Glitter was a popular fashion accessory in the 1980s. It was used to complete a wide range of looks, and was an important trend that contributed to pop culture at this time.
Glitter is a material that has been popular during certain periods throughout history, however its use in makeup and fashion really came to prominence during the 80s.
In the 1980’s glitter became very popular as an item of clothing and accessories, and it even made its way into household items such as hair brushes and combs! So it’s not surprising when people remember the rise of glitter, we associate it with the best decade ever. But what caused it to rise in popularity during the 80s?
Glitter’s Rise To Fame
The popularity of glitter originated from the punk rock movement in London, where musicians often wore their hair spiked up with large quantities of Aqua Net hairspray and cut-up pieces of tinsel glued onto their faces as makeup.
With such an outrageous appearance, their fans wanted to emulate their looks and started wearing glitter to concerts as part of their punk rock fashion. Eventually this fad spread beyond the punk rock scene’s fans; it started to be worn by many young people in London during that time.
Glitter’s Influence In The 80s
There was a very large group of people who found the look of glitter to be not only eye-catching but also aesthetically pleasing. The shiny material reflected light, making whoever was wearing it seem even more glamorous.
Women especially appreciated this aspect of glitter, because they were always looking for ways to attract attention and shimmering accessories made them look much more attractive. One woman from the time stated that “men love to see girls dressed up in glitzy outfits with sparkling hair clips or hair bands”.
Glitter didn’t just make women appear attractive; it was also used as an accessory by men during concerts because it would help them stand out in the crowd. Men often wore sparkly shirts over simple jeans and sneakers so that everyone could immediately identify them during a concert or any other crowded setting.
Glitter was also associated with glamour and wealth, which was something many people who were growing tired of the economic recession at the time would hope for. Plenty of advertisements at this time featured models wearing glittery makeup and lipsticks, and because of bold 80s makeup trends it seemed like glitter products were everywhere.
Glitter products also weren’t just bought by women; it became socially acceptable for men to wear lipstick in the 1980s, which further added to the popularity of the fashion trend. Soon enough glitter was the “it” thing, and if you were a young rebellious person at the time, you undoubtedly had some glitter in your accessory collection.
Glitter was also extremely easy to find at the time because it could be removed from craft supplies such as sequins, or even glued onto paper with glue sticks. It could then easily be attached anywhere on the body with the use of hairspray, a technique that many women found to be quite convenient.
However, glitter was also very difficult to get rid of because it couldn’t just be wiped off like most other material. If you used hairspray to glue glitter to your hair, you couldn’t just remove this stubborn accessory by just brushing it off.
Girls who wore glitter would have to wait until they showered before washing it away. As a result, there were countless complaints about glitter being uncomfortable and inconvenient because it would often stain bedsheets and other surfaces in people’s homes.
Is Glitter Still Popular Today?
People eventually stopped using glitter at the end of the 1980s because the fashion world had started favoring simple designs over ostentatious ones; people wanted fashion items that could easily be removed and wouldn’t stain other clothes in their closet. Even makeup companies stopped producing glittery kinds of lipstick because the general public had become tired of this trend.
However we still do see the use of glitter today in high end fashion shoots as well as when people dress up for special occasions. These days though glitter is not as ubiquitous as it was during the 1980s, and it is a fashion trend we will always remember in a nostalgic manner.