If you were around in the 1980’s, you would have seen an awful lot of spandex wherever you went. Spandex was something every cool kid wore, and as well as looking good, it was comfortable too.

Before 80’s rock stars began to dress in spandex, it was primarily worn by dancers and wrestlers so they could move in all kinds of different directions with ease, and not be limited by their clothing.

Spandex was also frequently worn by those who regularly participated in sports as it helped to promote freedom of movement.

Spandex In The 80s

In the early 80’s we saw that fashion for rock stars began to change. They began to wear all sorts of spandex, and they weren’t afraid to be seen in it.

With animal prints or spandex pants, matched with ripped shirts and marquee big hair, both male and female rock stars brought spandex into the public domain.

This made it very cool for anyone to be seen wearing spandex (That’s known as ‘Lycra’ in the UK, or ‘Elastin’ in Europe). Of course celebrity musicians wearing spandex during performances only added to the spandex craze during the 1980s.

Spandex And Fitness

The 80’s was an era when workout videos almost took center stage, videos of famous people showing you how they got in shape, started to become very popular.

During this time the most popular 80s fitness icons like Jane Fonda and Denise Austin worked out regularly in spandex during the 1980s, and if you wanted to get your sweat on, chances are you had some spandex in your 80s workout fashion repertoire too.

Most 1980’s workout videos showed women and men dressed in spandex that allowed them to move with ease.
 

Spandex was light, it was stretchy and it was comfortable, but it could also look good. Men started to wear spandex to the gym as they realized it was ideal to work-out in, and more and more wrestlers started to wear spandex outfits during matches.

They didn’t mind being seen in spandex, although men these days aren’t too keen on wearing it, in the 80’s they were, and it showed they were serious about working out and getting some great results.

Is Spandex Still Popular?

Although the 1980’s was the decade when we all started wearing spandex, somehow this phenomenon made its way into the 90’s too. Spandex shorts were often seen in music videos, still being worn in exercise videos, and often worn by professional cyclists. Because spandex was still being worn by many people in the public eye, it meant it was still being worn by the public and loved the world over.

So who wears spandex in the 21st century? The fact of the matter is that some people still do. Ok, so you don’t see many rock stars wearing spandex any more, indeed it’s only been the likes of Madonna and maybe Lady Gaga who have been brave enough to wear this material, and look good in it too.
 
Some sportsmen and women still wear spandex as it’s hard to find a material that works just as well. Just as sportsmen and women wear spandex, so do some dancers as it gives them the freedom the need to move about with ease.
 
But what about us, do we wear spandex? While we may not deliberately go out and buy spandex clothing, it’s often found mixed in garments to make them stretchy. For now, unless there’s a huge revival, there sports and dance world are likely to be the only places this stretchy shiny fabric is found.