Those of you who follow me on Facebook know that I had some fun on Saturday night: I planned an 80′s-themed Girls’ Night Out that involved appropriate clothing and historically accurate hair and troweled-on makeup.
Some of my girlfriends enthusiastically jumped in with both Keds-clad feet, but others needed a little more nagging urging. I would not take no for an answer, even when a couple of my girlfriends said they didn’t know how to dress like it was the 80′s. Hey girls, why would you let something silly like that stop you? I made it easy for them by creating a Pinterest board for their edification. In a couple of cases, I specifically told my gals what to wear.
As you can imagine — what with it being the 21st century and all — dressing like we’re all Back to the Future or Pretty in Pink meant doing some shopping. After spending far too much time watching inspirational videos on YouTube and going through photos online, I started scouring local thrift shops for a jean jacket or a please, oh please Members Only jacket, with no luck.
(I did, however, find a sweet Bermuda purse, complete with a multiplicity of covers for all your matching needs, but I did not buy said items.)
I eventually ended up at Old Navy, where it was like stepping back in time, what with all the 80′s-inspired articles of clothing they have available over there right this very minute. They had both jean jackets and jean jacket vests, but as all were priced at $30, I passed. I’ll do a lot for a gag, but spending more than about $10 is not one of those things.
I kept texting one of my girlfriends with burning questions like “Madonna or Molly?” In other words, should I go tarty and unwashed or should I go prim and preppy? It was an agonizing choice, y’all. In the end, I went with neither look.
[The same girlfriend I was texting ended up finding all of her 80's finery at KMart.]
I stumbled across this Flashdance-esque shirt (super marked down to $8!) and immediately flashed on this video. In an instant, I knew that I had to recreate Belinda Carlisle’s look in some way. It was actually ridiculously easy.
[Why yes, YES, I did remember that video in great detail. I've told y'all before: I watched so much MTV from 1983-1987 that you can mention almost any Top 40 song and I can tell you the name of the artist/group, the album, the lyrics, and I can describe the video for you. Honestly, I don't know how I managed to stay on the honor roll in high school when I used up so many brain cells studying the intricate details of, say, Pat Benatar's outfit in "Love is a Battlefield."]
Luckily, just last week, Richard the Hair God gave me a very New Wave inspired haircut, complete with edgy bangs hanging over my right eye, so with that and my recent acquisition of eye liner skillz, my 80′s outfit came together quite easily.
You can’t quite tell in this photo, but I’m wearing about seven pounds of makeup — dark plummy eye shadow, black eye liner on my upper and lower lids (my first foray into black and my first time wandering south of my eyeballs), about seven coats of mascara, foundation, powder, blush, and of course lipstick. People, it took me almost 30 minutes to get that shit on.
It felt strange to wear a shirt that was way too baggy, but we all know that baggy was de rigeur back in the day, so that’s what I did. My raggy-ass jeans are finally too large, but 1) I haven’t had time to buy new ones and 2) see baggy, above. And, yes, those are laceless man-style black Oxford shoes (also super marked down — squee). No socks, natch.
The one thing I had forgotten when I first got dressed was that I had to peg my jean cuffs so that they’d be extra tight around the ankle. Luckily, when my friend Aimee (a.k.a Sheena Easton) showed up, she was a good reminder:
Most of my 80′s hottie GF’s met at my house, where we drank Bartles & Jaymes wine coolers before heading out. Okay, I kid about the B&J, but wouldn’t that have been a hoot?
All of my supergalpals went with a theme in their sartorial splendor and I gave them all nicknames for the evening to go with their 80′s alter ego: Andrea was Heather Locklear, I told you that Aimee was Sheena Easton, another friend was Madonna, one was Cher, and Emma was a metal band groupie who I called Whore. (I swear, she was flattered by this.) (Also, keep checking the linked blogs for related posts. Andrea’s is up, but Aimee and Emma are still working on theirs.) Emma brought more gal pals and they, too, were all dolled up. One lady was wearing some fierce lace gloves and lace socks with her stilettos, but I didn’t get any photos.
[I'm not posting their photos since I haven't yet gotten their permission to do so.]
So where did we all go dressed thusly? Well, it turns out that there was a concert. One that involved five grown-ass men covering 80′s metal — Ratt, Whitesnake, Poison, and more, so much more. So we ladeez all piled into Cher’s Toyota Sienna and drove downtown.
[And wouldn't "Girls' Night Out, Mom Version" make for a helluva car commercial?]
When we first conceived of this idea to dress appropriately for the concert, it never occurred to us that we would be in the minority of looking fabulous. Alas, most of the concert goers were more into the metal aspect of the concert and clearly missed the memo about Welcome Back 1980s. So out of the few hundred people there, perhaps 30 max were dressed in a style that I deemed appropriate and 10 of them were in our loud and rowdy group. Oh well, that just made us all that much more fabulous.
