Clothes of the Eighties, Clothes Beginning with P

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
PASTA Female? Pasta brand clothing Mid 80s Pasta was a brand of clothing. I remember I had this one yellow sweatshirt with people on it and said PASTA. Scary.
PCH's Both Pants Early 80's Basic pants (probably cotton blend) with a zipper and button, but the key element was the drawstrings: In the 6th-7th grades, tied strings = going with someone. Untied = available.
POP Swatches Both watch 198? POP Swatchs were watches you could wear on your wrist or you could POP it off the band and then pop the watch back in the backing and put it on you shirt..they had bigger faces than the original swatch watches. People would also string many swatch watches together and make a belt, kind of a status thing that you had more than one or two swatches....
"PROPERTY OF so-and-so" t-shirts Both Clothes 198? ?
Pac Rat Shoes Female Shoes Shoes that had a zipper pouch on the side for whatever. had velcro for laces
Pac-mania (shirts, knit hats, buttons, etc.) Both Clothing 198? ?
Paint Splattered Shirts mostly F Clothing 1982-1983 Paint splattered white t shirts, they were oversized and you would tie in a side knot at the hip, they would have like 3 or 4 or more colors, you could even get them with the cutout neck like "Flashdance" style. You could also buy pants paint spattered, but the shirts I remember being more popular.
Painted On Jeans Without Pockets Female Clothing 1980's When I say painted on, I mean painted on. These jeans were so tight when you first put them on that you had to lay on the bed to zip them up. It sometimes required a second person to help. They often had zippers at the bottom; if they didn't you would not be able to get them over your feet! They zipped up at the side, and looked best with oversized sweeters of multiple colors. Worn with socks and jelly shoes.
Painted Pants F clothing 1982-1983 These were fitted jeans that had a tapered leg with a zip at the ankle, and they came in either a purplish pink, or a turquoise green.
Painter pants mostly male utility/fashion pant 1980- Heavy pants, in denim or white, with lots of pockets and a loop for a hammer on them. Worn with sneakers or work boots
Painter's caps Male Accessories 1983 with 2 flaps in the back down over the neck
Paisley Shirts Male Clothing 1985 The 60s style comes back for a really brief appearance.
Palmetto Jeans Female Clothing 1988 long flared like jeans with 3 pockets in the front with a pencil like holder on the right side as another pocket. Also with a place to put your beeper or your hand on the left side of the pants. with to pockets on the back of the pants with a criss-cross belt stap in the middle of the back of the pants.
Panama Jack, and rip-offs like "Jamica Joe" Male Clothing 1983 They were probably best known for their t-shirts, but Panama Jack had a whole line of sun products, like tanning lotions and after sun products. If I remember right, they were the first to put out the zinc oxide creams for sunscreens( that were in colors as well as white and didn't absorb, so you looked like you were wearing warpaint?)
Paninaro Style m/f clothing mid. 80s The term Paninaro was born in Italy (Milan) sometimes in the middle of the 80s. The word Panino means Sandwich, a Paninaro was a guy who would hang out in those Italian fast-food where they served all sort of sandwiches. The Paninari had their own rules, and one of them was to dress up with fancy clothes. Paninari had also their own language; some sort of italian slang. There were also two magazines dedicated to that style called "Il Paninaro" and "El Cucador", which means a Playboy, or a Player. Pet Shop Boys made a disco song dedicated to the Paninari, called "Paninaro". The Paninaris had their favorite tunes in those days, one of them was "Wild Boys" by Duran Duran. Here is a list of what Paninari used to wear. - Shirts & Pants(Versace, Armani, Stone Island, Levis) - Jackets (Bomber, Henry Lloyd, Best Company) - Socks (Burlington) - Shows (Timberland) These are the items I still remember, there are probably some missing.
Pantyhose Under Shorts Female Clothing 88-91 This is what girls did to make their legs look tanner. Usually worn with white socks and tennis shoes to top off the look. Often more trouble than it's was worth, especially when you got a run in your tan.
Papagallo Female shoes and accessories early 80's Very popular with the preppy crowd. Shoes were primarily low or flat heeled, ballerina style, in lots of colors, often with bows. Canvas purse covers that buttoned onto a wooden frame were also popular. Colors such as kelly green, bubblegum pink, with calico print linings and little appliques such as frogs and flowers.
Paper clips female hair accesories 1987 Me and most of the girls at our school used to wear paper clips instead of bobby pins or regular hair clips. We used to by colored ones or the ones that had stripes. We'd cram loads in our hair the coolest craze fairly short lived though.
Parachute Pants Both clothing 1984-1988 Parachute pants were made of parachute material and you froze to death wearing them in the winter. They usually came in basic colors too. Red, blue, black, silver etc.
