Remember Adam Ant? Duran Duran? Specifically, Simon Le Bon or A Flock Of Seagulls? (A-FOS) as I always called them. These guys are perfect examples of The New Romantic look. I still have a huge crush on Simon!
He even sings about New Romantics in this song!
I think one of the reasons I am such an Anglophile is the influence of the fashion, music, traditions and such. I mean, in the 60s, American girls wanted to copy the Carnaby Street look. In the 70s, American kids ripped their t shirts and put safety pins on their clothes like the London punks and the 80s brought the New Romantic fashion from across the pond via music videos. I was immediately attracted to these "dandy" boys with make-up and swashbuckling shirts. I, myself, remember wearing ruffled, high collared blouses with puffy sleeves and military styled buttons in a "7" pattern. Long silk scarves, a carry over from the glam era, and pirate or pixie style boots were also worn by me and my peers.
Another popular figure in the 80s wearing New Romantic look was Princess Di.
The original New Romantics were writers and musicians of the 19th Century AKA Neo-romantisicim. Some names of this movement you might have heard of: Louis Carroll, Rudyard Kipling and Yeats.
Normally I don't follow trends - even though I am aware of some of the current aspects. I have seen elements of my youth resurfacing in stores. I walked into Target the other day and I needed to keep my sunglasses on because the young girls' department is closest to the entrance and it was filled with bright neon colored tops, skirts, sweaters and hats! This was not a favorite look of mine in the 80s and most definitely does not qualify as new romantic style.
