Why This Surprising 1980s Style Is Back In Full Force
In its heyday, the term 'yuppie' felt ubiquitous, even if it only applied to a small slice of the population, and chances were, you were either very pro or very anti. Though the '80s were marked by the younger cohort of well-educated baby boomers flocking to urban areas, transforming their cities of choice both geographically and culturally, the phenomenon still felt like the brief flash of an asteroid in a period defined by a massive variety of expressive styles. (The term enjoyed less than a decade in the limelight: it was first popularized in a Chicago Tribune column in 1983 and the 'death of yuppies' was officially declared following the stock market crash in 1987.)
Yuppies wanted to create a 'bigger, better, and shinier ' way of life, Avery Trufelman, host of the popular style podcast Articles of Interest, tells ELLE. These young, upwardly mobile professionals represented a sudden splintering in the middle class, as the income of college-educated Americans disproportionately skyrocketed, and yuppies were right there to spend it, even as the bottom half of American families experienced a significant drop. Cut to 30 years later, swap Dorrian's and The Quilted Giraffe with TikTok's must-visit restaurants, and the trend is back, this time in an even more widespread and pervasive way.
You might have noticed it creeping in—faux tennis merch for 'hot girl walks,' run clubs for singles, discourse about how 'nice it is to be a West Village Girl,' flitting to and from Pilates. Health is once again the ultimate symbol of status and wealth, and so is a name-brand wardrobe. That's not to say that designer clothing ever lost its cachet, rather that 2025 yuppies have a renewed brazenness in their spending, and social media-first living has paved the way for luxury athletic capsules, cross-industry collaborations, and influencer-driven 'It' girl brands that have cemented themselves amongst the tiers of traditional luxury.
In comparison to last summer's new-wave prep revival, which brought a resurgence of boat shoes and embraced a casual undoneness, thanks to brands like Miu Miu and Wales Bonner, there's a certain overtness that yuppie culture wholeheartedly embraces in its quest for perfection. 'You're looking at the labels. You're asking 'who's wearing what sunglasses?' The bottoms of your khakis aren't frayed—it's very clean,' explains Trufelman.
Tennis, golf, and sailing, while traditionally wealthy sports, are extending even further into the zeitgeist of the aspirational mainstream. For yuppies, both then and now, leisure-class and fitness-driven activities promise tantalizing access to a glowing new tier of life filled with suntans, spritzes, and the perfect summer sandals. Earlier this year, Miu Miu launched a rolling series of pop-ups for its 'Gymnasium' collection, offering a selection of low-profile sneakers and elegant American sportswear, two trends that are currently dominating summer dressing. Likewise, Gap recently partnered with Malbon Golf for a course-inspired capsule, Aimé Leon Dore's spring 2025 collection is filled with sailing-themed apparel, and Burberry is taking over The Newt, a country estate and luxury spa in Somerset, for a summer full of bespoke lawn sport experiences.
In 2025, access to the yuppie aesthetic is more likely to begin with a name-brand athletic crewneck than with a country club membership. '[Sporty & Rich] was just an aspiration of mine to be part of this world in my own way,' founder Emily Oberg tells ELLE. Since its inception in 2015, her brand has held firm in its popularization of affluent American sport aesthetics. For Oberg, who has both Canadian and Filipino roots, 'it was [about] building something that represented that world, [without] necessarily having to have been born into it.' Current offerings on the website include a collaboration with Adidas in 'court green' colorways, 'Beverly Hills Riding Club' T-shirts, Vendome Tennis Bags, and a 'Health is Wealth' baseball cap in Reagan-era red, white, and blue.
Oberg is right. The difference now is almost everyone seems in on it—at least more willingly than before. Letterboxd watch lists like 'Yuppies in Peril' have yet to update to include a Gen Z version, and in the meantime, brands are tapping into the revival as much as popular culture is heralding it. Take Frame, which just released a collection with Sotheby's featuring items like 'COLLECTOR' T-shirts. Not many would think to pair a storied auction house with a customer-favorite denim brand. However the two came together, explicitly inspired by the vibrant energy of 1980s New York, where Wall Streeters and affluent art curators collided in perfect yuppie harmony.
There's an undeniable glamour in being able to enjoy life so freely, enjoy a dose of unabashed selfishness, and look good while doing it, especially if you draw parallels to yuppies' '80s origins. Adds Trufelman, 'It's rather an old resurgence of this idea 'I'm just here to have a good time,' and in big bad New York City, there's a group of people [recreating] the last days of disco.'
