Question to those who were around in the 80s


Viceguy

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How popular were cropped blazers that I see fairly often in Miami Vice as well as other TV shows and movies produced in the 80s? I really adore the look - so much so that I actually bought a couple of such blazers and full suits. It appears that the 80s were the only time those waist length garments were really popular with men. Was it more of look you could expect to see in a club setting? 

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I remember seeing these kinds of clothes readily available for purchase at many major department stores following the success of the early seasons of Miami Vice. I was too young to go to the club, but these kinds of clothes were even available in children’s sizes, so I imagine you didn’t have to go too far in the public of urban areas to find people wearing clothes that were inspired by Miami Vice. 

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Vice reflected the styles of the time. The show only made them that much more popular.  One thing I do remember. The T-shirt and jacket look became so popular that many high end restaurants that required you to wear a tie actually had signs at the door that read “No Miami Vice”    Don’t know if they checked for socks though  ;)

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not sure i understand what a cropped blazer is. but according to what i googled, yeah these where very popular back then, but more among women as i recall it

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All the fashion on MV was from the best international designers. Cropped blazers, spencers, everything Crockett&Tubbs wore was the latest stuff from Milano and Paris. But prior to the show (1984) such pieces were only shown there on the catwalk for a fairly small audience and bought by very few rich buyers.

The fashion department at MV (Milena Canonero and others) looked out for the latest stuff in Europe and often ordered 4 pieces=2 for DJ/PMT and 2 for the stuntmen of the next upcoming collection, often long before it was in any stores in Italy or France. And they got it as all designers wanted to use that new TV show as an advertising channel. With the show, these Versace/Gucci/Mugler/Boss/... clothes made it suddenly beyond the catwalk sessions and special audiences and a few specialty stores to mainstream and people all around bought either the expensive originals or some cheaper "MIami Vice" epigones that some stores or chains had made for the masses.

If you find old leaflets from department stores you just need to check between 1984 and 1986/87. Then you see the immediate effect the show had.

This was also due for Crockett´s shoes by the way. 

 

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I have recently acquired a couple of jackets that end at the waist. Judging by the way they are cut - padded shoulders for example - they appear to have been made in the 80s and had been laying as an unsold deadstock items ever since. Considering that they both set me back only 70 USD each it seems very plausible. I bought them because they just screamed Vice to me.

I can post a picture if anybody is interested. 

Edited by Viceguy
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56 minutes ago, Viceguy said:

I have recently acquired a couple of jackets that end at the waist. Judging by the way they are cut - padded shoulders for example - they appear to have been made in the 80s and had been laying as an unsold deadstock items ever since. Considering that they both set me back only 70 USD each it seems very plausible. I bought them because they just screamed Vice to me.

I can post a picture if anybody is interested. 

Definitely post; I'm interested for sure!

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2 hours ago, Viceguy said:

How popular were cropped blazers that I see fairly often in Miami Vice as well as other TV shows and movies produced in the 80s? I really adore the look - so much so that I actually bought a couple of such blazers and full suits. It appears that the 80s were the only time those waist length garments were really popular with men. Was it more of look you could expect to see in a club setting? 


People today put a lot of criticism into the '80s in general.  "Decade of Excess"---I'm not so sure I agree.  Yes, the cropped blazers were just as popular with the ladies as with the men---it expressed the same thing:  dynamic energy, person on the move, action-oriented person.  I think the razor-narrow neckties expressed the same thing:  "On the Move, exciting and no time to stop".

Did MV make this fashion popular, or was the show just capturing images and fashion components that were already building popularity?  I think (I THINK) the only thing that Crockett "made popular for others to follow" was the act of combining a blazer look with a  loafers look.  But if you look at Tubbs with those razor lines on an always-buttoned (Italian) suit top, despite how good that style looked on Philip Michael (and yes, he did look damn, damn good in it), that look was destined to be popular whether they showed it in MV or not.  

My running argument with clothing fashion is that, it's NOT required to be made popular by a particular time period or (tv show) event.  Yes, its popularity does blossom most often by that method, but TIME and a potentially GOOD looking piece of attire don't have to be linked to each other.

I never had enough occasion in my young life to invest and wear one of Tubbs' style suits.  But I also liked the thinner, metallic pattern neckties he wore too, and THOSE I could fit into my office life all the way through the '90s and beyond.

If the piece of clothing you admire actually mates well with your figure, (men, think shoulder-width and height----women, think thigh-width and backside-v-bustline length...it can get tricky to picture), you can wear that thing even in 2012, and as long as you're not feeling nervous about what you're wearing, people LIKE what they're seeing on you and can't help but mention it to you and say it seriously.

