Clothes of the Eighties, Clothes Beginning with D

The eighties saw a wider variety and quicker change in clothing styles than currently. That's why I thought this list would be fun for others to read and add to, so feel free to send me any suggestions. Years are approximated, since some fashions tended to last longer in some regions opposed to other regions.

This page currently edited by: Dagwood. Past editor: Banasy

Clothes beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]
 
Name Sex What When Description
D'Amico purses Female Accsessories Early Eighties Heavy leather purses with a big front flap where we wrote our favorite band's names or cute guys' names.
Davey's Bag F Davey's Bag 80's This was a purse available in either Madras Plaid or Navy. There were brass feet on the bottom and a brass plate on the side that could be monogrammed.
DeGuy F pants 85 Pleated pants, some had pockets by the knee, that came with a leather belt that you loop in front to form a signature 'knot.' Label across the zipper read DeGuy. In America people pronounced like the word Guy but those in the know used the French pronunciation, sounds like de Gee.
Decks, aka Skippies Both Shoes 198? I'm not 100% sure but I think "decks" are the common name given to shoes like the Sebago docksides. In fact, they're boating shoes. And "docksides" was a sort of trade mark from Sebago. But regardless of the manufacturer, that kind of shoes was called "decks" (mainly because you were supposed to wear them while walking on the decks of boats).
Deeleyboppers Both Accessories 198? Weren't they those antennae headbands that Val Kilmer wore in "Real Genius"? They had circles or stars on the ends of springs attached to a headband.
Denim Clothing with Bleach Art Both Clothing 1987? - 1989 Take an old denim jacket or a pair of jeans get some bleach, a small paint brush or use your finger and write your message on it. Mine was "Free James Brown!"
Denim Miniskirts Female Clothes 1986 Denim miniskirts, usually worn with high heels
Denim jackets Both Clothing 198? Another fashion trend started by Bruce Springsteen, coats that were of the same fabric of your jeans.
Denim jackets with lots of heavy metal patches Both Clothing 198? Show which bands you like with big embroidered patches.
Denim jackets with lots of pins Both Clothing 198? Load your jacket with as many little pins that say all kinds of things.
Denim/Cotton Eyelet Skirt Female Clothes 80's these skirts were denim on the top and white cotton eyelet on the bottom; tight at the top, billowing at the bottom, about mid-calf lenghth; looked great with spikey white half heel boots
Derby Male Jacket 80-85 Medium weight jackets with elastic cuffs and girth. Two zippered side pockets. *MUST BE BLACK* (although a limited range of colors were available). These jackets were produced by several makers but an original "Derby" (made in San Francisco) could be easily identified by it's paisley lining, whereas copies had a solid black lining and were generally lighter in weight.
Desert Boots Female Shoes Nubuck, leather ankle boots with little studs and cream crepe sole.
Design Print Stockings Female Hosiery 1982-1985 These were panty hose, with brand names like "Leg Looks", that had flowered designs stitched on to them. The college boys went ga-ga over them.
Desperately Seeking Susan Jacket Unisex Jacket 1985 This was the infamous jacket worn by Madonna in the movie "Desperately Seeking Susan". The jacket was a greenish/metallic color with a pyramid with an eye on top embroidered on the back, like on a dollar bill. MTV did a promotion for the movie where you could by a facsimile of the jacket for about $50.00 bucks. The MTV jacket was black with a similiar design embroidered on the back. The jacket was black and was a bolero style. The lapels and cuffs were a black and metallic gold swirl design. These jackets now go for more than $200.00 on Ebay.
Diaper Shorts Female Clothes 1982-84 These shorts were made of a long strip of material with ties on each end. First you would tie the front "panel" around your waste, with the tie in the back, and the fabric hanging down the front like an apron. Then you would bring the fabric up between your legs (like a diaper, hence the name) and bring the ties around to the front, making a bow. They often were made of safari print fabrics.
Dittos female female jeans late 70s/early 80s The quintessential item for the girl who wanted to be a sexpot. Skintight jeans with a slight flare to the leg and a unique u-shaped stitiching on the rear that shaped your bum into a perfect heart shape. Came in colors like coral, mint, red, and white. Perfect with Candies shoes or Cherokee wedges.
Do Rag both hat/hair accessory mid 80's-90 A patterned handkerchief, formerly used as a cover for women's curlers or as a street gang accessory. Popularized by Axl Rose, the 'Do Rag was folded in half (into a triangle shape), then the three ends were tied and tucked at the back of the head, thus producing a skullcap sort of effect. The typical colors of red and blue gave way to the manufacturing of pink and a veritable rainbow of other colors as the fad progressed.
