Image via Complex Original
Big hair, bright colors, defeaningly loud outfits, and a lot of pastels. The 1980s are perhaps the most notorious style period in recent memory, looked back upon with equal parts awe and ridicule. For all the embarrassing misfires though, a handful of celebrities across all occupations managed to get it right, using the experimentative era to display a strong sense of icon-making style sensibilities and bold new directions in image. Others were just simply fresh, steering clear of the mistakes their peers made. These are the who both did it right during the '80s and did right by the '80s. Read on for The 25 Most Stylish Celebrities of the '80s.
Written by Frazier Tharpe (@The_SummerMan)
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25. Grandmaster Flash
Occupation: DJ
Claim to fame: Populared hip-hop; Invented several DJ techniques
The famed Grandmaster kept it simple but fly—rarely seen during the decade without his kangol—saving the innovation for his DJ techniques (he's the first documented person to put scratches on a record) instead. Still, dude kept it clean and sharp, and started more than just sonic trends up in the Bronx.
24. George Clooney
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Roseanne; Facts of Life
Before hitting it big with ER, Clooney took his first steps toward A-lister hearthrob stardom by romancing Jackie during the first season of Roseanne. Clooney dressed like the boy next door, which in the '80s meant tucking in his shirt with everything and hiking his pant wais as high as possible. His star began to really rise towards the end of decade, speficially whenever he was seen around town with then-girlfriend Kelly Preston.
23. Charlie Sheen
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Wall Street; Platoon; Young Guns; Major League
The younger Estevez brother spent the '80s making his own name for himself, and while it was hard to out-dress Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, he succeeded elsewhere, despite not killing it quite as hard as Emilio. While his star would continue to rise in the next decade, the '80s saw him at his best fashion-wise.
22. Fab 5 Freddy
Occupation: Artist; Rapper
Claim to fame: Hip-hop personality; Creative; O.G. Influencer
With a heavy presence in both the hip-hop and the art scenes, and a reputation for being one of the leading pioneers to bring those two realms together, it's a little surprising that Freddy didn't dress crazier. Quite the contrary, his style wasn't as loud as most of his peers in either scene. No flash, just pure freshness.
21. Ice Cube
Occupation: Rapper
Claim to fame: Straight Outta Compton
Together with Dr. Dre and Eazy-E, Cube helped popularize the West's stake in rap fashion, most notably by making the Raiders hat more famous than a Raider could and setting the stage for his solo career in the '90s. The West Coast gangster look was here to stay.
20. Anthony Michael Hall
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Sixteen Candles; Weird Science; Saturday Night Live; National Lampoon's Vacation
If Molly Ringwald was the teen queen of the '80s then AMH was the geek prince. His roles in John Hughes' quintessential films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club solidified him as a member of Hollywood's Brat Pack, the then reinging class of teenage actor royalty. As such, most of his time in between a steady work load was spent flossing with fellow stylish members like Robert Downey Jr., who we'll see later.
19. Emilio Estevez
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: The Outsiders;The Breakfast Club; Repo Man
Charlie Sheen's older brother was the star of the family for most of the '80s, and as one of the leading members of the Brat Pack, his style was actually pretty similar to buddy Rob Lowe, with only slightly less impressive execution.
18. Eddie Murphy
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Saturday Night Live; Beverly Hills Cop; Coming to America; 48 Hrs; Trading Places
The breath of fresh air he blew into Saturday Night Live instantly made Eddie Murphy one of the decade's leading It actors, and he dressed to match his success, sometimes to the tune of a few raised eyebrows, but always fresh nevertheless. The purple suit he wore in the legendary Raw stand-up special is still talked about today.
17. John Stamos
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Full House
Stamos' reign as the country's leading heartthrob began in the late '80s with a little show called Full House. Much like Don Johnson and Miami Vice, Uncle Jesse was more than just a character Stamos played. John was Jesse and Jesse's swag—enviable mullet, leather jacket, and an assortment of blazers—extended to the actor's real-life image as well.
16. Bruce Springsteen
Occupation: Rock musician
Claim to fame: The River; Nebraska; Born in the U.S.A.; Tunnel of Love
The Boss is a defining symbol of Americana, as heavily reflected in his style just as much as his music. As such, his go-to outfits, even in the face of international fame, were almost always a basic leather jacket, white tee, blue jeans. And yet no one ever managed to make basic look as cool as Springsteen did.
15. Billy Idol
Occupation: Punk rock musician
Claim to fame: Billy Idol; Rebel Smile; Whiplash
The punk rocker had a signature attitude and wild rocker steez that was on full display through his wardrobe, which consisted of lots of leather and bleached blonde spiked hair. The iconic look would even go on to inspire one of pop culture's most stylish vampires.
14. Elton John
Occupation: Rock/Pop musician
Claim to fame: 21 At 33; The Fox, Jump Up!; Too Low For Zero; Breaking Hearts; Ice on Fire; Leather Jackets; Reg Strikes Back; Sleeping with the Past
Like his fellow glam-rock member David Bowie, Elton became widely known for his weird outfits, particularly during live shows. And just like Bowie, he managed to push image boundaries without becoming gimmicky, though the late-'70s and '80s featured his strangest, most experimental looks.
13. Tom Cruise
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Risky Business; Top Gun; The Color of Money; All the Right Moves
Cruise started the decade with a bang, scoring his first leading role relatively early into his career with Risky Business and following that with Top Gun not long after. With those high-profile (and future classics) features under his belt, plus highly publicized romances with Rebecca de Mornay and Mimi Rogers, TC went from a newcomer in '81 to one of the decade's premier superstars by '86. His style showed as much range as his acting, and he either channeled his inner American rebel or perfected the tee under blazer look.
