but not necessarily physically attractive (subjective) and often sexually promiscuous. Valspeak  is also a form of this trait, based on an exaggerated version of '80s California English.

The term originally referred to the ever decreasing number of semi affluent and affluent middle-class and upper-middle class girls living in the bedroom community neighborhoods of San Fernando Valley; however, popular media often portrayed the stereotype as lower-middle class white girls in families climbing the socioeconomic ladder into white-collar jobs, and their trials to "fit in" with more educated, upper-class offspring. Due to changing demographics, it is increasingly relevant as the age, ethnic, and economic class it referenced is becoming increasingly insular in its native territory, which no longer considers itself part of LA County. Particularly in the Santa Clarita region bordering the San Fernando Valley, women in the region have been characterized as "bro-hos" (see "bro"). Due to the Valley's proximity to the Hollywood media machine, the demographic group which the term stereotyped garnered large exposure to the rest of the world. Consequently, the use became more general, and the stereotype can be found all over the United States, and also in other countries in different forms. Australia has its own variation of the Valley Girl accent, as lampooned by Ja'mie King.

During the 1980s and 1990s, in common with the trend in community orientation, interest, and education, the term metamorphosed into a caricature and stereotype of such women: a "ditzy" or "airhead" personality, and unapologetically "spoiled" behavior that showed more interest in shopping, personal appearance and social status than in intellectual development or personal accomplishment.