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'While I was a matchmaker, I was asking my clients to describe their ideal partner and the answers were all numbers: height, weight, income, age… While I understood why they were asking for those things, I knew from being in love myself that that's just not at all what love is about or feels like. So [making this] movie was about [striking] the balance between the practical and the fantasy of true love.' Sure enough, Song succeeds and gives us complex characters whom she doesn't judge, even in their darkest and most shallow moments. 'I don't mean to say that the judgment is not there. Of course, all of us are judging each other at all times in some way,' she explains. 'But the thing that feels true to me is about recognizing where the character actually comes from. Why is that character going through that?' She is generous and insightful with supplying those reasons throughout Materialists. 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The 8 best Little Italy neighborhoods in the U.S.
Frank DePasquale was a teenager in 1955 when his family left the foot of Mount Vesuvius in Naples to immigrate to Boston's North End. His father was chasing the Italian dream of expanding his company Ambrosio, now one of the world's biggest Italian confetti candy (Jordan almond) suppliers. Sadly, he passed away shortly after they arrived and never lived to see it. 'My lifelong ambition here is to make his dream of running Italian American businesses come true,' says DePasquale. Today, DePasquale is one of the 5.5 million Italians who immigrated to America between 1820 and 2004. He runs eight eateries in Boston's North End. In the Italian community, families (like his) pass down their beloved recipes. From Philadelphia's South 9th Street Italian Market to San Francisco's North Beach renaissance, and all the Chicago pizza in between—these are some of the most iconic Italian neighborhoods, with the best Italian restaurants, delis, markets, and bakeries in the United States. Click here to see the YouTube playlist for National Geographic's Big Little Italy. Lower Manhattan's Little Italy was once the primary American settlement for Italian immigrants, reaching 10,000 Italians in 1910. After Chinatown moved in, Little Italy was pared down to five blocks on Mulberry Street. This is where travelers can still visit America's oldest pizzeria, (Gennero) Lombardi's (1905), the first Italian cafe, Ferrara Bakery (1892), and one of its original Italian restaurants, Barbetta (1906), serving Piemontese cuisine. Stop by the Scognamillo family-owned Patsy's (1944) in Frank Sinatra's old stomping grounds. The neighborhood hosts the annual Feast of San Gennaro in September with parades, live music, and street food like calzones and zeppole (fried dough). Meanwhile in the Bronx, often dubbed New York City's 'Real Little Italy,' Italian shops and restaurants—like Mario's—have lined Arthur Avenue for a century. 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Sicilian anglers found blue seas off Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco Bay, and Italian businessmen opened anchors like Ghirardelli chocolate. After the San Francisco earthquake in 1906, Italian Americans brought into the city's North Beach neighborhood their legendary eateries, including Liguria, the city's oldest bakery with the best focaccia. From the tricolor crosswalks to the new Honor Walk celebrating local notable historic Italian Americans, what's clear is San Francisco's Little Italy is experiencing a renaissance. Find all pizza styles at Tony's Pizza Napoletana owned by Guinness World Record Holder pizza tosser Tony Gemignani, and visit Fior d'Italia, open since 1886 and touted as the country's oldest Italian restaurant. Italian foodies have a lot to consider, from the rum-soaked St. Honore sponge cake at Victoria Pastry Company, the tiramisu at Stella Pastry & Cafe, and the Italian marionette show and pizza acrobatics at Festa Italiana. While pizza was first rolled out around the 6th century B.C., Chicago gets credit for its sink-your-teeth-in pizza crust. Americans inspired by pizza-tossing Neapolitan-Italians created the first deep-dish 'Chicago-style' pizza at the original Pizzeria Uno in 1943. Italians who settled in the Windy City came looking for factory jobs in the 1800s and settled in the Little Italy neighborhood of the city's Near West Side, where Italian American heritage remains strong on Taylor Street at Conte di Savoia and the family-run Pompei. Chi-town's second claim to Italian food fame—the thin-sliced Italian beef sandwich with au jus—was invented at Al's Beef by Tony Ferreri in 1938. For a James Beard award-winner try Tufano's Vernon Park Tap; for the red-sauce joint go to Peanut Park Trattoria; and for little romance, it's been The Village at Italian Village since 1927. Many Italians who came to Ohio via New York City followed in the footsteps of Joseph Carabelli. The stonecutter arrived from Lombardy in 1880, and today, the monuments he carved still stand proudly beside Cleveland's Little Italy. The original Italian neighborhood developed by Sicilian immigrants disappeared to urban renewal after World War II. Carabelli's neighborhood greets visitors with longstanding establishments, like Guarino's, established in 1918 and still family-run. Mama Santa's