Unfortunately, we had to first endure the opening band, which was a 1990s-era Alternative Rock cover band. That is SO not my music, that I might have been more entertained and happier at the Country Music Awards (I loathe country music), but I tried to make the best of the situation until my eyes started to bleed from all the flannel shirts on the stage, followed shortly thereafter by my ears bleeding from the music. Luckily, it was less than an hour and when one is with girlfriends, one can do anything right. Keep calm and carry on New Waving, right?
So then the main event started and I was reminded why I never listened to metal back in the day or, like, ever. It’s very loud and screechy and has the strong potential to suck mightily. Luckily, I recognized some of the music and just tried to act like I knew what I was doing.
Barely visible in this photo is the OPI silver rainbow glitter nail polish that took two freaking hours to dry, left glitter shit all over my house, and then proceeded to start chipping off within mere seconds of drying. Never again.
Also, DAYUM that shirt is unflattering.
Naturally, in the midst of the concert, there was a fight. I mean, come on, what concert would be complete without at least two guys getting in each other’s faces and drunkenly trying to prove who is the bigger man? It was just like being back in high school, when the same thing always happened at school dances — at least two guys would stomp around and scowl menacingly at each other and pout in between scowls while their friends egged them on and acted as though this was the most intensely important thing to happen ever in the history of the world. Eventually, they’d get into it, with a couple of teachers breaking up the fight, and then on Monday we’d all gossip about the awesome fight and how we’d heard that both guys had been suspended for three whole days.
The concert went on and and on and, while we all had fun dancing and squealing and taking photos of each other, eventually we all remembered that we’re women of a certain age and that we don’t do well late at night and that we need our beauty sleep, so we left early — sometime after the lead singer’s sixth tequila shot and before who knows what else happened.
Emma and me. Photobomb courtesy of Tammy.
I should probably go ask their permission to post their lovely faces here.
It was so much fun.
I love revisiting the 80s.
Who else has done this sort of thing? How would you have dressed for this outing?
I am happy to report that I have FINALLY removed all of the hot pink opi nail polish AND the top coat of opi pink sparkle. It only took a half bottle of polish remover.
thanks for putting it together! Next up KARAOKE!
Sounds like the BEST fun!
It was an amazingly fun time! Thank you so much for coordinating it all. I don’t know what was more fun: the planning and anticipation or the actual show. Man, did my feeties hurt the next day!
And who wouldnt be flattered by the nickname “Whore”?
Thank you for planning it. It was a fun night.
Sounds like fun. I think if I’d gone, I’d have pegged my jeans to my ankles with safety pins. My attire in the ’80s was definitely more Molly than Madonna.
But did you give your panties to a geek?
I would have found some 80′s biiiig shoulder pads, a la Melanie Griffith in Working Girl. Or I might have gone Flashdance leggings, etc. Thanks for making me snort in laughter.
This is AWESOME. I just saw your all-pink outfit photo on Pinterest, and that would have been my dream getup.
But the idea of the 80′s shoulderpadded blazers like Lori mentioned is awesome. . . and I could have paired that with legging, leg warmers, and high heels. Oh baby. 
I was more into the preppy look – and I loved big shouldered jackets with lots of pins. I still have a bunch of crown pins from those days.
Heh. My friend Allison was at that concert and stayed to the bitter end. She told me allll about the insane bikers and copious number of hillbillies. She was mightily entertained, but I’m guessing it was probably better that you got out while the gettin’ was good.
On a different note, ’90s alternative is TOTALLY my wheelhouse – I graduated high school in 1995, after all. Those really are the most influential days, aren’t they?
Since I graduated from high school in 1984, I would have thought this was a FABULOUS girls’ night out. I have always wished to look like the woman on the album cover for Ratt’s Out of the Cellar.
I do recall drying my hair upside down and applying massive amounts of hair spray and mousse to it in that position, along with wearing a big shirt with geometric designs and padded shoulders. I *might* still have a pair of bright red, shiny lycra leggings…
Kids, kids, kids,
And you ARE kids,
These posts always shock me when i realize you’re about my daughter’s age. That said, I feel sorry you missed the 60s; nothing will ever equal that. We’re talking music here, aren’t we? And clothes?
First and foremost:
ALWAYS bring ear plugs to concerts. I promise, you will still hear the music, and how, but you will also have some hearing left at the end of the evening.
I would have gone for a lot of goth glitter: black lace skirts with tulle petticoats and gold leggins underneath, black tank top and big-shouldered gold leather bolero jacket over it, and black granny boots, black lace gloves. And I’d look FABULOUS.
Me and my middle aged gals reliving the younger years!!! I had a GREAT time! Loved meeting you and your girlfriends, and bombing your photo. I laugh and laugh every time I see that pic!!