"That's About $200 Each Today": 13 "Strange" Fashion Trends That Were Once So Popular

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08-04-2025

Last month, @SpeechCandid1358 posted a question in r/AskOldPeople: "What's a fashion trend that was huge when you were younger but looks strange now?" The responses were a fascinating look at once-popular fashion moments, of which a few have made a bit of a comeback. Here are 13 trends that stood out:
1. "Stirrup pants with an oversized button-up shirt and wide belt around the waist. It was my 8th-grade outfit that I thought was so hot. 😂"
— Fortheloveofhelp
"Remember how they would get knees in them after a while, and you'd feel stupid the rest of the day?"
— Hefty-Cicada6771
"I would wear this again in a heartbeat, minus the wide belt lol."
— WhoKnew50
"That was basically my uniform until I went punk."
— DepecheClashJen
2. "The first one that comes to mind is parachute pants."
— Penguin_Life_Now
"When I was 14, I got a job washing dishes for $1.75 an hour solely to get the money for a $65 pair of parachute pants. My parents rightly refused to buy for me. After a month, I had enough for two pairs. That's about $200 each today."
— brizzboog
"I wore those long after they weren't cool anymore. I'm sure I looked super dorky, but, boy, were they comfy."
— Kumquatelvis
3. "The huge bell bottoms. We called them elephant bells."
— JoyfulNoise1964
"In our school, if you were standing still and you could see your shoes...you were not cool. The elephant bells MUST cover all of your feet.
This was especially difficult for boys with big feet. (Me.)"
— rrrreeeeeeeeee
"I had to wear long tube socks because my lower legs were always cold in them."
— SiriusGD
"Call me wild, but I love bell bottoms."
— Satellite5812
4. "That thing we used to do with our jeans where you fold over and roll up the bottoms."
Your Average Gent / Via youtube.com
— Intelligent-Whole277
"We called it pinch rolling. Would sometimes roll them so tight that it would leave an indention. Not proud of this. I'd wear two sets of slouch socks with both colors showing (carefully selected colors to match my outfit) that could be seen below the pinch roll."
— BluesToe
5. "Remember guys wearing shorts outside their sweatpants while playing basketball and stuff? WTF was up with that??"
Warner Bros. / Via youtube.com
6. "Culottes. I quite liked them, but I haven't seen anyone wear them in decades."
— Kindly-Discipline-53
"Culottes play a role in the movie Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar! It was a fun (if surreal) movie, and the ladies really loved their culottes."
— cranberrystorm
"Awww... yeah! I forgot about those. I had a pair of red and white plaid ones. Haha!"
— LaGuardia10026
7. "I was watching an episode of Golden Girls last night and noticed even their nightgowns had shoulder pads."
NBC
— TrudyWiegelsCats
"I remember being a child in the '90s, looking through my mom's clothes, and just being so confused why women's shoulders needed padding. 😅"
— jaydock
8. "Giant bows in big hair. I used my Grandma's scarves for a lot of those bows!"
9. "Huge hair...the bigger the better. Three cans of hairspray per week minimum."
— Ti_Bone
"In the South, the saying was 'The higher the hair, the closer to Heaven.'"
— WeirdcoolWilson
"I loved my Aqua Net in the turquoise can."
— mothraegg
"I can still smell it."
— standupfiredancer
"I think I single-handedly created the hole in the ozone layer with my use of Aqua Net. Originally a Jersey girl and proud of it."
— ChristiKRN
10. "Platform shoes. I now have bunions thanks to platform shoes in the '70s and pointy-toed stilettos in the '80s."
11. "Mullets: I actually like a modern mullet. Much cooler than the '80s chopped look."
12. "Moon boots: they are back. Maybe not the same foam insulation boots from back in the '80s.
"My youngest and I talked about this yesterday. She thought moon boots were something her generation came up with."
— BobUker71 & nborders
"Moon boots were awesome. They were mostly comfortable and did their job perfectly to keep your feet warm and dry in the cold, wet, and snowy weather."
— liquilife
13. Finally, "What about fitness wear from the '80s? I was an instructor then. Shimmery tights and a thong leotard. Leg warmers, of course. White Princess Reeboks."