Parachute pants Male Clothing 1984 Fairly tight nylon pants with zippered patch pockets, the usual 2 front + 2 back, plus one or two on each leg. Zippered ankles. Website
Parallel, horizontal lines (usually three) Male Hair 198? shaved into hair on the side of the head
Paris Blues sweatshirts female Clothing (sweatshirts) 1987-1989 Paris Blues sweatshirts, these were made to go with jeans and denim skirts. Featured retro (1940's and 1950's) ladies and most of these shirts also featured the logo "Paris Blues...chambray days and indigo nights".
Pastel Blazers Male Semi-Formal/Yuppiewear 1982-8 A pastel-colored blazer, most were baby blue. Usually worn over a solid-colored T-shirt. Cuffs were often bunched up to show the bare forearms (a la the Friends episode)
Patterned Jeans Female Clothing 1980's Jeans that came in a variety of patterns. I had a pair that were denim blue with ligther blue floral pattern on them. I also had two pairs that were denim blue with lighter blue vertical stripes- one pair had very thin pinstripes, the other pair had stripes in varying widths. I don't recall seeing these jeans in any other color than regular denim blue with the lighter blue pattersn, but there may have been black ones.
Peace symbols Female Accessories 198? ?
Pearl Necklaces Female Jewelry 80's Huge bulky shiney pearls.
Peepers both sunglasses 84 maybe? Peepers: Sunglasses with leather side sheilds that had an elastic strap so that they could hang around your neck if you were not wearing them. I remeber they totally enclosed your eyes and the mirror coated lens made it impossible to see your eyes as well. They came in many colors; black, red, blue, white etc. They also came in a neon as they tried to add something to prolong the life of this fad. The ear peices curled in a complete u-shape around the back of the ear. Slipped over the u-shape frame was a rubber tubing to supply comfort for behind the ear. Everyone in my middle school wanted a pair of these but it's funny to look back and notice that most people who bought into this product were school kids. The glasses were made in an adult size so everyone was a bit bug-eyed with glasses that bounced around on their face. Who cares, it was cool....right?????
Pegged jeans Female Clothing 198? ?
Penny Loafers Both Shoes 1983 Had a penny in them (and some had dimes).
Penny loafers Female Shoes 1983-1988 If you had black or navy blue penny loafers you had to put a dime in them instead of a penny (copper did not match!)
Peter Pan Boots Both Shoes 1983 Remember these little flat, suede or leather ankle boots that folded down. Duran Duran could be seen wearing them.
Petticoats Female Skirt 1981-83, 1987-88 Influenced from the fab 50s, these skirts were originally designed to be worn under an overskirt. Petticoats are often called can-cans or crinolines..they had yards and yards (sometimes as much as 80 to 100 yards) of fabric usually stiff netting or organdy. They made your skirt pouf WAY out and came in all colors and lengths. By 1987 and 88, they were being worn by themselves without an overskirt..usually with a wide belt and a bustier top or bodysuit or leotard..
Pinafores Female Clothes 1984-86 These were lacy aprons that little girls wore with a solid color dress, ala Vicki the Robot on "Small Wonder".
Pink Ice Rings Female Gemstone 80's A pink gemstone used in all different types of jewelry. The most popular thing to have was a pink ice ring.
Pinstriped Jeans both Clothes 1982-83 Blue jeans with white pinstriping (narrow). Fad in early '80s during the painter pants phase. Blue jeans for both guys and gals with narrow white pinstripes. Pinstripes would fad after a several washings!
Pixie Death Boots Both Clothing 82-present Goth fashion. Winkle-picker style black leather boot with very pointy toe (sometimes with silver cap) and tiny heeless sole. Boots laced or zipped up but were also buckled the entire length of the lacing or zip with skull/crossbones -shaped buckles (death's head facing inwards, bones outwards). Still worn in Goth community but HELL to find.
Pizazz Temporary Hair Color Both Accessories 1984-1986 One of the first wash out temporary haircolours which were completely unnatural colours. Made by L'oreal.
Pizzazz ?? females accessory 1987 ? Colorful pens to write or draw on fingernails!!
Plaid Bermuda Shorts Female Shorts 80's Long plaid bermuda shorts worn with Izod T-shirts and Penny loafers.
Plaid Zips Both Clothing began in early 80's Usually red plaid punk pants with tons of zippers...skin tight, some had suspenders that were worn hanging down as a rule...they went good with combat or steel toe chuka boots...some ska kids wore these...but always with suspenders up....some were "bondage style" with lots of pointless hooks and straps.
Plastic Bracelets Female Accessories 1985 Not just one or two, but dozens at a time.
Political slogan shirts Both Clothes 198? Popularized by Wham! in the early eighties, usually a simple two or three word phrase in big bold letters like "Choose Life"
Polka Dots Female tops and bottoms 80's early 90's It seemed like that polka dots was the in thing, I just remember they came in all sorts of colors, but more so in black and white and the bigger the dots, the cooler they were.
Polka dot shirts, suspenders, socks and pork pie hats Female Clothing 198 ?
