by Marci Leigh

Created on: April 05, 2008

Each decade has its memorable defining events. The 1930s are remembered for the Depression and prohibition, the 1940s for World War II. The 1950s was the explosion of the Baby Boomer's and Nuclear Threat. The 1960s was a decade of great social upheaval starting with the assignation of JFK, the escalation of the Vietnam War and anti-war demonstrations, riots fueled by Civil Rights debates and ending with the first moon landing. The 1970s brought an end to the Vietnam conflict, affirmative action in the workplace and the beginning of the Disco era. What each of these decades had in common was the effect of the events on society and behavior in bringing about social change.

The 1980s brought a screeching halt to this trend. The 1980s was dubbed the "Me decade". And what a great decade it was. Like other decades, social behavior went through changes. Instead of getting a hair cut from a barber, men now visited stylists. Despite massive "Made in USA" campaigns, Honda Accord was one of the most popular cars in the mid 1980s with as much as a 3 month waiting list for delivery.

Home mortgage interest hit double digits, the stock market was a great place to invest and the 401K was gaining popularity. Who wants a guaranteed pension at retirement when you can have a plan tied to the stock market? The 1980s gave birth to the Yuppies and the Hippies had to fade away.

The 1980s was a very visual decade. Big, styled hair, tailored business clothes (let's not forget those big shoulder pads), designer jeans for casual wear and probably most distinctive the shiny evening (Disco) wear.

The hair was great. For the first time we had "product" in numerous varieties other than hairspray and Dip-pity-Do. Gone were the stiff hair styles from previous generations, no beehives like looked like the Leaning Tower of Pisa by the end of the day. Hair was washed and styled everyday.

Business wear was all business. In the morning we put on our suits and pumps or suit and tie like a uniform. No casual Friday's looking like we just came from cleaning the garage. Professional look for professional people. We worked hard and advanced in our careers. No "teams", we succeeded or failed all on our own.

Sweatpants were only worn by athletes for warm-up. You would not find them being worn in the workplace unless you happened to work in a locker room. The leisure suit of the 1970s was declared dead, but the over 50 group did sneak the wind suit into the 1980s. You could always hear your grandmother before

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