Clothes of the Eighties, Clothes Beginning with M

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
MC Hammer Pants Male Pants Mid 80's Remember those pants in which MC Hammer wore all the time? You could jump out of an airplane and not need a parachute (another name for them. He used them in the Taco Bell commercial. They came in all sorts of colors.
MN Nancy F Sweats pants 1981-83? These sweat type pants were known as 'Sweats by Chego' and were like warm up pants that came in different colors and had a colored stripe down the side of the legs. They had a zippered pocket on the back with the label saying 'Sweats' with 2 tear drops next to the name.
MULTIPLES Female MULTIPLES 1985-1987 I'm still in awe of how they had entire STORES of nothing but MULTIPLES! Basically there are tons of differents "pieces" that can all be combined with pretty much any other "Multiple" in existence. All were some sort of thin, stretchy cotton/? blend and weren't exactly full of shape... The classic multiple look would be the skirt or pant with a tunic top accessoried with the "everything" tube thing that was used as the belt (among 15 other ideas that they had for it...) They weren't just popular among a certain age either - Grandmothers, Mothers, & Daughters all had it on...
Magnetic Belts Female Accessories 198? ?
Major Damage Both Clothes 87-? Sold mostly jeans with lots of rips, holes, etc.
Marc Buchanan Leather male/female Jacket 84-89 Leather jackets with lots of fringe, worn by some R & B artists (usually red, black)
Marilyn jeans by Santana Female Jeans 1980s (peaked 1984-87) Tapered-leg jeans fitted with zippers at the ankles to allow wearer to put them on. The very nicest of these were the stonewashed ones with a line of rhinestones riveted along the front pockets. Would later be paired with the off-the-shoulder "Marilyn" sweaters.
Marled Sweaters Both Clothing 1908s Came in an assortment of colors. Usually black with another color. Started with sweaters, then spread to other knit items such as socks & legwarmers
Mascara Both Accessories 198? Think of the Cure here...
Matt Male Travel Fox Sneakers mid to late 80's Travel Fox sneakers were casual low top shoes that came in either black or white and in looks were quite similar to the Reebook Classic Tennis sneaker but way more comfortable. Of course, once the 80's were over so was this brand. Anyone know where I may still find a pair in 10 1/2 - 11?
Maui & Sons Male Surfer Clothing 80's early 90's Maui & Sons, a brand of surf boards and surf clothing from Hawaii, was also popular in Southern California and other surfing areas.
Maui and Sons Male T-shirts Mid 1980s Surf branded clothes, typically bright aquamarine
Member's Only Jackets Male Clothing 1981 Thin wind breakers with a pocket on the left chest with the "Member's Only" logo (or similar label) and little epelets on the shoulders.
Menisha Jeans Female Jeans mid 80's I'm not sure of the correct spelling of the jeans, but they were pronounced (me-nisha)jeans. They were baggy jeans, and came in thick cords or jeans. They were not too baggy, and were taped on the bottom. I don't think they had zippers on the bottom, they were actually half-way decent jeans.
Metallic Thread Shirts Female Metallic Thread Plaid Shirts early 80's These were very popular in the early eightees and were cotton made in India or China. The metallic threads were gold, silver,or multi-colored. Some were not plaid, but had vertical lines and had a "wet" look.
Mia Shoes Female Shoes 1984? Flat leather shoes with pointed toes that came in a variety of colors. They had this distinctive "arch" type thing on the side. Other shoe companies tried to sell their imitation of them but you were considered "cool" if you paid for the real thing.
Miami Vice Male Clothing 1984 Lots of loose fitting flourecesent clothing, deck shoes with no socks.
Michael Jackson Glove Male Accessories 1984 One glittery glove, not two.
Michael Jackson jackets Both A jacket 1983-84;1987 This type of jacket became poular after Michael Jackson became a big artist. Most jackets mimicked his videos while others could be heavily jewled and run as much as $300 (back in the day--bummer)
Michael Jackson jackets Male Clothing 198? red, vinyl with lots of pockets
Michael Jackson mirrored glasses Male Accessories 198? ?
Michael Jackson pocketbook female purse Early 80's The pocket book with Michael Jackson's pic on it. It was pleather and had a long thin shoestring type strap that you could sling over or tie in a knot on your shoulder.
Michelle Female acessories 80's Multiple swatches with a swatch guard. Multiple socks to match clothes Parachute pants Twisted beads
Mickey/Minnie Sweatshirts Female Clothes mid to late 80's Had Mickey and Minnie (African American versions) wearing popular street clothes. Minnie usually had on something Louis Vuitton or maybe it was MCM.
Military Fatigue Pants Both Clothing 198? The Urban Camo (white. gray, black) was especially popular but harder to find. Viet Nam era "tiger stripe" was also popular. Usually worn with Converse Chuck Taylor high tops (especially black), or "assault loafers" (pull-on canvas sneakers in camoflage pattern). These pants were usually U.S. Army surplus or fake surplus. There was I think a fad for camoflage around 1982 or 1983, but this item survived the fad for several years. Often worn with an army field jacket in cool weather.
Military fatigue pants Both Clothing 198? These are the loose fitting green camouflaged pants, sometimes the white or brown ones too.
Miniskirts Female Clothing 1982 A brief resurgence in popularity with the 60s fashion, though they weren't nearly as short. They often came as part of a set, which included a matching sweater, headband and leg warmers...
Minnetonka Moccasins Male & Female Minnetonka Moccasins 1984-1987 I just saw how they're BACK (2005)!! There wasn't a kid in school who wasn't sporting their Minnetonka Moccasins. Quite impressive considering that boys primarily loved athletic shoes during this particular era. The 1st popular ones were earlier 80's & they had the classic "native american" beading on them & most likely tassels.. Then you HAD to have the "unisex" ones with the rubber nubs on the bottom (like driving mocs). AND you had better make coilys with the tassels...or you just weren't wearing them right.
Mirrored Goggles Male Mostly Eyewear 1985 Oakley had brilliant orange irridium, Smith had rainbow gradient mirror, Scott had solid color mirror. The straps and frames were quite colorful as well. Although worn primarily for skiing (alas snowboarding was not mainstream yet), they were sometimes worn as sunglasses with matching neon ski or sports clothing--first goggles ever comfortable enough to get away with this during warmer parts of the year. Saw this at college, etc.
Mismatch Earrings Female Accesories mid 80's Qearing a small earring in one ear and a large dangly one in the other ear.
Mismatched Chuck Taylor high top shoes Female Shoes 198? ?
Mismatched Hightops Both Two Pairs Of Hightops Different Colors Worn Misma mid 80's My children wore mismatched high tops in the mid 80's. You were un cool if you wore them matched.
Mismatched Lip Liner Female Makeup At least since '82 Lipliner was often a few shades darker than the actual lipstick, making this strange outline around the lips.
Moccasins male or female Indian shoes 1988-1989 Usually the "dead heads" would wear moccasins with a T-shirt of their favortie band.
Mock turtleneck both clothing late 80's Short and long sleeve t-shirts that had short (mock) turtlenck on them, the girls' often had shoulder pads.
Mohawks Both Hair late 70's, early 80's The mohawks' origins lie with English punk bands of the late 70's and their dedicated fans. Like the Sex Pistols etc.