Doc Martins Both Shoes 1984 Acceptable with dresses
Dolfin Shorts Both Clothes 80-83 Most popular from 79-83...very short, 100% Nylon pull-on shorts, most popular was the 4-panel--(two color)--and the Candystripe patterns.
Dolphin Shorts Female Clothes 198? Little jogging shorts, rounded legs, solid color with another color trim
Donna Female Louis Vuitton or Gucci doctors bags (purses) The 80's High school girls carried Louis Vuitton and Gucci purses shaped like doctors bags which usually contained a large can of Aqua Net hairspray to maintain the high 80's hair
Double Belts Female Belt/Accessory 198? Narrow belts, designed to wrap around the waist twice before buckling. Sometimes worn wrapped around one leg instead.
Double Mismatching Socks Mostly Female Clothing 1980's Two different colored pairs of socks, for example one pair purple, one pair green, on one foot you'd put the purple on and then put on the green and fold it down half way, on the other you'd put the green on first and then put the purple on, folded down half way.
Double Mismatching Socks Female Clothes late 1980's First you put on a solid purple sock, then you put on a solid pink sock... over the purple sock. Fold over so that both colors show. Switch colors around on other foot.
Double Missmatched Socks Female Clothes 1986?-1991 Double mismatched socks were worn with high top Reeboks or keds. The colors were alternating. For instance, with blue jeans you would wear a white sock, a red sock, and a white ked. On the other leg would be a red sock, white sock and red ked.
Double T-Shirts Female Clothes mid-eighties Two T-Shirts in contrasting colors worn together with the sleeves rolled so you could see the other color worn beneath the top shirt.
Double-tongued reeboks female high-top sneakers mid-late 80s? They were high-top reebok sneakers ("dance reebok", similar to the aerobic sneaker) that had one tongue that flared into "two" about two inches or so from the top (hence the term "double tongued")... mine were white, with light purple and pink highlights, and glittery laces. Not sure the "correct" way to tie them, being the big geek that I was I often opted for the bow to go between the tongues. Man, I loved those things, and wore them right into the ground... wish I still had a pair...
Dove Shorts Female Clothes early 80's Cheaper imitation of the popular Dolfin brand short-shorts but became almost as trendy a fashion item as the original. Another less popular Dolfin knock-off brand name was "Fin", an example of brand imitation overkill.
Dove shorts female shorts 198? silky, stretch, elastic waistband, usually 2 colored, one color on left a different color on right.
Down Jackets Male Jackets filled with down Mid to late 80's Waist length jackets tapered to fit snug around the waist. The down made the chest and arms look larger and the tapered waist made any guy look like he was built. Easily recognized by the checkerboard pattern stitching on the arms and abdomen.
Dress Shorts Female Dress Shorts late 80's early 90's Worn with tights or pantyhose and oxford style shoes or Keds or dress sneakers.
Drizabone Both Clothes mid 80s An Australian icon. It's a knee length coat intially worn by stockmen in the High Country. Marketed by RM Williams it became popular with New York business people.
Drop-Waisted Mini Skirts Female Skirts 1985-1989 Mini skirts with a drop waist that flared out.
Dual earings on guys Male Accessories 198? Care of George Michael
Duck Head shirts m/f t shirt 80s Remember Duck Head shirts? The front would say "Duck Head" and had a round circle with a duck swimming. The back would say "Duck Tail" and had a round circle with the duck going underwater so you only saw its tail. These came in all colors.. the neon and tie dye ones were the best!
Duck Shoes/boots both Rubber boots/shoes 1980-? Rubber shoes/boots that came to the ankle only, heavy tread on the bottom, different colors on top. Had laces but slipped on. They went with the whole preppy look.
Duffle Coat female and male clothing Long heavy winter coats that finished just above the knee. They looked similar to the coat worn by Paddington Bear. Duffle coats came in black and navy blue. In Australia, both Collingwood and Carlton Football fans would add the number of their favourite player on the back of their coat.
Dummy Necklaces Female Accesories 89 Necklaces made of a black / coloured cord with a plastic coloured dummy on, later came plastic dolphins as well.
Dunlop Volleys Male Tennis shoe 1978- Today The coolest tennis shoe in the world. Recently celebrated its 25th anniversary with a limited edition model that didn't quite have to same effect.
Duster Denim Coats Both Long Denim Trench Coats 1980s A long trench coat, usually in acid washed denim, that many folks would sport with jeans & boots. You may have seen a version worn by Bon Jovi in his videos.


Clothes beginning with: [Index] [A] [B] [C] [D] [E] [F] [G] [H] [I] [J] [K] [L] [M] [N] [O] [P] [Q] [R] [S] [T] [U] [V] [W] [X] [Y] [Z] [misc]

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