As sales of wet-look hair gel and stone washed denim threatened to reach an all time high, it was the discotheques, dance floors and ghetto blasters of the UK that started to bump and grind to a whole new bleepy electronic vibe. Gone was the hideous Glam-rock of the 1970s, and in its place was a whole new genre of very cool music made on some new fangled thingamabob called a synthesiser. There really was some quality tuneage emerging at this time, with bands like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet hitting the shelves of Our Price Records and fighting for chart space with the likes of Nik Kershaw, Go-West, the afore-mentioned Kajagoogoo and best of all, Kid Creole and the Coconuts… don’t worry, it wasn’t all bad.. this was also the decade that spawned Run DMC and saw rap finally hit the mainstream.  Funnily enough, a lot of 80s tunes still get sampled to death. Try listening to Hall and Oates ‘I can’t go for that’ and you’ll see what I mean. But of course, who can forget the most controversial record of the decade; Frankie Goes To Hollywood, singing ‘Relax’. Banned by a seething Mike Read on Radio 1 when he realised half way through the first couple of plays that when they sang ‘When You wanna come’, they didn’t mean ‘arrive’…

If music was making a turn for the better, then fashion perhaps wasn’t. Neon was the order of the day, usually garnished with leg warmers and a day-glo tutu. And the girl’s fashions were even worse! Seriously though, it was all about the power dressing. And white. Lots and lots of white. I seem to remember zips making an unhealthy appearance in there somewhere too. And odd neon socks. God, it’s all coming back now! For ladies, it was all about the shoulder pads and unfeasibly large earrings. In fact, at certain points in the 80s, shoulder pads got so out of control that a sharply dressed filly could have severe difficulties entering through a doorway and wouldn’t have looked out of place lining up for the Miami Dolphins. Oh yeah! American Football shirts.. there’s another thankfully long forgotten 80s trend!

It's called 'Fashion'

For the gentleman, it was all about the striped shirt, set off by a dashing set of red braces and the mandatory Filofax. Yes, in the days before Palm Pres and synched desktops, it was all about these little blighters. Basically it was just a posh diary with a few dividers in it, but they were well over a ton back in the day, and mint ones are fetching twice that on Ebay now!

For the rest of us urchins, a ‘Frankie says Relax’ T Shirt was mandatory apparel. Usually twinned with a Mullet, a set of Ray-ban Wayfarers and a pair of stonewashed Levis. Aaah, happy days.

Thankfully, from an automotive point of view, it was a pretty seminal era. For the man in the street, we saw several cult classics hit the streets for the first time. This was truly the dawn of the Hot Hatch with the Golf Gti, Astra GTE, Peugeot 205 Gti and Escort XR3i forever swapping places in the sales charts, giving the average Joe something that looked and went the part (and usually with a hideous black louvered blind on the back window… Yes really!) There were just too many cool cars to mention. The Renault 5 Turbo, The E30 3 series, The Sierra Cosworth….

Higher up the food chain it was truly a case of weapons grade conspicuous consumption with every city clicker reaching for the nearest 911 or Testarossa, usually to find that his income/driving talent ratio was woefully inadequate, resulting in said supercar being deposited in the nearest ditch. The few that were left were then raced around the then fledgling M25, which was then something of a poor man’s Nurburgring before those dastardly Gatsos came and ruined the party.

The 80s brang us mainstream Ferarris and Porches

As you read through this little lot, either fondly reminiscing – or wondering what on earth I’m talking about – you may notice that a lot of this stuff is suddenly very cool again. Except Kajagoogoo, of course – playing at a Butlins near you soon. Indeed, this is a fact not lost on the great and the good of the automotive industry. Consider the latest 911 Sport Classic as a prime example. Wearing a ‘ducktail’ spoiler and a spangly set of Fuchs, this car shows that even in the boardrooms of Stuttgart, they’re drinking Sodastream and swapping Smurfs once again.

Little wonder then that Dotz, always a brand to be found ahead of the fashion curve, can rely on its sister brand Calibre to deliver the authentically styled merchandise when it comes to set of rims for your retro ride. The latest Vintage and Dub designs couldn’t look more right for the times if they rocked up in a set of Deely Boppers, singing the hits from ‘Fame’ and carrying a Betamax copy of ‘The Karate Kid’. These two stunners look oh-so right for cars of the period, but also add a dash of class to more modern tin too.  The perfect addition for your small bumper Gti, W123 Merc or slammed Sierra, you get everything we loved about that era, with the production methods and quality control of this. That Michael J.Fox knew what he was on about. Back To The Future is where it’s at!

Perfect for the vintage car

Tags: design, fashion, old-skool, retro, vintage

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