No joke, I still wear ties that the '80s made fashionable(just barely wider than Castillo's black ties), and partly because I'm the only one wearing that style, partly because I'm confident and relaxed about wearing it, I get pulled over by strangers who want to know where they can get that necktie too.  
I have a suit I use just for job interviews, that I bought back in '89 so it retains a few of the sharp lines and tones from those '80s designers. As long as I keep the same weight and figure, I'll wear that suit again, and I'll know that anyone's attention that I get will be looking at that suit with a modern contemporary interest.  They don't ask "what time period it came from", they don't see it as a "retro" garment---they jump to the assumption it's a contemporary item by some alternative tailor who hasn't made a name for himself yet.  

Clothing components, like music, gets chained to that word "fashion" when it doesn't need to be.  Fashion always gets remembered as having a "time period" connected to it.  
A good piece of clothing, like a good piece of music, isn't really dependent on a year or time.  It's just kind of a sin that we DO attach time to a good piece of cloth.  And of course, the tailors who used to make these, are "fashion" thinking too, which means they STOP making a great piece of clothing, regardless of how great that piece will always look good on Paul, or Sandy's mom, etc.

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5 minutes ago, Augusta said:


People today put a lot of criticism into the '80s in general.  "Decade of Excess"---I'm not so sure I agree.  Yes, the cropped blazers were just as popular with the ladies as with the men---it expressed the same thing:  dynamic energy, person on the move, action-oriented person.  I think the razor-narrow neckties expressed the same thing:  "On the Move, exciting and no time to stop".

Did MV make this fashion popular, or was the show just capturing images and fashion components that were already building popularity?  I think (I THINK) the only thing that Crockett "made popular for others to follow" was the act of combining a blazer look with a  loafers look.  But if you look at Tubbs with those razor lines on an always-buttoned (Italian) suit top, despite how good that style looked on Philip Michael (and yes, he did look damn, damn good in it), that look was destined to be popular whether they showed it in MV or not.  

My running argument with clothing fashion is that, it's NOT required to be made popular by a particular time period or (tv show) event.  Yes, its popularity does blossom most often by that method, but TIME and a potentially GOOD looking piece of attire don't have to be linked to each other.

I never had enough occasion in my young life to invest and wear one of Tubbs' style suits.  But I also liked the thinner, metallic pattern neckties he wore too, and THOSE I could fit into my office life all the way through the '90s and beyond.

If the piece of clothing you admire actually mates well with your figure, (men, think shoulder-width and height----women, think thigh-width and backside-v-bustline length...it can get tricky to picture), you can wear that thing even in 2012, and as long as you're not feeling nervous about what you're wearing, people LIKE what they're seeing on you and can't help but mention it to you and say it seriously.

No joke, I still wear ties that the '80s made fashionable(just barely wider than Castillo's black ties), and partly because I'm the only one wearing that style, partly because I'm confident and relaxed about wearing it, I get pulled over by strangers who want to know where they can get that necktie too.  
I have a suit I use just for job interviews, that I bought back in '89 so it retains a few of the sharp lines and tones from those '80s designers. As long as I keep the same weight and figure, I'll wear that suit again, and I'll know that anyone's attention that I get will be looking at that suit with a modern contemporary interest.  They don't ask "what time period it came from", they don't see it as a "retro" garment---they jump to the assumption it's a contemporary item by some alternative tailor who hasn't made a name for himself yet.  

Clothing components, like music, gets chained to that word "fashion" when it doesn't need to be.  Fashion always gets remembered as having a "time period" connected to it.  
A good piece of clothing, like a good piece of music, isn't really dependent on a year or time.  It's just kind of a sin that we DO attach time to a good piece of cloth.  And of course, the tailors who used to make these, are "fashion" thinking too, which means they STOP making a great piece of clothing, regardless of how great that piece will always look good on Paul, or Sandy's mom, etc.

Yeah, I think the 1980s was characterized for being cheesy, especially when it comes to pop culture, but I feel what it was was that society suffered burnout from the intensity of the 1960s and 1980s, so people weren't really always interested in an overdose of self-awareness. I was a kid in the 1980s (peaked at age 12, but I'm not clouded by my relative youth in that era), and I see no problem with the decade. Sure, some things work better than others and have aged differently, but that can be said about any decade.

I think the vice look is a combination of what concepts the show brought to the table, current fashion, and the restoration of past ideas & looks (Art Deco). I agree, there are many people that don't need television or trends to tell them what they think looks good or not; I've said this before, but mainstream society sometimes underestimates an individuals ability to think for themselves (I feel the thinking isn't the problem, but the confidence and guts to be the person they want to be and like what they want to like).

I love your post, I think it's well-said and sociologically relevant to the max.

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agreed it was a great post. this seems to work with any good artistic creation though. a great building like Miami beach ones, a great car like the Mercedes 300SL will still be admired in 100 years. This is what makes these things great. they have escaped from time

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I remember the cropped blazer being more popular among the ladies than the guys.  It was a very stylist look I agree. In fact I would even say on a lady it could be "sexy".  But for my personal taste in clothing it was not something I would have worn and never did wear. 

