The Forgotten Feminine Power of Shoulder Pads

Were shoulder pads big in the 80’s? Are they coming back? Were they important to women in the workplace in the 80’s? Absolutely and I am all about it.

When we think of big shoulder pads, images of the 80’s is what we think of, but it is not where they come from. Popular fashion designers in the 1930’s Elsa Schiaparelli and Marcel Rochas included large shoulder pads in their designs. They were popular, but they did not explode as a fashion staple for another decade.

In the 1940’s two things happened. The first was men’s suits were entering a phase of what was known as the tailored look. Flared lapels, double breasted suits that showcased broad shoulders and tapered down became all the rage. Women’s blazers followed suit. The other thing that happened was actor Joan Crawford.

Joan Crawford was starring in hit after hit for a time. The Women (1939), Susan and God (1940), Strange Cargo (1940), and A Woman’s Face (1941). Joan was very self conscious about her shoulders. Since the 1930’s she insisted MGM address the issue in wardrobe. Hollywood fashion designer, and icon in his own right, Adrian Greenberg was assigned to address the issue.

In the early 30’s Adrian tailored designs that hid what Joan felt was an awkward body shape at the shoulders. But as she got more popular Adrian saw fashion beginning to experiment with the tapered and tailored look. Adrian changed tactics. Instead of hiding her shoulders, he was going to accentuate her shoulders by use of tailored shoulder pads.

In 1979 clothing for both men and women was revisiting the 1940’s aesthetic. With that revival came not only the tailored look, flared lapels, and the double breasted suit, but also the shoulder pads. It was slow to adopt, but in January 12 of 1981, Dynasty premiered on CBS. This very 80s show centered around a wealthy family in Colorado. It was meant to compete with Dallas and did not do very well in the ratings. So in 1982 they introduced a new character. Joan Collins as the conniving and strong Alexis Colby.

Many women loved the adventures of the ex wife of Blake Carrington haunting him like a living ghost trying to thwart his continued success at every turn. And with this woman scorned who could hold her own against any man in power came shoulder pads to showcase her power.

In short time shoulder pads became seen on celebrities on the big and the small screen.

Oprah Winfrey, Cybil Shephard, Princess Diana, Margaret Thatcher, Grace Jones, and even Annie Lennox of the Eurythmics.

If she was famous, strong and powerful in the 80’s, she was wearing shoulder pads.

There is a great irony that most yuppies were republicans and eschewed feminism. This included women executives in the workplace. But these women entering the executive ranks were changing the game and wearing the shoulder pads. And they had to channel the attitude that came with the powerful women wearing them.

If you were a man, you were assertive. If you were a woman, you were also assertive, but people called you a conniving bitch. Sadly, that is the double standard of society today. But in the 80’s women were fighting their way out of the secretarial pool and into the boardroom. And they did it wearing shoulder pads.

Shoulder pads gave an air of strength and confidence. It also averted the male gaze. While the fashion tapered down to the thighs and calves were accentuated with high heels, the shoulder pads had a message to the sexist and reductionist male gaze. “You will look up here, sir. My power is up here and I will be recognized as strong as you!”

Men’s clothing was starting to lean toward the shoulder pad, but not at the same level as women’s clothing. It was subtle, but producer and director Michael Mann would bring the male shoulder pad into prominence inspired by the powerful feminine shoulder pad. Fashion designers Hugo Boss, Nino Cerruti, Gianni Versace and Giorgio Armani were not household names in the fashion industry when the 1980’s began. But the creation of Miami Vice would bring them into popularity on Sonny Crockett, played by Don Johnson.

There was a twist, however. In a time where men were clean shaven, sometimes with a well groomed moustache, and wearing muted and masculine earth tones with dark suits, Miami Vice leaned into vibrant pastels that were not only seen as feminine, but part of gay culture. The shoulder pads and pastels were worn by a character who rarely shaved, never wore socks, and would wear henley t shirts with his $1,000+ suits.

This was a bold choice for Mann. And something happened. Men leaned into the fashion of the pastel and the shoulder pad never realizing that they were following women and gay men. And for my money, that is totally awesome!

We make fun of the shoulder pads. Even Joan Collins playfully titled her autobiography “Behind the Shoulder Pads”. But I feel that it is a mistake to do so. Something empowering happened in the 1980’s for women, and men were less afraid of their masculinity being threatened by color spectrums and the possibility gay men could be wearing the same thing they were.

There were two fronts that the shoulder pad affected me.

Attraction to Strong Women

The first was a positive view on women. The 80’s was the decade of puberty for me. And sexual attraction is formed here. Women like Cybil Shephard on Moonlighting or Sheena Easton on MTV combined with the art of Patrick Nagel gracing the cover of Duran Duran albums, pages of Playboy Magazine, and poster shops around the world created the image of the attractive woman for a young man. The woman in shoulder pads was everywhere! And she was not a shrinking violet.

She was powerful, assertive, strong, confidant, and knew what she wanted. This is what I was taught, accidentally, by pop culture to find alluring and attractive. And as I discovered older movies thorough my grandparents, who was I finding myself drawn to?

The Femme Fatale of film noir. Again, we had a woman that did not just give herself to any man, she chose you and you had to be up to the task.

Rita Hayworth, Mary Astor, Ava Gardner, Jane Greer, and the most dangerous and amazing and strong of them all, Barbara Stanwyck. What did they all have in common? Shoulder pads and could stand on their own in a man’s world. They were the foils to misogyny and were never to be underestimated. These women wore shoulder pads in contrast to the demure women in the movies who were not as powerful, confidant, or in control.

Fashion Discovery

With Miami Vice came my own discovery of fashion. The colors, fabrics, and science of clothing captured me. In the high school and college culture of jeans and tee shirts I was enjoying standing out with sports coats and dress shoes sans socks. I was comfortable and with shoulder pads and awareness of the cut of clothing I could contour not just my look, but my physique to whatever I wanted. A tapered and tailored look was what I sought, and I still do.

I enjoy fashion again and much of what I wear is either vintage or vintage inspired. And I have never cared if I look masculine enough, because when I wear my clothing I am strong and confidant as opposed to an “alpha” who is scared of everything and has to beg the world to not tread on them.

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