In the beginning, The Gap was a completely different store – selling only Levi’s and music. Through dozens of pictures, see how vintage Gap evolved and came to be known for so many trendy styles!
Vintage beauty & fashion
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Take a scented stroll down memory lane with this look back at lots of the most popular vintage perfumes from the 80s, from both fashion designers and drugstores.
From pretty in pink to bold in black, teen girls put a lot of time and money into finding just the perfect now-vintage ’80s prom dress. Here’s a look at more than a hundred of the styles available back then!
To see where each shadow color should go for the different eye looks, just follow the diagrams.
What were the hottest 80s shoes for men? Take a look back at what guys were wearing – and how they were swapping traditional dress shoes for newer and more casual models.
Vintage Esprit fashions enjoyed their heyday in the late, great 80s, conveying energy, youthfulness and authenticity. Click to enjoy a spirited & colorful nostalgia trip.
What is cottagecore? Old-timey, flowery, ruffly skirts; lacy high-necked tops and dresses with a Victorian/Western vibe. Sound familiar? Turns out, yesterday’s prairie revival is today’s cottagecore dress.
Casual vintage ’80s menswear was more relaxed than sportswear, but more socially acceptable than pajamas. But the big new star of this era? Jogging suits. See retro t-shirts, sweatpants & much more here!
In 1950, Sam Walton purchased a store in Bentonville, Arkansas, and then in 1962, opened the first Wal-Mart store in Arkansas. And that’s just the start of Vintage Wal-Mart history.
In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, anyone who wanted to give their hair a healthy, voluminous bounce could get it with the help of vintage hot rollers like these.
Brunette Alison and blonde Larisa show off the newest, sexiest ’80s swimsuits for every figure type… yours included. 1986 was time to shine in a swimsuit that makes you look terrific!
Though she was born famous, then grew her fame as an actress, Jane Fonda’s workout videos were one of her greatest successes. Here’s how it happened.
These old-school vintage blow dryers from the seventies were more than just hot air – the handheld tools could dry! Style! And came in retro-popular colors like yellow, orange and baby blue.
If you wanted one place to store makeup, nail polish and jewelry, these retro beauty organizers – brands like Caboodles and Sassaby – were all the rage with teen girls in the late eighties and early nineties.
Red, pink, gold & beyond – See the top vintage nail polish brands and colors from the 20th century, with shades & styles from decades ago – see how manicures have changed over the years!
For more than 100 years, if you needed a new pair of sneakers or sandals, oxfords or saddle shoes, you had to visit one or more vintage shoe stores. Through more than 100 photos, see what it was like!
Here’s a look back at some vintage 1980s Nike shoes – from the early ‘just plain sneakers’ to the later mega-successes of classic Nike Air Jordans and the well-known ‘Just do it’ slogan.
Swiss watchmaker Swatch revitalized the industry when they came out with a bold and vibrant analog quartz marvel, sparking the colorful watch craze of the 1980s and 1990s.
Want to see some fancy retro footwear? Take a look back at a few of the many styles of women’s shoes from the ’80s, including spike heels, wedges, flats, pumps, penny loafers, moccasins and boat shoes, just to name a few!
Qiana was a silk-like fiber introduced by DuPont during the late sixties, and often used in high-end and designer fashions. See how it looked in some beautiful vintage Qiana fashions from the 1970s here!
Years ago, companies promoted all kinds of vintage freebies and low-cost mail-in offers, usually requiring some boxtops or proof of purchase. Look back at some of the premiums from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s!
What were girls, tweens & teens wearing in 1983? See vintage ’80s clothes for girls like preppy polo shirts, ruffle-trimmed plaid blouses, oversized shirt-dresses, dirndl skirts, and drop-waist minidresses.
In the seventies and eighties, sock styles – especially those for girls – started to get a lot more fun as new colors, patterns and ways of wearing them became all the rage. Here’s a look back at 1980s socks!
In the summer of the ’80s and ’90s, vintage jelly shoes were the fashionable fad footwear. The popular jellies were made of plastic and came in vibrant, often translucent, colors… but they weren’t exactly made for comfort.
Prell shampoo was popular since its introduction in the 1940s, and was best-known for being bright emerald green. Here, see how the product – and the brand’s message – changed from the ’40s to the ’80s!
