1980's

1980's New Romantic

The 1980's was all about tight fitted clothing to give the body a nice silhoutte for the top section of the body along with flowing wider clothes for the bottom. Medium length hair cuts were popular diring this decade, towards the end of this decade however it was more fashionable to grow your hair long, due to the inluence of heavy metal music. Brand names were becoming popular such as Ralf Lauren and Calvin Klein;. Women were refering to singers such as Madonna after she reased one of her singles named 'like a virgin' in 1984. Films also played a huge part within Fashion as oversized shoulder pads were becoming common die to television shows such as Dallas and in particular Dynasty.

New Romanticism was a manufactured scene within London nightclubs in the early 1980s. People who dressed in this way wereassiciated with being more creative people who had always been more interested in the sartorial aspects of dressing up than the anarchic statement of punk anti fashion. These kind of individuals always wanted to stand out and be different.

The early designers of the romantic look were Vivienne Westwood, Colin Swift, Stevie Stewart and David Holah. Westwood began her romantic ideas with adaptations of dandified Regency designs which later she developed into a Pirate look. She designed especially for Adam and The Ants.

  

The look rapidly dubbed New Romantics by the media, moved quickly into mainstream fashion and was reinforced by hot chart topping pop groups of the time such as Adam And The Ants, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and Visage. David Bowie, Bryan Ferry and Boy George were all influential singers of the era.

Adam Ant

Boy George

Furniture

• The 1980s were definitely a distinctive decade of big hair, big shoulder pads, clunky jewelry, leggings, high tops and over-sized shirts. When it comes to interior design, the '80s were just as distinctive, featuring bold colors and designs. If you're throwing a 1980s retro party or are trying to get rid of all the 1980s elements of your house, there are definite areas to focus on.

Wall Decor

• The first type of wall decor that abounded in the 1980s was a particular palate of paint colors, notably salmon pink and peach. Other common colors were teal and hunter green as well as color schemes that mixed shades of blue, mauve and gray. Mirrors in the shape of octagons framed thickly in brass were common as well as ceiling-to-floor mirrors in bathrooms. Homeowners also used walls consisting entirely of glass blocks for rooms

Lighting

• In bathrooms in the 1980s a common type of light fixture was the Hollywood dressing room style, with light bulbs surrounding the entire mirror. Other features that were ubiquitous in the the 1980s were etched glass and brass chandeliers, often found in entry halls or in dining rooms. Track lighting was popular in the '80s, though the light fixtures were significantly larger than what you normally see today. In the 1980s track lights were the size of tin cans and had large round bulbs.

Splashy Prints

• Eighties decor schemes notably avoided solid colors in fabrics, opting for splashy prints for couches, armchairs and window treatments. Common patterns were swirls and bold strokes of pastels, which gave a vibrancy and energy to rooms but which many consider too busy by today's standards. Window treatments had this busyness not just in color and pattern but also in structure. It was common to see ruffles as well as intricate, overdone valances on curtains.

Drives of 2010/11

Political

Student Fees has been a much talked about political aspect that many feel strongly about involving an increase of University Fees. Nick Clegg and David Cameron had debates about this topic since 2010 and at this present time we are seeing student fees increase to £9,000. This has caused a lot of controversial issues and on the 30th December London had individuals protesting on the streets of London. It has been revealed today in the Guardian (2011) that only the wealthiest families will be able to allow their children to apply for the most competitive Universities. I personally feel this is highly unfair as this has made degrees solely based on materialism and not giving individuals who have intelligence, drive and motivation a chance to pursue their intellect.

Moving away from increased tuition fees and onto employees who work within the public sector will be seeing an increase in wage states Tim Ross (2011). There is already a considerable amount of difference between the public sector and than in private firm where employees are doing the exact same thing. If we refer to the report it states that 'primary school teachers in state education typically earned £33,140 after banking a pay rise of 2.1 per cent, compared with a 12 per cent pay cut for the same job in a private school, where the average salary was £21,159 in 2010'. This is a huge difference and should be addressed to.

Economy

From coming across different types of media on a regular basis we are familiar with how the economy is at an all time low affecting every one of us and why? Davies (2010) states Interest rates are the lowest they have been in 315 years at 1.5%, which means a number of things. For instance people that are investing money with their building society are worse off, whereas customers who have mortgages this is a positive aspect as they are paying less. Interest rates has effected peoples jobs and has made 1.3 million people struggling during this recession period states Telegraph(2010) there were a staggering amount of people that were made redundant too. This not only makes individuals struggling financially but puts strain on all aspects of life.

