Carbon Costume 1980s
Stevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac
The band Fleetwood Mac’s lineup has gone through multiple changes since its bluesy beginnings in the 1960s, but their most recognizable sound is thanks in part to the musical contributions of Stevie Nicks and her songwriting partner (then romantic partner as well), Lindsey Buckingham. Flowing black dresses, shawls themed after her hit songs, and extremely high-heeled boots are practically synonymous with Stevie Nicks’ stage presence.
Madonna from The Virgin Tour
From the start of her decades-long career of pop stardom, Madonna embraced a scandalous, envelope-pushing image. As tame as it looks through modern eyes, Madonna’s penchant for wearing cropped tops, short skirts, and singing about “sensitive” topics like virginity raised eyebrows in the 1980s. She unabashedly titled her debut concert tour The Virgin Tour, and wore this lacy, white getup consistent that turned the culturally traditional bridal aesthetic completely on its head.
Mr. Miyagi
Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) is the legendary karate teacher of Daniel LaRusso in the American martial arts series The Karate Kid. He is known for his unconventional methods of teaching karate using chores, such as when he orders Daniel to wax his car. Despite his age, Miyagi shows prowess many times, such as his ability to catch a fly with chopsticks.
Billy Peltzer from Gremlins
Billy Peltzer (Zach Galligan) is the protagonist of Joe Dante’s Christmas horror classic Gremlins. He is a young man who is given a creature called a Mogwai for Christmas. He names it Gizmo, but discovers there are various strange rules to care for it. When he breaks them, he accidentally unleashes a wave on monsters called Gremlins on his small town.
Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper is a singer-songwriter who reached stardom with hit singles “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and “Time After Time”. Her dazzling colorful fashion, which ruled the MTV airwaves, is quintessential 80s style.
Ralphie Parker
In A Christmas Story, all that Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) wants for Christmas is an official Red Ryder carbine-action, two hundred shot Range Model air rifle. Instead, he gets stuck with a pink bunny onesie from Aunt Clara that makes him look like a pink nightmare.
Johnny Lawrence
In The Karate Kid, Johnny Lawrence (Billy Zabka) bullies the new kid at school, Daniel. They eventually fight against one another in the All-Valley Karate Tournament raising the question of whose dojo will win: Cobra Kai’s or Mr. Miyagi’s?
The Karate Kid
In The Karate Kid, Daniel (Ralph Macchio) learns how to defend himself from bully, Johnny Lawrence, after he is taken under Mr. Miyagi’s wing. Daniel’s a slow learner however, and doesn’t understand that he can’t master moves like The Crane until he first masters skills like wax on and wax off.
