"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

 There is a blonde joke that addresses this very question.

 Q:  "Why do blondes wear shoulder pads?" 
A: (in a squeaky blonde voice as her head bobbles back and forth bouncing off her shoulders)  "I dunno!"

 I seem to remember a dirty version of this existing as well, but that may have been knee pads...

~ Amanda

"Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave..."

Kelly

How Do You Live Your Dash?

Check out the Kids' blogs:
The CaleBlog and the Zoe Blog

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

This is me and my family

"Harry, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. Every day, once a day, give yourself a present. Don't plan it, don't wait for it, just let it happen. Could be a new shirt at the men's store, a catnap in your office chair, or two cups of good, hot, black coffee. Like this."  -Dale Cooper

Ask and ye shall receive:

Get Big Shoulders and Get Noticed

1980s Fashion history shows that as the fashion for female identity in the workplace took hold, so shoulder width grew.  Increasingly large shoulder pads were used to support the wider cut of sleeves. 

Right - Big Shoulders of the 1980s - Quite mannish suits and appliqué shoulder padded knitwear for women were both softened with ties, bow ties and floppy scarves tied in artist bows all often worn with long boots. 

 Women's shoulders had started to actually look like designers had once drawn them at the  start of the 80s decade.  Designers had tried to promote wide shoulders of American footballer dimensions in the early 1980s and although women initially laughed, eventually shoulder width had a rounded coat hanger effect just like those early designs and reached dimensions not seen before in the 20^th century.

Left - The big jacket look was also transferred to evening wear. Wide shouldered, rich jewel shaded brocades or gold lame or lace jackets were made up following day styles. 

To soften the masculine effect the sleeves of jackets and blouses were worn pushed up or rolled up to reveal attractive satinised contrast jacket linings which in itself was a way of accessorizing it. 

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Designers Have Trouble Dropping Shoulder Pads

The shoulder pad began to act as an accessory for women to stylize a garment.  Garments, particularly knitwear, sweatshirts, oversized big shirts and T-shirts started to appear with detachable Velcro fixing shoulder pads.  Women made their own decisions about whether an item looked the way they wanted it to look.

Designers tried to drop the shoulder pad in the same way they tried to drop the mini for the maxi in the sixties, but as in the case of the mini the public stuck to what they wanted and they wanted shoulder pads.  By its nature a shoulder pad creates a smooth line over the natural hollows of the collar bone area.  Women suddenly noticed that shoulder pads smoothed out body postural imperfections and they liked the effect.

Eventually designers began to get their way.  The sleeve inset to shoulder line began to drop further and further down the arm which meant that the quite rounded shoulder pads rather than the initial sharply squared off versions began to hang somewhere between elbow and shoulder point. Visible support of shoulder padding was seen in garments for over ten years because women liked the way clothes hung on them. 

The concept of executive dressing for women at work was firmly established by 1987 and remained in a much subtler minimalist form in the 1990s.  By 1991-3 shoulder pads although still around began to decrease in size and over the next few years shoulder width gradually became smaller and narrower and pads slowly began to be left out of knitwear and even lingerie. Women also started to cut them out of garments as they moved on to newer looks.

Despite everything you may read today about power dressing being dead, it is still alive and well in the corporate office such as a legal office where a simple well cut black, taupe or navy trouser suit or pencil skirt and jacket remain the staple business attire for women who want to be taken seriously.

-fashion-era.com

There is great debate among philosophers as to the initial reason that the mullet came about. Many believe that it was born of necessity and may even have roots to its aquatic mate, the mullet fish. It is believed that mullet fishers, in whatever part of the country mullet hang out, had a terrible time with sunburn on their necks while they hunted their slippery prey. These cunning fisherman discovered that by growing their hair long in the back they were able to protect their sensitive neck skin. (We all know how sensitive the neck skin is.) And so was born the mullet. Many odd variations have come from this mullet.

Another school of thought says that the mullet is simply a form of expression that evolved from the pop culture of the 80's. The mullet says hey world, I'm gonna rebel . . . . sort of, . . . . . but not really and this is the best that I could come up with. A great example of this is what is referred to today as the businessman's safety cut. Trim and combed on the top, but a little rebellion hanging off the back. It can easily be tucked away from 9 to 5, but after that, its "Let the Good Times Roll." This mullet, much like the aforementioned fisherman's mullet, has spawned a plethora of mullet variations of its own.

http://ils.unc.edu/~everj/Mullet/history.htm

The idea of the shoulder pad is always to contrast the width of the shoulders with the very slim waist and hips.  A V-shape!  If'n you don't have the right body and if'n it's not the right era, well, then you should forego shoulder pads altogether.

My mom as a teenager. ^

But... if you have this sort of configuration and it's the 1940s, go for it!

 Gawd, I LOVE chartreuse!

Susan

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin

Best use of shoulder pads in women's fashion (3:30 mark):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjhtxfSMIWk

Thanks for the YouTube links, guys!  I think we've put this issue to rest and well conveyed why shoulder pads were ever popular. 

Man, Virginia O'Brien was one slender reed, wasn't she?!  That outfit is a splendid classic and would work just as well on this year's Academy Award Red Carpet as it did in its day.

Susan

PS  Virginia O'Brien died at the Motion Picture Country Hospital in Woodland Hills in January, 2001.  This is a fabulous senior housing complex for retired actors across the street from the fun Sagebrush Cantina.  It's really in Calabasas though.  I know you care.  

     
“Half a truth is often a great lie.”

Ben Franklin