The graph below shows the decrease of interest rates since 1951:

Socio Cultural

To tie in both aspects I have spoken about previously I thought social class would be an ideal socio cultural topic. Social class within the UK is split up into 3 different categories: Upper, Middle and Lower working class but this not really refereed to. As I mentioned earlier in regards to the public and private sector, it seems that Britain is being divided. Additionally it seems that the UK is inequality from birth, education and work place. Anushka Asthana(2010) states 'theirs deep divisions in Britain's classrooms, different experiences of the criminal justice system and a stubbornly large pay gap between men and women. In full-time work, women are still paid 16.4% less than men, a figure that rises to 55% in the finance sector. '

References

Anushka Asthana (2010) Equality report slams Britain, 2010 00.10 BST
Charlotte Davies (2010) Interest rates hit all time low, 8th January 2010[online] Available from: ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/7817453.stm(Accessed 9th May 2011)

Telegraph(2010)1.3m people have lost theirs jobs in recession finds report, 24th Jan 2010, [online] Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jobs/7066404/1.3m-people-have-lost-their-jobs-in-the-recession-finds-report.html(Accessed 9th May 2011)

Tim |Ross(2011)Workers within the public sector are more than 40% better off, Telegraph, 8th May[online] Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8501369/Workers-in-the-public-sector-are-more-than-40pc-better-off.html (Accessed 9th May 2011)

1960's Givenchy

Comte Hubert de Givenchys work really catches my eye and referring to the 1960's his work is inspirational .He was a designer who dressed women immaculately during this decade and additionally throughout four decades- incorporating elegance, style and aesthetic glamour. His work is easily recognised with his use of fabric and colour and additionally with his signature pieces. As a clothing designer he was dressing the famous including Audrey Hepburn, where his designs appear in her films "Funny Face," "Breakfast at Tiffany's," "Charade," and "Sabrina."

This image below is once of his signature pieces named the sack dress, which has an amazing fabric pattern and additionally is a very flattering simple dress which complements the figure. The simplicity of the design is what I feel makes the outfit immaculate looking.

Sack Dress(2009)

I love this extravagant dress with amazing flower detail and fullness worn by Audry Hepburn 1957. The image was taken to advertise s perfume.  Hubert de Givenchy explains ' perfume is a final touch of elegance, its identity card' Guerlain (2007)

Audry Hepburn(2007)

Audry Hepburn Muse (2010)

McCalls (2008)

 

Audry Hepburn was a fashion icon and people during this period would be strongly influenced by her way of dressing. Givencys designs were perfect for Audrey's Hepburn physic as she was tall and slim. This black sheath dress was worn during the film Breakfast at Tiffanie's.

The independent (2011) states "Fabric is the most extraordinary thing, it has life. You must respect the fabric". This was a quote that Hubert de Givenchy said which really shows the passion he had for his career.

Feeling Audry(2010)

References

Audry Hepburn(2007)

[online] http://fashionmodel.mtx5.com/2008/designers/givenchy/audrey-hepburn-givenchy-muse/(Accessed 9th May2011)

Feeling Audry(2010) [online] http://rarevintage.blogspot.com/2010/12/feeling-audrey.html (Accessed 9th May2011)

 Guerlain (2007)Perfume review and mustings [online] available at: http://www.mimifroufrou.com/scentedsalamander/2007/10/le_de_by_givenchy_perfume_revi.html(Accessed 9th May2011)

Independant(2010)It was always my dream to be a dress designer [online] available at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/features/hubert-de-givenchy-it-was-always-my-dream-to-be-a-dress-designer-1993047.html(Accessed 9th May2011)

Informat Inc (2011) Hubert de givenchy Biography [online] available from:

http://www.infomat.com/whoswho/hubertdegivenchy.html (Accessed 9th May 2010)

McCalls (2010)[online]http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/McCall's_3625 (Accessed 9th May2011)

Sack Dress(2009)[online] http://swankvintage.blogspot.com/2009/03/amazing-couture-givenchy-sack-dress.html (Accessed 9th May2011)