Fancy Dress Costumes

A few years ago, the 1980s used to be a joke, a decade people tried to forget. But now, however, the 80s are fashionable again. All over the world people are re-discovering the the eighties, and, as a result, 80s fancy dress costume parties are back. So, if you are invited to an 80’s fancy dress cotume party, what are you going to wear? Which 80s fancy dress costume will you choose?

The great thing about 80s fancy dress costumes is that you can’t be too outrageous. The 1980’s were a big, bold and ostentatious decade. The more you can draw attention to yourself with your 1980s costume, the better. The best way of coming up with 80’s fancy dress ideas is to think back to what you did during the eighties. What were you into? What music did you listen to? What movies did you go and see? If this doesn’t inspire you, or if you weren’t alive in the 80s, then here some of my 80s fancy dress ideas.

1. 80’s fancy dress costumes inspired by the decade’s trends.  Think about what was big during the 80s. Off the top of my head: Rubick’s cube, video games (Space Invaders, PacMan), filofaxes, the first cell phones, yuppies, cocktails, shoulder pads. All of these could lead to great 80s outfits.
2. 80s fancy dress costumes inspired by bands and music. There are lots of singers and bands that would make fantastic 1980’s fancy dress costumes. Here is a list of some of the decades biggest pop stars to get you thinking: Michael Jackson, Madonnna, Prince, Tina Turner, Queen, Wham, George Michael, Duran Duran, The Police, Bon Jovi, Iron Maiden. The list could go on and on.
3. 1980s fancy dress costumes from 80s movies. Lots of blockbuster movies came out in the 1980s and all of these would make a good subject for an 80s fancy dress costume. A few examples are: ET, Top Gun, Cocktail, Return of the Jedi, Back to the Future, Karate Kid…
4. 1980’s costumes inspired by 1980’s TV shows. Lots of TV shows were aired in the 80s that typified the decade. Think Cheers, Dallas, Dynasty, Airwolf, He-Man, Knightrider, Chips and The A-Team. All of these are solid 80s fancy dress ideas.

If you don’t want to base your 80’s fancy dress costume around a specific person or object, you could always allow your 80s outfit to be inspired by the general fashions of the decade. For example: neon, power dressing, yuppie culture, new romantic style, heavy metal look…

With so many options (and I’ve only scratched the surface with this post) it should be relatively easy to come up with ideas for lots of fun and original 80s fancy dress costumes.