My 80’s Party Costume Deconstructed

So tonight was the big neighborhood 80’s costume party! In my post earlier in the week I mentioned I would not be dressing up as an Asian character from the 80’s. Instead I was going for a more generic 80’s style look. H and I have been planning our costumes for weeks and even today we were making some last minute adjustments. The most notable is that I decided last minute to bleach an existing pair of jeans for a perfect 80’s stone washed jeans look. (More on that later)

Without further adieu, here’s the final product!

Now, let’s deconstruct my costume a bit.

I already owned this t-shirt. I got this Yo! 80’s-inspired t-shirt from Junk Food Tees last year but never had a good excuse to wear it. I’m not sure there could have been a more perfect night to debut this Yo! t-shirt.


I had this torn pair of jeans in my closet and it was a perfect candidate for my bleaching plan. I first added a cup of bleach to a gallon of water and soaked them in the bucket for 20 minutes. This barely made a dent in the color so H then helped me dump an entire bottle of bleach in the bucket and bleached it a second time and it worked like a charm. After putting I through the washing machine twice, it still reeked of bleach. Throughout the night I smelled like bleach! Oh well, it got me the look I wanted!

It was a bonus that I had this pair available to bleach because it was baggier in the leg which allowed me to peg my jeans just like I did in junior high!


I’ve had these checkered pattern Vans for a couple of years now. I actually bought them for an 80’s party a couple of years ago but still wear them from time to time normally.


I personally think these glasses are so impractical. But who said style had to be practical? I always called them “Blinds Glasses” but these things are officially called “Shutter Shades”. No matter what you call them they are totally 80’s!


I had this pink trucker hat for a couple of years now and have worn them for many different occasions. I had leftover sparkly pink letters from my Honey Boo Boo Fett Sash from last year’s Halloween costume so I ironed on the word “Word!” like true Cameo-style.


This watch doesn’t work anymore but it is a Fossil watch that my parents gave me in 1986 when I was in 6th grade. I had to wear it to stay authentic!


One of the awards given out tonight was for best 80’s accessory. I decided to carry around my Nintendo NES Zapper. It was a bonus that it actually has the year 1985 imprinted on it. Duck Hunt was such a great game…




Finally, to top off my costume, I carried around a bottle of Riunite in an ice bucket. Who could forget the classic 80’s commercials “Riunite on ice. That’s nice!”


I am proud to say that my costume was well-received and I won the award for “Best Accessory”! One thing that I am sort of proud of is that I did not buy one piece of my outfit (outside the Riunite). What can I say, I have a thing for the 80’s. How did I do?

Comments

comments