From baggy balloon pants to shaggy mullets, the 1980s was a decade of culture, media, and music that people regarded as revolutionary. 

Student council is making this year’s homecoming theme surrounding the decade of the ‘80s. Since many teachers and students were not born during this time period, here is a brief recap of the era:  

During the 1980s the most popular clothing trends included, “spandex leggings, velour, leg warmers,” bright neon colors, windbreakers, high-waisted jeans, and branded shirts. Many women and men during the time would base their style inspiration on popular celebrities, such as Madonna.

“A popular fashion style was tight-rolled jeans. When we were in school we would take our jeans and we would roll them up to make them tight rolled,” said Clay Cox, sociology teacher, born in 1973. “Also at the time Coca-cola had a line of clothing, and they were unbelievably popular. If you went to any classroom in the ‘80s you would see someone in a Coca-Cola shirt and a Swatch watch.” 

According to CNN, women from the period would often wear puffed-up hair that was usually very big and teased. Many men at the time would wear mullets and rat-tails in their hair. 

“My junior year in high school in 1989 there were a lot of mullets. We had long hair in the back and short hair up top,” said Cox. “Now the girls, on the other hand, would wear bouffant hair. The bouffant hair was really big in the front and had lots of hairspray,” 

Many people who remember the ‘80s emphasize the importance of the songs at the time. Not only did they “[influence] 80s fashion,” but they also were regarded as the best era of music. 

“I loved the ‘80s music, all of it was the best. [It was] so good, they played insruments, they had talent, and had stories behind their music,” said Cox. “Some of my favorite songs at the time were “Summer of 69’” by Brian Adams, “Beat it” by Micheal Jackson, “Thriller” by Micheal Jackson, “Back in Black” by ACDC, and “Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now” by Starship.”

In order to have fun, most children and teenagers would go to the mall to shop, play at an arcade, or simply hang out with friends. 

“We used to go to the mall and there was an arcade with hundreds of different video games. You could play with “Pac-Man”, “Pitfall Harry’s Jungle Adventure”, “Asteroids”, “Ms. Pacman”, and “Whack a Mole,” said Cox. The main political conflict for the United States at the time was the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States.  

“During the 1980s we had a huge resurgence of love for the United States. Everybody was really into the USA, because that was the highlight of the Cold War, so we were very patriotic,” said Cox. 

The most popular celebrities of the ‘80s were singers and actors such as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Micheal Jackson, and Madonna. 

“I was a huge fan of Micheal Jackson for his music and Tom Hanks as an actor. The movie, “Big”, was one of my favorite movies. Toward the later part of the ‘80s, Macaulay Culkin in “Home Alone was popular,” said Manalas Petty, government teacher, born in 1980. 

Back then, people were more dedicated to sports than they are today. 

“From my point of view, sports were totally different, people were more committed to teams and rooting for college and high school sports such as basketball,” said Petty. 

People who experienced the 80s remember it as an unforgettable, positive memory. 

 “If you got to experience the 80s as I did, it is a childhood that you’ll never forget. We all had so much fun, and it was so safe,” said Cox. “It was just a very wholesome and free decade.”