12. Johnny Depp
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: 21 Jump Street; A Nightmare on Elm Street; Platoon
After being motivated to go into acting by friend Nicolas Cage, Johnny Depp made his first impact in Hollywood as Freddy Krueger's most memorable kill in the first Nightmare on Elm Street. He later achieved full-on stardom on the small screen in 21 Jump Street. Depp had yet to delve deep into the weird neo-bohemian thing he has going on now, but was still eccentric enough to look cool and unique in '80s-era Hollywood.
11. LL Cool J
Occupation: Rapper
Claim to fame: Radio; Bigger and Deffer; Walking With a Panther
The bucket Kangols. The rope chains. A supreme crewneck game. You don't get to be the hottest rapper in the game without your own signature style, and cool James debuted with his look already fully formed.
10. Rakim
Occupation: Rapper
Claim to fame: Paid in Full; Follow the Leader
Rakim fathered many rap trends that still endure today, and that goes for flow as well as style. From the haircut to the gold chains, Rakim's rise gave way to a legion of '90s successors who took as many cues from his closet as they did his classic projects with Eric B.
9. Michael J. Fox
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Family Ties; Back to the Future; Teen Wolf
Michael J. Fox wasn't a part of the '80s Hollywood Brat Pack, but he arguably outdid them at their own game, portraying three of the decade's coolest fictional teenagers: Future's Marty McFly, titular teenaged werewolf Scott Howard, and of course seven years on the tube as Alex P. Keaton—a character originally envisioned as a second fiddle to his cooler parents before Fox's performance changed producers' minds. Dude was basically everywhere, and unlike the perenially suited up Keaton, he favored Nikes and a lot of denim-on-denim looks for his many various public appearances.
8. Rob Lowe
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: The Outsiders; St. Elmo's Fire; Thursday Child
Yet another member of the Brat Pack, and probably the second most stylish of the group. With a traditional but still slick frat-esque style, and with accessories one could only get away with in the '80s—peep the earring game—Lowe melted hearts and style competition throughout the decade.
7. David Byrne
Occupation: New Wave/Pop musician
Claim to fame: Remain in Light; Speaking in Tongues; Little Creatures; True Stories; Naked
Byrne was widely known for his out-there style, but would you expect anything approaching normalcy from the leader of a band like Talking Heads? The steez matched the music and while Byrne experimented with outfits frequently enough to almost give Bowie a run for his money, his most iconic look is undoubtedly the boxy, over-sized suit.
6. David Bowie
Occupation: Rock/Pop musician
Claim to Fame: Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps); Let's Dance; Tonight; Never Let Me Down
The '80s was the period that saw David Bowie come into his own on his solo act steez and his style reflected his emergence. He spent the first half of the decade sporting full-on shocking, uniquely weird outfits as his alter-ego Ziggy Stardust. Then, quicker than you can say "glam," he abruptly switched up to British tailored suits, and in the process became one of the first pop acts to associate image with era.
5. Run-DMC
Occupation: Hip-hop musicians
Claim to fame: Run-DMC; King of Rock; Raising Hell; Tougher than Leather;
The pioneers of the B-boy street style in hip-hop, Run-DMC's steez was iconic and still endures today. You know the look: lots of leather, rope chains, fedoras, and attitude. Plus, never forget they were the first hip-hoppers that a major footwear company ever chose to fuck with.
4. Prince
Occupation: Funk/Rock/Pop musician
Claim to fame: Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain, Around the World In a Day, Parade, Sign O the Times, Lovesexy, Batman
You may be resolved to never wear anything you think Prince would. And that's okay, because you couldn't pull it off. Flamboyant is an understatement, but then, so is iconic. And with such an affinity for purple, approaching him to do the Batman soundtrack was basically a no-brainer.
3. Robert Downey, Jr.
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Weird Science, The Pick-Up Artist, Less Than Zero
Before he hit rock bottom and then achieved one of Hollywood's greatest phoenix moments, Robert Downey Jr. was an honorary member of the Brat Pack, thanks to a slew of roles in coming of age teen films. He also enjoyed a near-decade long romance with Sarah Jessica Parker, which only upped his celebrity profile. No surprise, RDJ was the man thirty years ago just as he is now, but his style then was better, as he was easily the flyest member out of the A-list, publicly-adored Pack. No small feat next to heartthrobs like Lowe and Estevez, but as his comeback proved, Rob's into making the unlikely a reality.
2. Don Johnson
Occupation: Actor
Claim to fame: Miami Vice
Detective Sonny Crockett is a fictional character, yes, but his style—the defining aspect of Miami Vice, which was in turn, a defining aspect of '80s fashion—was more than just a TV wardrobe. Don Johnson was Sonny Crockett and vice versa. If Johnson never made a public appearance during the decade outside of the series—and he made many, with the likes of partners Melane Griffith, Patti D'Arbanville, and Barbra Streisand—he'd still have to be top five on any and every list of this subject. No other single pop culture entity had more influence on the look of the era.
1. Michael Jackson
Occupation: King of Pop
Claim to fame: Thriller; Bad
We won't even talk about the music. MJ debuted a new, equally iconic look in the accompanying videos for each of his chart-topping singles. And even if you watched each video a hundred times, photos of the King of Pop in between performances prove he wasn't just grandstanding for the cameras—the swag was always on royal status. This is the real way that you wanted to be like Mike.