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DECEMBER 2019
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Malls From Page 1A
were fabulous. I enjoyed thefood court in the late 1980s.”
As an employee of a Brook-field Square retailer in the1980s, Meisekothen alsorecalled what life at the mallwas like in the time period.During this era, Meisekothensaid the mall for a time hadthe second-largest Sears inthe U.S.
“I worked there when I wasin high school. Sears wascompletely remodeled in the1980s,” Meisekothen said.“Brookfield Square had cakedecorating contests. Themalls were incredible.”
While the selection ofretailers, at times, overlappedor was similar from one mallto the next, West Milwaukeeresident Charlotte Fleis-chman said each shoppingcomplex had its own uniquepersonality — a trait she saidshe misses today.
“The experience was differ-ent at each mall,” Fleischmansaid. “They had their ownspecialness, offering differentstores, restaurants and theoverall look of the mall. Themalls today are all the same.Nothing sets them apart fromthe other.”
Waukesha residentHeather White also sharedsome of her favorite memo-ries of shopping at BrookfieldSquare as a child. One featureWhite said she rememberswere the small bridges insidethat gave shoppers an oppor-tunity to have a glimpse at thefish swimming.
“I miss the arcade inside —so many memories playingvideo games while my momshopped for nursing uni-forms,” White said.
Waukesha resident GerriLinski said she feels some ofwhat made malls special fromthis time period has been loston society today.
“I always thought shoppingmalls prompted familytogetherness. I see that partof our past almost disappear-ing,” Linski said. “So many ofmy family and friends don’tgo out to shop anymorebecause they do online shop-ping.”
I did not appreciate it as a
kid, but as I reflect personallyon malls at their peak popu-larity through my adult set ofeyes, I have to say there wereinteresting places from a soci-ological perspective. Sure,they were popular teen hang-outs. But they also wereplaces where young adults,middle-aged adults andseniors frequented — espe-cially once mall walkingbecame an actual thing.
It seems the heyday ofmalls has faded, though I’mnot convinced they will allvanish. Brookfield Square, ofcourse, is in the midst of ahigh-profile makeover — onethat could reinvigorate thatshared experience throughthe likes of the just-openedMovie Tavern and Whirly-Ball. And on most days, May-fair Mall still has a packedparking lot.
So many aspects of our cul-ture seem to go full circle,including the many fashionfads that are best displayed inmall-based clothiers.
When malls were all therage in the 1980s, their popu-larity came at the expense ofhistoric downtowns, wheremany communities grappledwith an uncomfortable num-ber of vacancies. This trendalso is depicted in the currentseason of “Stranger Things.”
Who knows? Maybe — justmaybe — malls again will bethe place to shop and social-ize in a few decades if peopletire of this whole online shop-ping thing.
GONE, BUT NOTFORGOTTENThese Milwaukee-area mallmainstays were all the rage inthe 1980s, but have since goneto the retail graveyard. Some ofthese brands have gone on tosecond lives as online-onlyenterprises, while others contin-ue to line the shelves of otherretail shops.In some instances, these namesmorphed into other chains asacquisitions and consolidationspicked upWhatever the outcome, all ofthese names have disappearedfrom the corridors of mallsacross the U.S.
Aladdin’s CastleB. Dalton BookstoreBabbage’sBoston StoreCamelot MusicCasual CornerChess KingCompUSAContempo CasualsCounty SeatDebFashion BugGadzooksGimbelsHarvest House CafeteriaK-B ToysKinney ShoesLechters HousewaresThe LimitedMarshall Field’sMerry-Go-RoundMusiclandSam GoodyStructureTape WorldThom McAnWaldenbooksWick ‘N’ SticksWoolworth
By Katherine [email protected]
262-513-2644
Love it or hate it, the ’80shad a sense of style unlikeany decade before or since,although many fashionpieces such as acid-washed,high-waisted jeans, fannypacks, and ruffled blousesare returning towardrobes.
Last month, SouthernLiving magazine posted astory highlighting morethan a dozen clothing itemsbeloved in the 1980s andfinding new popularity in2019.
“The 1980s are remem-bered as one of the mostquestionable (but daring!)decades in fashion history.From shoulder pads andoversized blazers to rufflesand the doorknocker ear-rings, it seems like every-thing was big in the ’80s.And don’t even get us start-ed on the beauty trendsof the ’80s. Even thoughsome of the looks shouldnever resurface (ahem -hair crimpers, bless yourhearts), many fashiontrends are actually back instyle today,” reads thearticle by Mary ShannonWells.
“Whether you’re sur-prised, excited, or horri-fied, ’80s fashion has madeits way to the 21st century.Luckily, most of the trendsthat have found their wayback to the racks aretoned-down versions of theoriginals.”
Even Seventeen maga-zine, is promoting howteenagers and young adultsof today can incorporate“old school” lightweightnylon jackets and jelly san-dals from the “like, totallyawesome decade” into theirday-to-day outfits.
For Donna Ricco, execu-tive fellow of fashion forthe Mount Mary UniversitySchool of Art and Design,the 1980s were an excellenttime to be involved in thefashion industry.