is the spot for a Sicilian slice and if it's chicken marsala you're after, go to La Dolce Vita, where you can still catch live opera performances. Cap off the meal with cappuccino and biscotti at Presti's, Cleveland's oldest bakery, or grab a cannoli from Corbo's. Italian families first came to San Diego in the 1920s for tuna fishing—a longstanding Sicilian tradition. This northwest Little Italy neighborhood went quiet for years, until its revival through Italian urban public art, waterfront green space, and events—thanks to its Little Italy Association. Tucked in among over 70 Italian food establishments is the award-winner that helped bring the neighborhood back to life in 2003, Market By Buon Appetito. Other gems include Enoteca Adriano, Pappalecco (serving Italian coffee, gelato, and paninis), and Vincenzo Cucina & Lounge and its pasta bar. There's also a farmer's market open twice a week and a European-style gathering space, Piazza della Famiglia. Early Italian immigrants made Philadelphia's Bella Vista neighborhood a home. At the heart of this still-lively, charming neighborhood sits the country's oldest continually operating outdoor food market, South 9th Street Italian Market, established by early Italian immigrants living in Antonio Palumbo's boarding house. Two of the country's oldest continuously operating Italian restaurants reside in the market district: Ralph's (1900) and Dante & Luigi's Corona di Ferro (1899). 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And don't forget the handmade pasta, kneaded for 80 years now at Venda Ravioli and fourth-generation meat market Antonelli Poultry. 'Italian food wasn't just a meal. It was a celebration of love, family, and tradition,' says Simone. 'Those early experiences taught me the deep value of connection, and they continue to shape everything I do today.' Anna Fiorentino is an award-winning journalist of 20 years whose work has also appeared in Afar Magazine, Outside Magazine, BBC, Smithsonian Magazine, and Boston Globe Magazine. Follow her on Instagram.
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14 minutes ago
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Woodburn: Dadvice for Father's Day
Father's Day cards will be opened two days hence, so it seems apropos to share a Hallmark-worthy thought from Mark Twain who famously observed: 'When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years.' More recently, classical pianist Charles Wadworth, who died two weeks ago at age 96, once expanded on Twain's quip: 'By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.' Or daughter. Barry Kibrick, an Emmy-winning TV host on PBS, once insightfully told me of raising his two sons: 'I never worried about over-praising them and building up their self-esteem too much because there are plenty of people in the world who will try to tear them down.' Author Jan Hutchins had a similarly wise dad, sharing: 'When I was a kid, my father told me every day, 'You're the most wonderful boy in the world, and you can do anything you want to.' ' Clarence Budington Kelland, a 20th-century novelist who once described himself as 'the best second-rate writer in America,' made a first-rate compliment about his own father: 'He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it.' Best-selling essayist Robert Fulghum put it this way: 'Don't worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.' American inventor Charles Kettering likewise advised, 'Every father should remember: one day his son will follow his example, not his advice.' With attribution unknown comes this pearl: 'One night a father overheard his son pray: 'Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is.' Later that night, the father prayed, 'Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.' ' The rock band Yellowcard offers this lovely lyric about the power of a dad as a role model: 'Father I will always be / that same boy who stood by the sea / and watched you tower over me / now I'm older I wanna be the same as you.' Hall of Fame baseball player Harmon Killebrew apparently had a Hall-of-Fame Dad, the son recalling: 'My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass.' Dad would reply, 'We're not raising grass — we're raising boys.' ' A great attitude for Girl Dads as well, naturally. Speaking of little girls, John Mayer strikes the perfect chord with these lyrics: 'Fathers, be good to your daughters. You are the god and the weight of her world.' Getting further to the heart of the matter, John Wooden, who believed 'love' is the most important word in the English language, opined: 'The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother.' From another basketball coach, the late Jim Valvano: 'My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person — he believed in me.' Wayne Bryan, father of doubles legends Mike and Bob who are even better people than they are tennis players, advises parents: 'Shout your praise to the rooftops and if you must criticize, drop it like a dandelion. On second thought, don't criticize at all.' In closing, this home-run thought from Hall of Fame singles hitter Wade Boggs: 'Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.' Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@ His books are available at This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Woodburn: Dadvice for Father's Day