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don't recall having seen much of these in the 80s. i remember there were lot of pleated pants and flashy, and pastel T-shirts, or shirts where i was, but i don't remember that kind of blazer

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I was in high school for most of the shows run and remember watching the pilot the Sunday night it debuted.  Lots of people were talking about it at school the next day.  I also remember a few students showing up with clothing like the show, but that was a bit later.  It took some time to catch on it seemed.  There were at least a couple of guys who wore jackets to a dance that were short like that, but I don’t recall them at school.  
 

Perhaps that would be the equivalent to club-wear for high school students.  I do recall that it didn’t last too long as us usually the case in high school.  Now, as a high school teacher for over 25 years, it seems that every year brings something a little different in the student’s styles. 
 

Honestly, when I think of the style, I think of the bolero jackets James West used to wear in The Wild, Wild West.  They do seem a bit affected for men, but I’m no fashion expert… by far!

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14 hours ago, Dadrian said:

My older brother had a suit with a jacket like this (the suit was a darker gray). He got it at Chess King at the mall. That was his favorite store in the late 80s/early 90s. 

I think my mom got my kids’ size MV clothes (that I wore for school pictures and her concerts) at a mall department store called “Proffit’s”. That place was kind of a big deal in Tennessee at the time. :) 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proffitt's

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I played several sports and was around other athletes mostly.  I wore jeans or shorts, t-shirts, my Pirates cap a lot, and occasionally a jersey on game days.  I wasn’t very much into fashion then either, but I remember seeing kids wearing MV style clothes.  The pastel thing was pretty short-lived, if I recall correctly, and was followed by a neon trend.  This was in the LA area.

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i remember a shirt i had that i bought in Miami. my dad, and i had the same. that shirt was one of the coolest gear i ever wore. it was light, for tropical living, and had a pastel green or pink i don't remember big seaplane on the back, something ressembling to a Short Sunderland or something, and a palm tree right to it. Man i could kill if i see that thing again

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The only kid in high school in 1985 who could get away with the cropped blazer look with rolled up sleeves and Wayfarers was this guy who was the star of the football team and had a cadre of cheerleaders following him around. For the rest of us normals, the cropped blazer was a little too... uh... risky.

I think the only place I ever saw it in person were the handful he wore it, and at semi-formal dances.

(Note: This was in Massachusetts. Very cold. Miami was likely a lot different.)

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This is one of the suits I have bought. Very soft, the label says it is made of pure silk. In real life it looks slightly more greyish. The pants, as is so characteristic of the 80s, are pleated. I could easily imagine Tubbs wearing something like this. For some reason, they never had him wear anything cropped.

 

s-l1600.jpg

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On 9/20/2021 at 11:43 AM, Titus said:

The only kid in high school in 1985 who could get away with the cropped blazer look with rolled up sleeves and Wayfarers was this guy who was the star of the football team and had a cadre of cheerleaders following him around. For the rest of us normals, the cropped blazer was a little too... uh... risky.

I think the only place I ever saw it in person were the handful he wore it, and at semi-formal dances.

(Note: This was in Massachusetts. Very cold. Miami was likely a lot different.)

Okay, no Vice look for me in 1986 (3rd Grade), but I'm from Angola, NY (between Buffalo & Erie, PA) and we didn't have a lot of Vice colors trending either. In this 1986 school photo of me, however, I am rocking something of a Season 3 Crockett haircut (I'm smiling funny here because a baby tooth came loose before photo time, and I had to go to the bathroom and yank that sucker out. Later that night, I received a visit from the Tooth Fairy, and it all worked out).

1108170851-00.jpg

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On 9/20/2021 at 4:37 PM, Viceguy said:

This is one of the suits I have bought. Very soft, the label says it is made of pure silk. In real life it looks slightly more greyish. The pants, as is so characteristic of the 80s, are pleated. I could easily imagine Tubbs wearing something like this. For some reason, they never had him wear anything cropped.

 

s-l1600.jpg

Very nice, and definitely a Tubbs look.

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I was in elementary school/junior high when Vice was on.  My friend had a paper route and was a huge Vice fan, so he was able to buy himself the cropped blazers and Crockett outfits of the time.  I didn't watch the show back then but I can still remember all of the cool clothes he wore to school and the girls were after him daily.  A lot of kids at the time were wearing parachute pants since the breakdancing scene was very popular in this same timeframe.  I am guilty of belonging to that crowd and it was way fun.  My go-to outfit was black parachute pants, black Chuck Taylors with neon horizontal lacing, a neon handkerchief tied around the thigh.  Good times that I fondly remember.  As far as I was concerned, I WAS Ozone from the movie Breakin'.

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