Wendy Brandes Jewelry Blog

Never Is the Next New Thing

Oh, Give Me a Home Where the Buffalo Plaid Roams

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I still love some of the fashions I wore in the early ’80s:

In this picture from last year, I’m wearing the motorcycle jacket I got in 1984.

But I have no desire for jazz shoes.

From 1983. I’m the one wearing white Capezio jazz shoes with pleated jeans and a LeSportsac bag.

I’m also over buffalo-plaid shirts, despite my 1983-1984 enthusiasm for one blue and black buffalo-plaid shirt that I wore with a black pistol belt from Canal Jean Co. (I hope I didn’t wear jazz shoes with that top; I feel sure I carried my gray plaid LeSportsac.) But, if I were given a choice of buffalo plaid or death, I would pick this sequined shirt by Ashish.

$1,450 at Net-a-Porter. Click to shop.

A lot of shiny would be some consolation for the lack of sex-ay. But not much consolation. I’d rather have the Keith Haring skirt and neon socks and heels that Madonna wore in her Borderline video.

Click screen cap to watch the whole video.

I would happily wear that whole outfit today. The hair, too!

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Comments

  3. I’ve heard of jazz hands, but missed out on the jazz shoes. I had the neon green Reebok hi-tops. Not sexxay, but they did turn heads. I’m so impressed that you still have a jacket from 1984.

    • I used to be worried that I was a hoarder, but then I watched Hoarders and decided that as long as I don’t have rotting pumpkins in the living room, I’m okay.

    • That’s because you’re too young to have traumatic pictures from the first time around! I will turn over both those looks to you young’uns.

  6. That motorcycle jacket is great and I like the jazz shoes too. In the 1980s I loved wearing oversized thrift store jackets (tweed, velvet smoking jackets etc.) with clusters of silly brooches and still do. Same for armfuls of bangles (although no more black rubber bracelets). I’d never perm my hair again though or bring back the sparkling emerald green eyeshadow that I wore all the way from lid to giant bushy eyebrows. ‘Twas a graceless age but a deliciously sparkly one.

  10. I had white jazz shoes too!Later I branched out and got pink ones. I wore them with cropped, paper-bag jeans and and off the shoulder pink top. So stylish!

  12. You’d be great in that Madonna outfit.

    If you had that buffalo plaid shirt, would you wear it with a wide, hipslung belt, leggings, and laceup boots? That WAS one of the uniforms of our era, after all.

  16. is the mullet guy in the back doing a photo bomb?
    does the mullet automatically make it a bomb?
    😉
    you look adorable! in both photos!

    • I have no memory of who was there, but I must say I thought the person was a girl! Now that I look at it again, I think you’re right. I think!

  17. I had the jazz shoes. I have been secretly been waiting for dayglo to come back into fashion. I love the Ashish shirt probably the only way I would wear a plaid shirt!

  18. Your post reminds me of how obsessed I was by day glo and LA Gears shoes. Honestly, I thought I wouldn’t have believed that the 80’s style will be back (at all), I guess the saying: “What goes around, comes around” is true :))

    Hugs,
    Jemina
    xoxo

  21. I don’t think I could ever be over buffalo plaid. It seems un-Canadian somehow to reject something so reminiscent of our national flag and lumberjacks.

  25. I lived the in jazz shoes my freshman year. I blame Duran Duran. I also wore them sans socks because *my* favorite Duran, Simon, didn’t wear socks with his. I had a permanent blister on the top of my foot thanks to that! (but I still wore the shoes!)

  26. You had me at (the mention of) Canal Jeans. Sniff…

    I think we are a similar age – I still mourn donating an espirit white tube skirt with black graffiti print (sorta haring-ish, sorta sprouse-y) from the 80s. I would so wear that right now.