Although the 1980s leg warmers fad was inspired by dancers, they became a trendy, colorful way for girls & women to show some creative flair – and to prove that you were up on the latest fashions.
Look back at these cute vintage Tinkerbell manicure kits, BO-PO (Brush-on, peel-off) nail polish and other beauty treats marketed to little girls back in the ’70s and ’80s. Lots of memories here!
The history of Levi’s jeans shows that the power of a really good idea – like super-durable clothing that people like to wear – can make for a business that stays strong for more than 160 years.
In the mid-1980s, Co-Ed magazine took on a problem facing a lot of high schoolers: the coolest clothing styles didn’t fit well. So here are the retro ’80s fashion tips for teens that they recommended… in all their eighties glory.
Vintage Famolare shoes were easy to spot – they had that signature wavy sole, and sometimes wedge heels that elevated the wearer by four inches. Walk down memory lane here!
Vintage liquid hand soaps were something of a novelty in the 1980s, and people were happy to get a break from using bar soaps when they washed their hands. It was a simple, but very successful, idea that is a winner even decades later.
Take a step back in time and check out some of the most awesome shampoos & conditioners from the ’80s — including a lot of brands you can’t find anymore!
Check out this collection of vintage Lip Smackers ads, featuring delish fruity flavors (like a drool-worthy watermelon!) and those of popular sodas, including Dr Pepper, Crush orange soda, Hires root beer, 7-Up and others.
When vintage Dial Soap debuted in the late forties, one of their selling points was ‘Dial smells good — not strong, not sissy.’ See how the product – and the message – changed over the years!
Pajamas that, by their appearance, whisk you back to the memorably warm, cozy little bed you slept in when you were 10 are all the more efficiently escapist and, therefore, all the more to be prized.
While the stars were still aligning for her first big acting role, young Mariska Hargitay, daughter of the legendary Jayne Mansfield, took on other jobs.
Even though the girls who used liberal amounts of hairspray from the ’80s were born before beehive and bouffant hairstyles, they still took part in a grooming ritual dating back to the fifties.
Look back at these vintage nail polish ads from the ’80s to see the most awesome colors and brands that were out there for a retro DIY manicure.
Throughout the eighties, Cheryl Tiegs – one of the original supermodels – had her own clothing line at Sears. Her branded line of womenswear could be found at malls nationwide, and here’s what it looked like!
Girls who grew up in the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s: Do you remember these little ‘Lip Lickers’ brand of lip glosses that came in metal slide-top tins?
If you think fashions in the eighties were bad, just wait until you see these ’80s maternity clothes – the often tent-like outfits pregnant women were wearing.
Ayds was a diet candy that debuted in the ’40s – basically a piece of caramel or fudge that contained an appetite suppressant. For years, Ayds candy was a big seller… and then came AIDS.
Love’s Baby Soft hit the market in the mid-’70s with a creepy ad campaign with lines like ‘that irresistible, clean-baby smell, grown-up enough to be sexy’ and ‘innocence is sexier than you think.’ So how did America respond?
What did Vintage Target stores look like? Take a look back here at dozens of in-store pictures from the company’s start in 1962 through the end of the 20th century!
Converse for the U.S. Olympic Basketball team (1968) Just because the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team will wear Converse basketball shoes, should you? Lightning-fast breaks …
This ad for the Mudd brand of cleansing face masks came out while Priscilla Presley was starring as Jenna Wade on the very popular TV show, Dallas.
From awful double entendres to horrible diseases to the just plain bizarre, here are some bad vintage product names that used to appear on grocery store shelves.
Remember those wood-soled vintage Dr Scholl’s Exercise Sandals, and their flexible counterparts? Take a look back at the slip-on shoes that were so stylish!
Take a look back a few decades to when these cute vintage plastic bangle bracelets were fashionable accessories for women and juniors!
Check out more than 100 different colors of retro Revlon nail polish from the 1980s, from Super Platinum and Spunsugar Pink to Blackberry and China Almond.
Supermodels like Iman and Paulina came together for this ’80s ad series from Pantene, with the memorable tagline, ‘Don’t hate me because I’m beautiful.’
Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo & conditioner are extra rich, extra thick — so it leaves your hair shiny clean and fresh. Slightly spicy. Slightly flowery. And ready for compliments.
