80s Fashion for Men in 11 Iconic Styles and How to Wear Them Today

Power dressing was the decade’s corporate look.

FIT describes mid-to-late-1980s men’s suits as pinstriped and double-breasted with wide lapels, worn with wide ties, and notes that Hugo Boss completed the look with patterned shirts and large overcoats.

Jackets were cut with fuller shoulders and trousers were often pleated, with braces rather than a belt.

Wear it today as a navy or charcoal suit with a moderately strong shoulder, a light blue or striped shirt, a bold silk tie and brown or black leather shoes; add braces if your trousers have buttons for them.

Keep one exaggeration, such as the double-breasted jacket, and let the shirt and tie stay simple; a plain white or neutral T-shirt under the jacket makes the suit more casual.

The other side of 1980s tailoring was softer and Italian in origin.

The V&A credits Giorgio Armani’s designs for the 1980 film American Gigolo with showing the unstructured tailoring and soft palette that became his signature.

On television, Miami Vice (1984 to 1989) dressed Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in light suits, and The Rake credits the show with a trend for white and pastel linen suits from Hugo Boss, Nino Cerruti, Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani, worn with T-shirts.

For a quieter, present-day Italian interpretation, see our guide to the Italian Alta Borghesia style.

Wear it today by putting an unstructured linen or cotton jacket in cream, stone or a pale colour over a plain T-shirt, with relaxed pleated trousers and loafers or espadrilles in warm weather.

A soft check suit worn with an Oxford shirt and a knitted or textured tie is a cooler-weather version.

The New Romantic look came out of London’s club and music scene at the turn of the 1980s.

FIT notes that Vivienne Westwood’s 1981 Pirate collection was adopted by bands and club-goers in London as the New Romantic look.

The clothes were theatrical, with ruffled and frilled shirts, cravats, sashes, military-style and brocade jackets, and dramatic hair and make-up, associated with bands such as Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Adam and the Ants.

Wear it today with a ruffle-front or pleated shirt under a plain dark suit or waistcoat and Chelsea boots, adding a silk or paisley scarf worn as a cravat if you want more.

One theatrical garment with otherwise plain tailoring works for a party or an evening out; the full look with make-up is best kept for a themed event.

Preppy dressing borrowed from American college and country-club clothes, and FIT lists seersucker suits, polo shirts with popped collars and knitted jumpers thrown over the shoulders among its early-1980s forms.

Brightly coloured polo shirts, often from Polo Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren, were worn with chinos, boat shoes or loafers, and a blazer for smarter occasions.

Our guide to the origins of preppy style covers its history, and our guide to styling polo shirts for business covers a smarter use of the polo.

Wear it today in a polo shirt or Oxford shirt, stone chinos, a cable-knit jumper and loafers or boat shoes, with a navy or coloured blazer when you need a jacket.

A jumper knotted over the shoulders is the clearest 1980s signal; leave it off if you want the outfit to look current rather than period.

Hip-hop dressing developed alongside the music in New York, and FIT lists white Adidas and Puma trainers, tapered jeans, preppy button-down and polo shirts, nylon coach jackets, hooded sweatshirts, gold chains and caps among the clothes of 1980s hip-hop style.

Tracksuits, bucket hats and heavy gold rope chains were common too, and Complex links the Kangol hat to rappers such as LL Cool J and Slick Rick.

Run-DMC’s 1986 song “My Adidas” led to what Guinness World Records lists as the first endorsement deal between a sportswear brand and non-sporting performers.

Our streetwear guide explains how these clothes fed into later street fashion.

Wear it today with a plain or graphic oversized T-shirt or hoodie, relaxed or khaki trousers or tracksuit bottoms, white shell-toe trainers and one gold chain.

Keep the volume in one half of the outfit if you want it to look current, for example an oversized top with straight trousers.

Punk clothing began in the New York and London music scenes of the 1970s and carried on through the 1980s.

In London, the Sex Pistols, whose members included Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious, became the best-known band of the scene.

Films such as Repo Man (1984) and Sid and Nancy (1986) put punk clothing on screen during the decade, meaning biker jackets, ripped jeans, heavy boots, band T-shirts, studded belts and chains, with dyed or spiked hair.

Our punk fashion guide explains the history in more detail.

Wear it today as a black leather biker jacket over a band T-shirt, black or dark straight jeans and black leather boots, with one studded belt or chain if you want it.

Skate clothing grew out of Californian skateboarding and surf culture and spread across the United States during the decade.

Films such as Thrashin’ (1986) and Gleaming the Cube (1989) showed the look of loose jeans, checked shirts over T-shirts, sweatshirts and high-top skate shoes.

Wear it today in a heavy checked overshirt over a plain T-shirt, relaxed light-wash jeans and canvas skate shoes, with a beanie in cold weather.

If you want a smarter trainer instead, our test of budget dress trainers compares cleaner options.

Yuppie, short for young urban professional, was a label for a generation of city professionals, and Newsweek declared 1984 “the year of the yuppie”, as UPI reported at the time.

The label describes a social group rather than a dress code, but the clothes usually associated with it are office suits during the week and smart casual clothes at weekends, such as cricket and cable-knit jumpers, check scarves, wool overcoats, loafers and polo shirts.

Our yuppie style guide covers the look in more depth.

Wear it today. A cable-knit cricket jumper over a shirt with dark jeans and white leather trainers, or a navy overcoat and check scarf over a suit in winter.

Classic British tailoring did not begin in the 1980s, but films kept it in view, including the James Bond films starring Roger Moore and Sean Connery’s Never Say Never Again (1983).

The look covers dinner suits for the evening, tweed jackets and suits for the country, cashmere jumpers and polished leather shoes.

Wear it today in a tweed jacket or suit with a plain shirt and a wool tie, or a waistcoat over a white shirt, with Derby or Oxford shoes.

For evening events, a black dinner suit with a white shirt and black bow tie is the same today as it was then.

Short casual jackets were a staple of 1980s American film and television, including The Karate Kid (1984), Back to the Future (1985) and The A-Team (1983 to 1987).

Bomber jackets, nylon windbreakers and varsity jackets were worn with straight jeans, caps and trainers.

Our guide to bomber jackets explains how to wear the jacket today.

Wear it today. A bomber or varsity jacket over a plain T-shirt or hoodie, straight light-wash jeans and white trainers, with a baseball cap if you like one.

FIT notes a craze for fitness wear in the 1980s, with tracksuits and sports jerseys common in early-decade menswear.

Aerobics, fitness videos and running brought branded tracksuits, windbreakers, headbands, short shorts and stretch fabrics into everyday clothing.

Wear it today in a plain tracksuit or track jacket with jeans, running shorts in a solid colour, and retro running trainers.

Headbands, wristbands and tube socks are best kept for a themed event or the gym; for the wider idea of sportswear as everyday clothing, see our athleisure guide.