Polo Male Accessories 1983 Men's Cologne
Polo by Ralph Lauren Both Shirt 1982-1983? The in thing was to have a Ralph Lauren polo shirt under a Ralph Lauren button-down oxford. Both had to have the polo player on the left chest or you were just a wanna-be. At $65 each for the oxford and another $35 for the polo, most at my high school were wanna-bes.
Polo shirts Both Clothes 1982-1984 After "The Preppy Handbook" came out, kids overlooked its satire and focused on the fashion. One look was to wear two polo shirts at once, with a coordinating bandana worn as a belt. Penny loafers or white Keds would be worn with coordinating socks, or no socks at all.
Ponys sneakers Both Shoes 198? ?
"Poodle" perms Female ? ?
Pop-beads Female Accessories 198? Pop-beads were small beads in various shaped that were not strung but snaped together. These beads were usually pearl like, but could be any thing from popcorn shaped to being shaped like small animals.
Posh Boy Male Clothing (Baseball Caps, T-Shirts) Mid To Late 80's A favourite of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe (Pet Shop Boys). Baseball caps featured the word BOY in big capital letters. T-Shirts had POSHBOY written across front.
Powder Jacket Male Jackets Circa 1985 This 2-toned nugget was popular around the mid 80s. The sleeves were typically a different color than the body. There was also a pouch conveniently located at the front of this garment, perfect for putting your bandana in after a good knee-spin.
Powell Peralta both shirts late 80's Company that had skate legends Tony Hawk, Steve Cabelero, Lance Mountain, Mike Mcgill Rodney Mullen. The elite skate team of the late 80's early 90's. Also had their line of BONES clothing
Power Suit Both Clothing 1986-88 Like from the movies "Wall Street" and "Baby Boom"...Big shoulder pads with striped shirts,patterned ties, and expensive braces for the guys, silk blouses and Charles Jourdan pumps for the women, big jewelry. Can you say "Armani"?
Prairie skirts and blouses Female Clothing 1981-1983 western style, long skirts usu. denim, with ruffles on the bottom. some came with white lace trim on the bottom to look as if an old fashioned petticoat was hanging out. The tops (usually gingham checks) had big puffy sleeves and had two rows of ruffles down the front and/or back of the shirt and usually buttoned in two rows down the front). You could wear them over fancy, lacy underskirts and then pin, or tie them up so the underskirt showed(some had ties for this purpose.) Looked really cool with cowboy boots.
Preppy Purses female purse 1982-3 In addition to the Bermuda bag with the wooden handle and the interchangable covers, the other MUST HAVE purse of the early 80's was the preppy purse. I don't know the name, but it's very Lilly Pulitzer. They were canvas zip top rectangles, like small tote bags. They had canvas straps that wrapped around the purse from top to bottom. They had a small pocket on the front with a grosgrain ribbon featuting some preppy design. A lot of them were navy blue with kelly green straps or vice versa. Mine was the best -- preppy pink with kelly green straps. The ribbon was navy blue with green alligators. I washed it and it all turned a horrible shade of green. I SO want to find a purse like that again!
Preppy belts female belt 1982-3 These were really skinny leather belts that came in a variety of colors and were held together with a hook and eye clasp in the front. The clasp was always gold tone, but it came in a variety of shapes like seashells, whales, alligators, seahorses, etc. You could buy different clasps and different belt colors and mix and match.
Prince Matchabelli fragrances mostly female Designer knock-off perfume late 80s -early 90s Knockoffs of Giorgio Beverly Hills, Opium, Poison, etc. Sold at K-mart or drugtores. TV commercials and labels that said, If you like Giorgio, you'll love ----whatever. And they tried to make the boxes look like the originals. I used to love Malibu Musk.
Princess Di Haircut Female Hair 1980-81 I had one of these in 1981, my first year of college. It is sort of a "bowl" cut, blow-dried straight all around the head, then shaken into a feathered "non part" on the side. Of course, you had to have the blonde highlights to go with it.
Pro-ked sneakers male/female sneakers mid-70's These sneakers had a rubber toe and red and blue stripes on the side, came in blue, white and red
Property of so and so T-shirts Mostly Male Clothes 1984 Started when everyone saw Axel Foley (Eddie Murphy) wearing one in "Beverly Hills Cop"
Pucca Bead Necklaces Both (mainly male) Necklace 80's A necklace made of pucca shells, typically white and sported as a choker. Can be seen worn by Sean Penn, as "Spicoli", in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High".
Puff Paint both Accessory late '80's, early '90's It came in little bottles, and you squeesed it out through a thin opening onto a shirt or whatever. The finished result was your cool, stand out-puffy design, in wild colors, of course!.
Puffball Skirts Female Clothes !987-1989 Mini skirts that had ben doubled over at the hem to give a puffball (from the fungus) appearance. First invented by LaCroix and worn during the Bros/Stock Aitken Waterman/late Banarama era in the UK.
Puma male and female Shoes and apparel mid - late 80's Suede pumas, leather pumas, soccer casual, whatever. If you didn't have coordinating laces, you were lame!!!


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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