fashion

"Why I’ll be turning into my mother this summer."

As a teenager, the sudden realisation that you are becoming your mother is a nightmare.

Luckily for me, I’m not a teenager any more and my mum is a babe, but there are certain things that I would always tease her for whenever the photo albums were whipped out.

You see, my mum was the quintessential ’80s club queen: big pearl earrings, sequinned off-the-shoulder dresses, blonde Kylie Minogue perm… you get the idea.

My mum killing it with her perm and those big '80s pearl earrings Source: Original/Facebook

So whenever I saw a photo of her rocking the perm, the aerobics gear and the high-cut leotards, I would scoff and think ‘What in the hell were they thinking back then?!’

But for the past couple of years, in little drips, the '80s have quietly been making a glorious resurgence.

Don't believe me? Just look around at all the double denim, white sneakers, sequined mini dresses... Wake up, people! The fashion world has become so saturated with the '80s there is absolutely no point denying the decade is officially on trend.

Karlie Kloss walks the 1980's inspired runway for Jeremy Scott earlier this year for Autumn/Winter NYFW. Image via Getty
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All other trends aside, here are my two BIGGEST 80’s inspired trends that you will be seeing everywhere this summer:

1. The high-cut swimsuit

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Remember your high school swimmers? You know, the one-piece that was always insanely high-cut so you and all the girls at your school would rebelliously wear bikini bottoms underneath (much to the dismay of the school teachers who would scold you for ‘not wearing the uniform properly’)?

Well, time to ditch the hip-hugging bikinis, because baring those hips is going to be huge on the beaches this summer.

Bella Hadid left and Kylie Jenner right. Image via Instagram

Already spotted on the likes of Kylie Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski, Kim Kardashian, Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid, this swimwear trend is going to be a scorcher.

In fact, it's being cited by major fashion labels as THE swimsuit trend of the season.

2. The return of the perm

This is not a drill, people — put down those straighteners, because the era of straight hair is officially dead.

Curly-haired girls? It's your time to rejoice.

The beauty of the super-curly trend is that it’s arrived just in time for the humidity, so no more battling the weather for straight locks.

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Blake Lively rocking a perm in NY.  (Source: Getty)

Don’t let this one panic you too much – you won’t be seeing any permed mullets tied around with a fluoro sweatband anytime soon (oh god, I hope).

What sets this modern take on the perm aside from its '80s counterpart is the variations of curls you can achieve these days. You don't necessarily have to go with the classic "poodle perm" — a more effortless-looking curl is possible, ranging from the slightly beachy to the tight ringlet.

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A fresh-faced Kylie Minogue with her original perm in the 80's. Image via Getty
Kylie returns to her roots as she sported her new perm in London this year. Image via Getty
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Seen popping up on runways at fashion weeks throughout the year and adorning the heads of stars like Kylie Minogue, Blake Lively and Beyonce, the return of curly hair is evidently going to be BIG (get it?) this season.

So you intend to be hitting the beach this summer in the latest trends, look no further than your mum’s old photo albums for inspiration — because the '80s will once again reign as the stylistic supreme.

 

What a time to be alive.