- 1). Choose the brightest material you can find. The 1980s was the age of neon, and it wasn't just to alert drivers of nighttime joggers. Select a neon hooded sweatshirt, t-shirt or single-shoulder top for the brightest appeal.
- 2). Make a literal statement with your clothes, just as fashion plates did in the 1980s -- from Madonna's "Boy Toy" shirts to "Frankie Say Relax." Come up with your own statement by using alphabet templates and fabric paint. Place the templates before starting to paint so that you get the proper angle across the chest. In the 1980s, statements were loud and proud, so choose the largest alphabet templates you can find.
- 3). Slip on some fishnet gloves and stack jelly bracelets along your wrists. Although jelly bracelets -- perhaps the early predecessor to the LiveStrong and other for-a-cause rubber bracelets -- have been out of style for a while, you'll still find them for sale in some teen shops or in bulk online.
- 4). Wear multiple pairs of socks, the thicker the better. Known as "scrunch" socks in the 80s, these are especially fashionable if you switch up the sock order. For example, pull on a blue and then red sock on one foot, then red and blue in the opposite order on the other foot. Push them down so that the sock material "scrunches" around your ankles and up your calves.
- 5). Scrunch your hair. In the 1980s, hair scrunching had two different meanings. It applied to the mousse and gel people used to get their hair as big as possible, and it also referred to the thick elastic bands, called "scrunchies," that were essential apparel for anyone with enough hair to gather. Dress up your ponytail by gathering it directly on top of your head or anchoring it on one side -- no sedate braids or nape of the neck ponytails allowed. Then slide on a multi-colored scrunchie that matches your outfit.
- 6). Destroy your jeans through a process called sandblasting. While 21st-century fashion may call for darker rinses, the 1980s were all about the lighter the better. Sandblasted jeans -- or jeans washed with a cup of bleach to give them a lightened, paint-splattered look -- are an ideal way to complete your outfit. Add a couple of safety pins hooked through with beads for an edge.
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