In the 1980s there was a heavy emphasis on expensive dressing and fashion accessories in fashion. In this decade everything in America seems to be done on a big scale and over done sometimes. Clothing was often bright and vivid. Social events and music were the biggest factors in the 1980s that contributed to the latest trends and fashions. Americans in the 1980s expressed wealth through the way they dressed. Women expressed wealth and success by wearing shining costume, jewelry, pearl necklaces, and clothing covered with sequins. Along with the sequins and the glam, women were also beginning to wear jogging suits and athletic wear on the street because women were now in the work force more and more so they felt they could have whatever style they pleased and were more comfortable.
There was a huge aerobics craze in the 1980s that influenced new work out wear. The movie Flashdance made sweatshirts that exposed a bare shoulder popular and the classic leotard moved to the gym with tights, leg warmers, and headbands. Another popular trend was the "street urchin look". This look was set by Madonna, the famous pop star of the 1980s. Short skirts, leggings, necklaces, rubber bracelets, fishnet gloves, and hair bows were all trends Madonna started. Many, many American girls were crazy for Madonna so her style influenced the way many of them dressed. During the 1980s is when MTV was released. MTV was a huge contributor to getting new fashion trends set by famous stars to young Americans. MTV embraced young America as the information on the latest trends in music, fashion, and opinion. MTV also started the trend to watch TV to know what the latest fashions were.
Sixteen Candles, Breakfast Club, Flashdance, and Pretty in Pink were movies that influenced how Americans dressed. Many Americans watched these popular movies and fell in love, which sparked the fashion industry to create new lines based off of those movies. Along with movies came cable TV. Seventy percent of the American population owned a cable TV. The more TV, the more the influence it had. For example, women in the Dynasty were wearing shoulder pads and then the common public began to wear them.