The mohawk and other punk fads were fazed out with the "New Romantic" look of the early to mid 80's. However, Punk resurged in the mid to late 90's and is still around today.

Mohawks Male Hair 198? One single strip of hair down the center of your head, spiked high with lots of mousse, dyed bright colors, the sides shaved. Women seldom did this one, rarely seen outside the punk world.
Mondetta Male/Female Clothin Late 80s Everyone who was anyone had to have one of these Mondetta TShirts and sweatshirts with the different countries and flags on them, but if you were really cool you had the expensive team-style jacket.
Monique female Betty Boop Mid Eighties The Betty Boop caricature was really popular on tee shirts and crop tops.
Monique female Yo Baby Yo Mickey Mouse Sweatshirt Mid Eighties Sweatshirts featured a picture of black Mickey and Minnie Mouse dressed in hip hop gear like gold chains, designer jeans and tops. Yo Baby Yo was printed on the top. They were especially popular in the Washington,DC metropolitan area.
Monkey boots both boots 1985-1989 Similar to Doc Martens; leather, ankle high, lace up boots.
Monogrammed sweaters Female Clothing 198? Think a more classy approach to Laverene of "Laverene and Shirley"
Moon boots both Winter boots 1982-1987? These were big, bulky boots that were designed to look like they could be suitable for walking on the moon. They emulated astronauts' shoes.
Morey Boogie Male Clothes 1986/87 Flashy colored shorts longer than "Dolphin shorts" usually bought at Mervyns a popular retailer in the 80's!!
Mother Karen Both Jacket Shell 1981 This was a 2 tone jacket, with a half zip and large front pocket manufactured in Utah. It was popular with the skiing set. It became a fashion accessory around 1981 where trendsetters would wear them with turtlenecks. There were also knock-offs you could pick up at Target but you could tell the real McCoy if there was a tab off the pocket with the silhouette of a grandma sitting in a rocking chair. Retail price for a kids version was around $50.00.
Mother Karen's both pullover jacket or windbreaker 1982-1984 Pull over jacket with pocket in the front. The sleeves where a different color than the body of the jacket. Had zipper from mid chest to neck line.
Mother Karens ? ? 1982 ?
Mother Karens Both Clothes 82 Ski jackets that usually had the arms a different color than the rest. Also included a built in hood.
Mousse / gel Both Hair 198? The essential ingredient for most of the wild hair styles of the 80s, mousse is white and foamy, gel was usually clear or blueish and like putting motor oil in your hair. Gel would remain wet looking where mousse usually wouldn't.
Mullet Male Hair Style 198? Business in the front, Party in the back!!!
Mullet Male Hair 1980-1988 It was long in the back, short on the top.
Multiple layers of socks Female Crew socks Mid-eighties Punky Brewster made this popular. You would wear at least 3 pairs of socks, one overlapping the next. If your shirt had red, white & blue then you would have on a pair of each color and then finish it off with some red Keds with white or blue shoe strings. I know mom was pissed on laundry day!
Multiples Female Clothes '80s These were a collection of knit separates - tunic tops (long and short sleeved), pull-on pants, skirts, a few dresses (shapeless) and ALWAYS the matching tube hat could be either a belt, a tube top or a thick headband (really thick. They came in solids at first, and then a few large prints. They were great for travel but, oh, so clingy!!
Mundi sac F Purse 1985-1988 A Mundi sac was hardly a sac--more like a small cardboard box on a string. Made from the cheapest leather on earth, these bags were about 4" tall, 5" wide, and 3" deep. They were little rectanges that had a flap on the front and a rounded rectangular piece of leather where the snap was. The strap was extremely long so you could wear it across your body. Inside was a mirror to check your lip gloss. These came in a wide range of colors (I had blue, red, tan, and yellow) and sometimes had a pattern punched out around the leather flap (at least my tan one did).
Muscle Tee Male Clothes 1980-87 Tight, bare tank that showed off muscles, "cujine"-style!


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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