Fashion of American Women 1900-2000 Part III

I gotta say, I'm pretty nervous about the eighties, since my mom and a bit of my followers are from that generation.
 They'd know more than me. ;)

As the 1970’s became the 1980’s, the American women’s fashion changed quite a bit.
Perms were the fashion again, but this time much more longer, and a lot fluffier, with plenty of hairspray to give it as much body as possible.
Pants were what the average woman wore for everyday, mainly jeans, and casual was rather, well, casual.
T-shirts, letterman sweaters or jackets, and ‘scrunchies’ were worn during the week days, along with sneakers and other causal shoes.
Church or formal consisted of dresses with either padded shoulders or puffed sleeves, low-waisted at times and knee-length, large earrings, tights or nylons, and heels.
Some dresses were a similar style to the fashion of the 1940’s. with a modern, funky twist to them, and as most of the women of the 80’s were career women, the executive look was also very popular.
Western was becoming quite ‘in’ during this time, and nearly every girl owned a fringed jacket, boots, or a fringed, sparkly shirt.
Some of the styles were pretty far-out, as women followed after the fashion icons like Madonna, and anything bold, colorful and bright was the way to go.
 It seemed as if anything could go in the 80's, and there was a large variety of styles.

I'd guess early 80's

early 80's :)

Levis became popular for women

Early 1980's, Princess Diana, a fashion icon

Crazy, huh? Imagine walking around like that and feeling pretty

Why, this looks similar to the early 1900's...
Except the hair, of course ;)

Why?

Get a load of that hair!

The 1990's were similar to the 1980s, but I would say much less.... pop.

 Jeans were the casual fashion, straight leg, with at least two pairs of socks over top.
Keds and sneakers were the footwear of the day, leather jackets popular, and it was even more casual than the 80's.
 Formal was pretty formal, copying styles similar to the forties and fifties, nylons still ever-present, heels, and as it came to the late 90's, women were began to cut their hair short again.
 Perms were slowly becoming a thing of the past, and women wanted to look more sporty.

early 1990's

early 1990's

 

Casual 90's

90's

90's.

I can recall the time my mom dressed similar to this. Looser sweater, though ;)

late 90's. Yep, my mom definitely wore this in my childhood :D

Princess Diana, 90's

Now we come to a era I can recall quite well. ;)

 The early 2000's.

My, oh, my, some of the styles during that time... whew!

 I can recall the crop tops, flare jeans and clunky shoes, along with the strange little pigtails scattered across the head, and the dark lipstick the teens wore.

 I can remember that they were similar to the 1970's in some ways, and as I watched all of the teenagers, I thought they were so cool.

 Now that I'm their age, I am rather amused and also shocked at some of the things they wore. ;)

I won't have very many pics, because this was a pretty immodest time, with low shirts with very short hems, short dresses.. why, they practically wore nothing during this time!  ;)

That hair... yes, I recall. Sorry about the nose-ring.. It was the only decent pic I could find of that hairstyle...

Oh, yes. These chokers were the thing

during the early 2000's, it seemed that wackier the better

Formal was not very formal

Thank goodness these trends passed!

 Now we have some pretty crazy fads of our own, but I'm happy to say that retro is becoming the fashion (yay!) although sadly, so is the 1970's...

 Well, that's all folks!

Hope you enjoyed the ride through time!

              LaKaysha 



What Is Beauty?

I am a girl who loves feeling pretty. I adore dressing up in nice clothes, curling my hair, and feeling like I at least tried to accomplish looking neat and feminine.
 I struggle with my looks a lot of the time, feeling homely and insecure, especially now that I have glasses. If anything makes you feel unfeminine, glasses would be my number one.
 But I know that it isn't our outward beauty that matters, but a much deeper beauty, one that a lot of people in the world can't understand. 

Let's say there are two girls sitting side by side.
Both are dressed in nice, pretty clothes, and have their hair dressed in a feminine style.
 One is sitting with her hands clasped in front of her, avoiding eye contact with the passing people and sometimes flipping open her phone when she finished complaining to her friend.
She is a very pretty girl, with rosy cheeks and perfect skin, and not a hair out of place.
 The other is listening respectfully and quietly as she sits with an air of serenity and pure contentment. Her nose seems a little large for her face, and she had a small splash of acne on her cheeks.
  An elderly woman stops beside them, addressing both, asking for directions for a certain destination.
 The girl with the phone rolls her eyes and pretends she hasn't heard, bending farther over her phone.
The other sets her book down with a smile, happily giving the woman directions and wishing her a good day.
 The elderly woman leaves thinking the young girl the most loveliest thing in the world, while she thinks of the other girl with a disbelieving shake of her head.
And now, the same girls went to a party at a friend's house.
 One comes in with a sweet smile, the room instantly filling with a gay air as she enters.
She greets her young friends, sweetly and politely addresses the parents there, and all the children instantly run to the young woman, their arms outstretched.
And then the other girl enters the room.
 She has disposed of her phone for now, yet it hasn't seemed to make any difference.
She snubs the adults, sits down beside her friends ready to let loose her latest complaint, all done with a sneering, haughty look on her physically pretty face.
 She suddenly doesn't look so pretty anymore. She is vain, deceitful, uncaring, selfish, and unhappy.
Which one do you want to be?

One girl was sweet, happy, loving, understanding, and respectful.
The other had an air of annoyance and arrogance.
 Even though the sweet one didn't have the porcelain beauty of her friend, she truly looked prettier, the smile on her face lighting up her gentle eyes.
Beauty isn't what the media says it is.
 It isn't large eyes with dark eyelashes, and powdered eyelids.
It isn't rosy red lips, and even white teeth.
It isn't long glossy hair and the ability to toss your head like a movie star.
 No, it isn't even a dainty nose that makes one beautiful.
 It's the beauty of Christ, shining from inside us, that is truly important.
Love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, these are all true beauty, the beauty that is from God.
 Walking in a happy, yet humble way, spreading Christ's love in word and action.
Christ thinks we are all beautiful, no matter our age, race, or physical appearance.
 I must confess, that I should practice what I preach, considering how many times I have complained to others how ugly I am.
 I guess it is something all girls struggle with.
Yet, believe it or not, I am more insecure about my character and inward appearance than I am about what I look like.
 I am striving to be a virtuous young woman, and it can be hard struggle for all of us.
 Praying for all young woman like me, who long for different kind of beauty, something so much more.
 God bless!
                                                    LaKaysha E