1986 - Yves Saint Laurent Opium
Where have the fanciful ads of the 1980's gone? Where have they gone, the commercials that dared to sell a product by trying to convince you that if you buy this perfume, you'll not only smell good, you'll be able to buy your very own hunky Caucasian slave (probably the only hunky Caucasian slave EVER) and force him to smell your wrist?
1985 - Leg Looks by Burlington
Ahhh, yet another favorite 1980's ad with more effort put into the lush musical background than maybe an ad about patterned stockings needs or deserves, and with drastic hair and makeup characteristic of both a) Sean Young in Blade Runner, and b) Robert Palmer videos.
1983 - Chic Jeans
Whether you're a sweet petite,
long and lean, or in-between
don't you know Chic's got your jeans?
1983 - Jordache
Stone-Washed Denim Jeans
Now that is one well-put-together face.
I bet he was a Golden God in his social circles.
1983 - Sergio Valente Black Denim Jeans
The things people were impressed with back then...
Also, the more jeans ads you see, the clearer and clearer it becomes that in the 80s, all women were expected to have flat butts. Actually, I'm old enough to remember that this was true, all women *were* expected to have flat butts, which made life miserable for those of us who didn't.
1985 - Lee Press On Nails
From a time before nail salons ruled the earth. Yes, in the privacy of your own home, you can stick tape, and then plastic, on your nails and be the envy of, well, people who care about that sort of thing. And for evening wear, slightly longer plastic! Because heaven forbid you be caught with office-length nails at Studio 54 or something.
1983 - Candies Shoes
Cutest. Shoe. Name. Brand. Ever. So Eighties, everything is so very plastic and pastel, except for the skinned zebra on the wall of this house. No PETA members at this party, I think.
1995 - Levis
What an uncharacteristic Levis jeans ad, what with the bird-pooping, nose-picking, and toilet-sitting. It's all made better by the stop-motion animation, and the song "Mister Boombastic" by Shaggy.
1987 - Georges Marciano Guess Jeans
I love this commercial to death. Of all the 1980's jeans ads, this is the very best I've seen so far. It has an amazing sense of style, it has a story (celebrity couple try and avoid paparazzi), and the music stands out as so much richer and textured than other ads. Plus, is that a seventeen-year-old Claudia Schiffer in the commercial? She did work for the Marcianos and Guess Jeans.
1991 - Reebok Pump
Remember Pumps? Not the women's shoe style...the sneaker you could inflate like a balloon with a sole. What I'd like to know is, did they actually give your feet good support, or where they just really comfortably tight and secure around your feet?
1983 - Bain de Soleil
Sing along now! "Bain de Soleil, for the Saint Tropez taaaaaaan..."
1984 - Levis Button-Fly 501 Jeans
One of a wonderful, wonderful series of ads from Levis for their assorted jeans variants. The music was always pleasant, the people were always pretty in a good way, and the look, even more than twenty years later, shows why Levis should rightfully be considered a fashion classic.
