There aren’t many looks from the 80s that I look back at with great fondness. However, one style I really did think was cool was the ‘swagger’ look of the mid-1980s. I was a teenager then and heavily into the rockabilly scene. I favoured baggy trousers, Doc Martens and a rather severe flat-top hair style. So, although this masculine look was a little too soft around the edges for me, it did make a refreshing change from all the glitzy, wide-shouldered power suits and massive hair. I’ll let you decide.
These images are scanned from British Vogue, July 1984 with photographs by the great Terence Donovan. Hair by Bob Fink of New York.
Silk and tartan lounge suit. Abstract-patterned silk side-fastening dressing gown by Georgina von Etzdorf, £275; tartan wool trousers, £55 by Paul Smith. Zebra-patterned slippers at Manolo Blahnik, £95.
Dressing up, dressing gown suit. Double-breasted tartan wool cotton mix suit, £230 at Crolla. Paisley cotton dressing-gown, £18 from a selection at Hackett Clothiers. Long-sleeved cotton shirt, £55 at Kenzo. Silver and enamel paste military badge brooch, £55 at Massada Antiques.
Newly classic double-breasted dark brown herringbone tweed. Jacket, £197; trousers £85; both at Harvey Nichols. Long-sleeved cotton shirt, £86 at Harvey Nicols. Zebra-patterned slippers as noted in first image above. Ruby and rose diamond enamel brooch, £1,385 at Massada Antiques.
Subtly Mismatched Suit. Dark charcoal linen herringbone jacket, £175, with matching trousers, £82; single-breasted cotton mackintosh with quilted satin lining, £110; short-sleeved cotton Aertex shirt, £21; all at Paul Smith. Leather lace-up men’s shoes, £18, from a selection at Blax.
Chequered City Suit. Man’s single-breasted pink and black check wool mix suit, £59.95 at Johnson’s. Long-sleeved cream silk shirt with detachable black silk tie, £185, at Chanel. Plaited leather belt, £15, at Browns. Mock astrakhan slippers, £95, at Manolo Blahnik.
Gamine’s Wrap and Flow Suit – in iridescent python greys, silky synthetic jacket; woven synthetic trousers with back pockets; silky synthetic shirt with knitted jersey collar, long sarong-tied shirt tails; silky synthetic mackintosh; military-style earring; all by Jean Paul Gaultier.
Hot pink drape and shape suit. Man’s fine gabardine single-breasted drape jacket with black satin lapels, by Stephen Sprouse, £440. Cotton/lycra stirrup-foot leggings, £12.99, at Stirling Cooper. Velvet slippers with embroidered fox masks, £52, at New and Lingwood.
Big and easy coat suit. Voluminous rubberised cotton raincoat with lapels, £325; baggy rubberised cotton trousers with tie waist, £150; long-sleeved rayon knit shirt, £120; all at Yohji Yamamoto Pour Homme. Leather school sandals, £79, at Kenzo.
. . . . and yours truly in 1984 – on my way to the Hacienda night club (Manchester)
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Filed under: Catwalk Creative Tagged: | 1980s fashion, 80s swagger, british vintage fashion, Doc Marten, Dr. Martens, jean paul gaultier, stephen sprouse, swagger style, Terence Donovan
