If you grew up in the mid-to-late 1980s, you can still recall the distinct weight of a fully loaded plastic chain resting against your collarbone. Accessorizing back then wasn't about blending in; it was about making a statement. We didn't just wear our jewelry—we collected it, traded it, and used it to broadcast our personalities and preferences to everyone we passed in the school hallways or at the mall.

Just like Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, let’s step into a time machine and set the dial to Saturday afternoon at the mall. The air smells like Boardwalk Fries and Electric Youth perfume. The environment is filled with a distinct visual landscape of bright plastic, neon colors, and incredible volume. Being a girl in the 1980s included accessorizing to the max. The '80s fashion guide was simple: if it didn’t click, clink, or jingle, it was boring. A retrospective on the specific pieces that defined a generation of youth culture yields to wonderings about how to incorporate that joyful energy into today’s modern style.

1980s fashion: the original fashionmaxxing. While neon spandex spiky hair took center stage, the accessories made the ‘fit. As a jewelry designer who loves retro aesthetics, I acknowledge that the 80s was a decade of extreme and maximalist self-expression.

Fashion of the 1980s conjures images of neon spandex, hairsprayed hair, and sharp shoulder pads. As a jewelry designer who loves retro aesthetics, the accessories are my focus. The 1980s was a decade of unapologetic self-expression, economic optimism, and a rejection of the idea that jewelry had to be made of precious gems.