Queens of Music, Masters of Style
One part self-preservation, equal parts boredom and a love of female musicians and the clothes they inspire, this photo project came with strict guidelines: Pay homage to one female musician each year from 1970-2019 who appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 that year using only items already found in my Austin apartment.
1980: Stevie Nicks
“Sara” (Fleetwood Mac) Reaches #7
I grew up with the name Stevie Nicks synonymous in my ears with Fleetwood Mac; it wasn’t until adulthood that I realized quite how far her superpowers reached. Including her solo career, Nicks is one of the best-selling musical acts of all time, having produced more than 40 Top 50 hits. She’s the only woman to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
Cool. Wikipedia research done. Fashion blogs describe the red threads in Nicks’ style throughout the years as including fringe, tassels, kimonos, leather, and lace. Check to all that in my closet. How to accomplish the “witchy” vibe that also makes an appearance in her outfits? A time-turner necklace from the Harry Potter film franchise, of course.
Fun Fact: This is the first image I shot for the project and was originally going to be the only photo.
1981: Olivia Newton-John
“Physical” Reaches #1
I remember watching Grease and hearing my grandparents comment that Olivia Newton-John did “a pretty good job with the acting,” which is how I learned she was a singer. A singer who, along with 4 Grammys, has been honored with the Order of Australia and the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
Nobody can deny the style impact that her Sandy character had - in fact, the anonymous buyer who purchased her leather jacket at auction in 2019 donated the $243,200 in proceeds to cancer research facilities in Australia. But I went with the neon-saturated, leg-warming, headbanded, unnecessarily belted look that appeared in her “Physical” video as a nod to all the 1981 gym rats, of which I absolutely would have been one if given the chance.
1982: Joan Jett
“I Love Rock and Roll” (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts) Reaches #1
Vegetarian, feminist, professional wrestling fan, and surprisingly coy about her sexuality, it’s hard for a woman like me to not admire Joan Jett. Especially upon learning that Jett formed her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts. For some reason, the image of a woman in the late 1970s placing a newspaper ad for “three good men,” and holding auditions seems just highly badass.
A fan of Los Angeles’ “glam rock” scene - which she incorporated into her first, all-girl rock band, The Runaways, Jett’s style eventually morphed into an edgier look filled with leather and studs. Since I would place “edgy” right at the bottom of a list of words that would describe my closet, this photo was no easy task. Thankfully, my me’mere’s penchant for leather got me the belt, while her love of motorcycle culture landed me this sweet Harley Davidson top a few years back. Hand of Fatima necklace for extra feminist vibes.
1983: Pat Benatar
“Love is a Battlefield” Reaches #5
Even though I chose Olivia Newton-John to embody the early ‘80s obsession with spandex and aerobic gear, it was Pat Benatar who began popularizing it in the late ‘70s and into the next decade. From 1980-1983, the years she won 4 Grammys in a row for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, she stayed more or less clad in the stuff.
That said, I chose the rag skirts popularized in the 1983 post-apocalyptic video for “Love is a Battlefield” because, well, my spandex collection is limited, while my dress-up box is filled to the brim with tutus, crinoline, and torn pantyhose. The hair is courtesy of a lot of teasing and a little bit of Photoshop, while the pose is hiding my leftover Joan Jett tattoo. Day 1 of shooting came with some mistakes: Namely, permanent marker is not meant for skin, and, other than for this shoot, my green crushed velvet top has no purpose now that I live in sweltering Texas.
1984: Pointer Sisters
“Jump (For My Love")” Reaches #11
I knew the Pointer Sisters as the inspiration behind the (again) spandex-clad scene from my beloved Saved By The Bell, wherein Jessie Spano gets hooked on caffeine pills, the drug beloved by seemingly all white girls in the ‘90s. But it was "Jump (For My Love)” that earned them their Grammy in 1984, and the album cover that led to the outfit in this photo.
