BEAUTY IDEAL

THE 80's
Appearance

 For centuries women have been judged by their looks

more than any other aspect of their person.
 Regardless of their personality or level of intelligence, a
man's initial impression of a woman is based on their
opinion of the woman's appearance. An attractive, young,
slim white female is more likely to receive special
treatment from men of all ages than someone who does
not fit this description.
 The media promotes the idea that women must look a
certain way to be found attractive.
Model Brooke Shields was an icon of the time, and
the late 80's marked the beginning of the age of the
supermodel.
. This era celebrated this body type:
Athletic
Svelte, but Curvy
Tall
Toned Arms
This time period brought about an exercise-crazed phenomenon. Workout videos were all the rage,
encouraging women to be thin, but also fit. This era also saw an upswing in anorexia, thought by some
experts to be caused by an widespread obsession with exercise.
In the mid 80's, Madonna and Cyndi Lauper became fashion
icons for young women with their "street urchin" look, which
popularized big hair, bright colors and bold personalities
Michael Jackson sported the "jheri curl" (a sparkling wet-
looking, heavily processed version of the Afro), and some
middle-class teen-agers adapted the punk-influenced spiked
hairstyle.
Androgyny was also an important look of the 80's, from Boy George, to Sinead
O'Connor's shaved head, to the Glam rock, Goth fashion and Heavy Metal bands,
with their makeup and wild, long and dyed hair
Many of the iconic beauty ideals of the 80's might have been unconventional and
extreme, but it was due to the fact that the true ideal was to make an impact
and create attention. It certainly made it's impact on fashion history as
the infamous 80's look has paved the way for any fashion related extreme form of
self-expression ever since.