Some people claim that the fashions of the 1980s are best forgotten, but we’re unmovable in our belief that it was the greatest decade of them all when it came to cool clothing and accessories. We’ve no doubt whatsoever that we looked absolutely amazing during our childhood and teenage years, and below are 13 gorgeous items that assisted us in our quest to become the most fashionable around.
13. Grolsch bottle tops on Doc Martens
Inspired by Matt and Luke Goss from 80s boy band Bros, many of us decided to add a couple of bottle tops to our expensive footwear.
The bottle tops in question of course had to be from a bottle of Grolsch, and for some reason they could only be attached to a pair of Doc Martens boots.
12. Candy bracelets
Regular bracelets are unlikely to ever go out of fashion, but it was only during our 80s childhood that people wore ones of the edible variety.
These candy bracelets and watches provided us with a welcome, secret snack in the middle of our excruciating Maths and English lessons.
11. Bag badges
Many modern schools are extremely strict when it comes to decorating our bags and coats, but things were very different just a few decades ago.
Many of us chose to brighten up our otherwise dull rucksacks by covering them with trendy badges that were great to swap and share with our friends.
10. Spokey Dokeys
If we felt that our BMX or Raleigh bicycles weren’t colourful enough, we had the option of sprucing them up with some delightful accessories. Like reflectors, Spokey Dokeys were often given away free with breakfast cereals.
They may have made our bike look that little bit cooler, but they were often unbearably noisy.
9. Cartoon lunch boxes
Another 80s school staple that very quickly went out of fashion were the wonderful TV and movie-themed lunch boxes that we carried with us to school each and every morning, adorned with images of He-Man, My Little Pony, The A-Team… the list goes on.
Heaven forbid you kept using such lunchboxes once you made it to high school, however; you might has well have hung a sign reading ‘please bully me’ on your back.
8. Clarks Magic Steps shoes
Even our feet couldn’t escape when it came to cool 80s items, with Clarks’ Magic Steps letting girls store actual trinkets in their smart school shoes. That memorable, fairy tale-themed TV commercial made them all the more desirable.
The most sought after footwear for 80s boys, though, had to be the overpriced Nike Air Max trainers. Most lads begged for them, but only so many actually got them.
7. Temporary tattoos
We weren’t old (or brave) enough to be scribed with a real tattoo during our 80s childhood, but there was a satisfactory substitute when it came to decorating our bare arms and legs.
Often given away for free in magazines and cereal packets, temporary tattoos were applied using water and only lasted for a few days.
6. Sweet Secrets
Wearable toys were another way that us 80s kids brightened up our bodies in an attempt to stand out from the crowd, with Sweet Secrets being a particular favourite.
Sweet Secrets were gorgeous plastic dolls that transformed into interesting items like makeup or jewelry, and we carried our collection with us at every available opportunity.
5. Gaming watches
Not satisfied with wearing a watch that simply told the time, we spruced up our wrists with timepieces that we could also play games on like Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros. and Tetris.
If we weren’t lucky enough to own one of Nelsonic’s impressive collection of gaming watches, we also had the opportunity to purchase a watch that acted as a calculator.
4. Rainbow flip-flops
For some reason that we still haven’t been able to fathom, 80s girls developed something of an unhealthy obsession with rainbow-coloured items.
If we didn’t own a rainbow rubber or a Rainbow Brite doll, we were sure to be found wearing these incredibly popular rainbow coloured flip-flops during the summer holidays.
3. Candy cigarette sticks
We had some funny ideas about what was cool when we were growing up, and we still don’t understand how we ever considered smoking anything other than expensive, unpleasant and unhealthy.
Even before we tried, and failed, to look cool by smoking a real cigarette, we pretended to look older by ‘puffing’ on candy cigarette sticks, a packet of which cost around 10p from our local corner shop.
2. Bum bags
They were a convenient way to transport small items around with us, but can anyone really defend the wearing of bum bags (or ‘fanny packs’ as they called them in America)?
Coming in a wide variety of different garish colours and designs, the bum bag was an 80s fashion accessory that we can’t claim to miss all that much.
1. Ring Raiders
We don’t remember seeing many young boys wearing rings back in the 80s – at least, until Matchbox released their range of Ring Raiders toys. These were jet planes that you could wear on your fingers, which sounds awesome but was in reality rather uncomfortable.
Like a lot of toys of the era, Ring Raiders spawned a tie-in cartoon and comic book, but neither lasted long.