Of course, I look nothing like Bonnie, June, Ruth, or Anita Pointer, and the group generally embraced fashion trends of the 1940s as their career was taking off in the late ‘70s. So I went with emulating the song’s album cover - the long skirts, baggy shirts, and belted midriff that characterized the year I came into the world (and the entirety of Shelley Long’s wardrobe in Cheers) have always been my favorites. Repurposing a Wonder Woman wig seemed appropriate.
1985: Madonna
“Material Girl” Reaches #2
She has inspired many, and her own fashion inspirations include Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. Companies such as Macy’s and Benetton designed entire outfits to capture her "look,” which often included wearing underwear as outerwear. Her friends have included Gianni Versace and Stella McCartney. She somehow got women to embrace the corset again.
Her impact on fashion was anything but temporary - I barely needed an inspiration photo to pull this outfit together, and Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” album was released before I even had object permanence. When we think of the relationship between musicians and designers, we forget that Madonna popularized that dynamic.
1986: Bananarama
“Venus” Reaches #1
In researching girl bands of the 1980s, there was no shortage of options, but Bananarama existed in the crosshairs of the London post-punk scene (they used to live in the Sex Pistols’ rehearsal space) and the more glamorous, feminine style they eventually embraced with their “Venus” video.
Founding members Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward actually met while studying at the London College of Fashion. Even after the success of their 1983 hit “Cruel Summer,” the band continued to make their own clothes, including the infamous bows worn in those dope high ponytails. Pedal pushers were also the name of the game, but I did what I could with biker shorts. Cheap plastic sunglasses for added mid-’80s effect.
1987: Debbie Gibson
“Only In My Dreams” Reaches #4
Let’s talk about Debbie Gibson, or as I like to think of her, “late ‘80s Taylor Swift.” This is a girl who, at 16 years old, wrote the Billboard Top 100 single “Only In My Dreams,” which landed her a record deal. Then, at 17 she became the youngest artist to write, produce, and perform a Billboard number-one single for “Foolish Beat.” You can check her out in the Guinness Book of World Records, because it’s a title she still holds.
I feel like this is enough of a reason to choose Debbie Gibson over Tiffany when trying to capture the “mall pop” look of the late ‘80s, but her signature black hat solidified it. (Hi, Blossom!)
Fun Fact: Remember Bugle Boy jeans? I didn’t until my mother gave me these grey, high-waisted, androgynous pants to rock over Christmas a few years back. They are everything.
1988: Susanna Hoffs
“Hazy Shade of Winter” (The Bangles) Reaches #2
Oh, boy, when I told my mother I was skipping the Bangles for this project, I thought I would be disowned. And she would have been justified - the band’s “Manic Monday” 45 was responsible for not only my ability to properly use a record player but also the awakening that comes from learning the phrase “bedroom voice.”
But when you grow up with Susanna Hoffs, how do you channel her unless you’re sure you’re going to nail it? You don’t. You release yourself from expectation. You toss on your only off-the-shoulder top, throw your hair into a “half up, half down,” as my mother called it, stare at anything but the camera lens, and cross your fingers nobody calls you out for utilizing the portion of your wardrobe that come from H&M instead of thrift stores.
1989: Paula Abdul
“Forever Your Girl,” “Cold Hearted” and “Straight Up” Reach #1
One of my earliest memories was watching my mother vacuum while listening to the song “Straight Up,” one of Abdul’s THREE No. 1 singles in 1989 alone.
My mother’s love for the “Forever Your Girl” album left me fascinated with her, so her history as a former Laker Girl and choreographer for Janet Jackson videos was old news. The fact that she choreographed the famous giant keyboard scene in Big with Tom Hanks was not. But the heavy emphasis on dance choreography in her videos was a big reason the dance-obsessed Westhoff girls ended up with just a little more Paula Abdul than Madonna in their ears.
The outfit - I pulled this together from my memory of the videos. Strapless black dress from “Opposites Attract,” black tights from “Cold Hearted,” and since I don’t have a sparkly bustier to my name, a gold-threaded blazer as a humble stand-in for the “Straight Up” ensemble.