Reflecting on recent retro style
Well, it’s been a minute!
This year we’re keeping our “Thanksgiving table” simple with a fall picnic and fresh food.
A post on learning to run the race, even if you’re still figuring it all out…
Today’s post is about pasta. And unpredictability.
The angles, bold lines and graceful curves of the Art Deco movement returned in the 1980s, not only through art and graphic design, but in home décor as well. This Deco resurgence often appeared in the form of ceramics…
For our first Friday Video Pick, check out this 1983 hit by Scottish post-punk band Orange Juice. Resist the temptation to break out the foil and cellophane. But even more interesting than the space age feel is the contrast between the video’s space ship setting and scenes of band members roaming the streets in ’80s Hawaiian shirts, white pants and Panama hats. And they pull it off. Quite well. This video has a little something for everyone…
Coin beads. Lentil beads. Saucer beads. Call them what you will, these flat beads added a dash of colorful plastic to many an outfit of the 1980s. I’d all but forgotten about them until an Ebay search for ‘80s jewelry produced a flat-beaded necklace amidst a heap of selections, from toy-like charm necklaces to rubber bracelets.
In our last post, expert vendor Bill Goodpasture from Austin’s Room Service Vintage helped us wade through some obstacles facing collectors of ‘80s furniture and home décor items.
While some 1980s pieces are made of less than sturdy material and feature color combinations that people either love or hate, the relatively short time span separating the ‘80s from today may also be responsible for the fact that we are still hard-pressed to find many houses decked out wall to wall in 1980s décor.
So why go (back) there? Good question. One I’ve heard a lot lately. While a 1980s fashion revival has been well established, an official ’80s comeback has yet to hit the world of interior design. Furniture from the 1950s and ’60s is white hot at vintage shops and antique malls. Even pieces from the ’70s have their appeal, at times for their look and at times for their kitsch.
Welcome to Mirror 80, a design blog with a focus on 1980s fashion and interiors! This first post is part reflection, part looking ahead…
