How to dress in the style of the “Words of a Kid” and why it is impossible to repeat the image 100%?

historian, editor, stylist of appearance types

“In 1989, I was five years old, my dad was 28, and my future husband was 16. And we had one thing in common: a plaid mohair scarf. Everyone seemed to have that prickly thing back then. Today, those who have it piled up on the mezzanine, can suddenly earn one or even two thousand rubles. If together with the scarf there is a dusty tracksuit, there is a chance to seriously improve the financial situation. And all thanks to the series “The Patsan’s Word. Blood on the pavement.” Why did these things go so far and how to recreate the image of the late 80’s today?”

Let’s start with the main thing – proof of the fact that things really hit. Nothing complicated here. Just type in any search engine query “things word kid” – and you are immediately bombarded with this evidence. Mainly from flea market sites. There will find everything: from the same mohair scarf to a tracksuit and vintage sneakers (sneakers).

Of course, there are fur hats, knit visors, and USA baseball caps. Prices are different. You can find a scarf for 700 rubles, and a suit – for 4500. However, there are more ambitious sellers. Some want to get 50,000 rubles for a tracksuit. Is it worth it? The question is almost philosophical, because there is no unambiguous answer.

Someone who actually wore these things in the 80s will hardly want to repeat the experiment. Those who didn’t wear them might as well buy modern analogs – you can really find replicas of almost everything in the mass-market. On the plus side, a mohair scarf will obviously not be so prickly. On the downside, it won’t be the same. Although, it seems that in isolation from the time and the people who wore them, these things aren’t the same anyway…..

How do you replicate that?

So, we’ve established the main point – it’s not technically difficult to recreate the looks of the late 80s. If you doubt it, let’s get into the details. What will be the main fashion ingredients?

Conditionally, we have two variants of men’s images. The first will be more inclined to “adult classics”: a sweater with rhombuses (“argyle”), a shirt, pants, boots, a leather coat, a fur hat. The second – to the sporty mood: olimpikka and sweatpants, baseball cap (warm visor), leather bomber, variations on the theme of vintage sneakers.

The possible ingredients have been decided. Now, to make a fashionable retro cocktail a success, you need to randomly choose things from different categories and mix them up. Also, don’t skimp on their quantity.

Those who are familiar with modern fashion trends, will immediately realize – something all this is painfully reminiscent. The principle of combining the incongruous, layering… And they will hit the mark. The described trends are what modern fashion and image stylistics are based on.

Fashion bloggers become stars thanks to the fact that they manage to “friend” in one image things from different operas. And the weirder this friendship looks, the higher their chances of getting into street style chronicles.

Why is it unique?

It turns out that it’s really not technically difficult to replicate these images. And the pieces themselves are available in different versions, and the fashion principles have long been rehearsed. But, probably, many would agree – something is not right here. Even in the show, looking at these guys, it’s as if you see behind their backs costumers who carefully assembled them for the shoot.

Apparently, the secret ingredient is life. It always makes the most major adjustments. When you put on all the things you own just to stay warm, that’s life. If you wear your dad’s sweater and an olympic shirt that you managed to snatch at a thrift store, that’s the happiness of life.

Maybe that’s why the show is so appealing. It’s about something real. It’s about hard but real life.