5 of Our Favorite ’80s Fashion and Beauty Moments in The Carrie Diaries
For me and my fellow Birchbox eds, watching Sex and the City was a rite of passage—one that gave us somewhat completely unrealistic ideas about what kind of fashion was possible on a freelance writer’s budget. That’s ok, since half the fun of the show was oogling Carrie’s outfits, not to mention those of Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte.
While the The Carrie Diaries, the CW’s new prequel to the HBO favorite, doesn’t feature any of the usual suspects (save Carrie, duh), it’s similar to the original in its abundance of envelope-pushing looks. As children of the ’80s, the decade in which the show takes place, we’re particularly excited for plenty of shoulder pads and leg warmers. Here’s a look at five of our favorite fashion and beauty trends that have already made cameos:
Frilly Pink Party Dress: When Pretty in Pink first came out, we were slightly too young to fully appreciate it. But as we got older, we realized that nothing epitomizes ’80s fashion more than an ultragirly bubblegum frock.
Big Hair: The decade’s philosophy when it came to hair: the bigger, the better. At a time when perms and frizz ruled, the only things taming wild strands were even wilder scrunchies.
Neon Nails: Talk about one ’80s beauty trend that’s seen a major revival! Neons were a huge hit during this notoriously flashy decade. Today they’re on trend again (our pick: Color Club’s day-glo bright collection).
Rainbow Shadow: These days, you stick to a single color family when it comes to your shadow, but the ’80s was all about the multi-color lids. Even though this look makes it easier to coordinate your outfit to your makeup—any shade you’re wearing is also fair game for your smoky eye—we hope this trend never comes back in style.
Sassy Sequins: Sure, sequins had been around before, but never like this. In a decade that was all about over-the-top glitz, sequins were practically a requirement.
—Meredith
If you’d rather walk down ’90s memory lane, just check out these unforgettable ’90s beauty products.