She graduated in 1981from Mount Mary Univer-sity and headed to NewYork City to launch hercareer as a women’s fash-ion designer. Her dresseswould eventually grace thepages of Glamour and Cos-mopolitan, as well as beworn by Michelle Obama in2008.
Ricco’s focus was ondresses - and the women ofthe 1980s loved a beautifuldress, especially ones withpadded shoulders thatcreated a strong silhouette.
InfluencersBoth pop culture and pol-
itics influenced the designof dresses during thatdecade, Ricco said.
She cited conservativeand strong political womensuch as then-British PrimeMinister Margaret Thatch-er and the powerful femaleTV characters like Christaland Alexis of “Dynasty” asinfluencing the power suitand the sharp, strong sil-houette of the 1980s.
“Women were starting tocome to the forefront of thepolitics in the 1980s,” Riccosaid.
The female silhouettewas defined in the 1980s bystrong shoulders, oftenemphasized with shoulderpads and big sleeves, and asmall waist.
Ricco’s dress line reflect-ed those pop culture influ-ences, as well as respondedto the fact that morewomen were working andwanted to look profession-al.
“I sold dresses and manyof the dresses were day-time dresses that had astrong shoulder, had a sim-ple silhouette,” she said.
But, not all females of the1980s were looking to cap-ture that powerful look.There were other celebri-ties making their mark onthe fashion industry, suchas Madonna, Billy Idol andJoan Jett.
“On the other side, wasthe rebellion, there was thepunk, the punk rockers.People who really wantedto rebel against that conser-vatism,” Ricco said. “Theywere almost dressing forwar; they had spikey shoesand spiked hair.”
The emergence of MTVadded a significant visualeffect for fashion in the1980s.
“They were exposed tothat from MTV,” Ricco said.“They had a visual to whowas making it, instead ofjust hearing it.”
Michael Jackson’s senseof style got both menand women buying short,edgy jackets (a la themusic videos “Bad” and“Thriller”) and embellish-ments, like chords andsequins.
“That was really excitingto have access to so manyvisuals. That was alsohelped with the inventionof the Web. All of a suddenpeople could access so
much information,” Riccosaid.
New needsThe role of women was
changing in the 1980s.Fewer women were stay-at-home moms and were join-ing the workforce inincreasing numbers.
While women’ssportswear was introducedin the 1970s, it really flour-ished in the 1980s, Riccosaid.
As women became moreactive and took on moreroles, they also got moreinto physical fitness andsoon fashion designerswere making leg warmers(remember “Flashdance”),leotards (“Let’s Get Physi-cal” by Olivia Newton-John) and track suits.
Fabrics that were intro-duced around that timeperiod also aided in newkinds of clothing, such asthe first woven stretchpants for men and women,Ricco said.
Stretch was a big part offashion in the 1980s and hasled to the ability to createyoga pants that are worneverywhere by women now.
A Christmas 1984 JC Pen-ney catalogue shows a vari-ety of fabrics — from color-ful polyester dresses toquilted country-style paja-mas.
Men’s fashionsThere were many fash-
ion trends men in the 1980salso followed, from therocker look with long hairand torn jeans and a T-shirt to preppy epitomizedwith pastel-colored polosand sweaters drapedaround shoulders.
Men’s Fashion Magazinesaid pop culture was a biginfluencer for the males inthe ’80s.
“The look that oftenruled the 80’s was oftencool and casual. ‘MiamiVice’ was a popular TVseries at the time and menliked to follow the style ofDon Johnson and PhilipMichael Thomas. Thiskind of style consisted ofcasual T-shirts underdesigner jackets, suits inpastel and bright colours.Loafers and boat shoeswere popular at the timeand were often worn with-out socks; also it was thestyle to wear your sleevespushed up and your jacketsopen,” reads the article.
While there are severalarticles online about men’sfashion in the 1980s, theresurgence of it in today’sfashion has not been as sig-nificant.
New marketWhile people who wore
the high-waisted jeans andpower suits of the 1980smay be averse to wearingthe styles again, theirdaughters and grand-daughters are likelyembracing items fromtheir closets.
“I think it’s more for ayounger customer who hasnever worn it before; it’snew to her,” Ricco said ofthe resurgence of 1980sfashions. “They say if youhave worn it before youshould never wear itagain.”
Ricco also believes that“new fashion thrives whenit is based on somethinghistorical.”
Through the decades, themost-wearable fashiondraws from the past, shesaid. Also driving theresurgence of ’80s fashionsis that celebrities haveembraced the look.
Submitted photo
Donna Ricco works on her dress designs in the 1980s.
Submitted photo
Donna Ricco made her mark in the fashion industry bylaunching a line of dresses in the 1980s.
1980s fashions return Trends included power suits, acid-washed jeans and punk attitude
Photos courtesy of the Waukesha County Historical Society and Museum
Shoppers stroll through Brookfield Square.
People relax surrounded by plants in Brook-field Square mall in this undated photo.
An entrance into Brookfield Square mall.
Wisconsin Scale Boating allowed people toplay with boats at Brookfield Square mall.
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