Jumpsuits
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I'm sorry, I just don't get the appeal of the jumpsuit, which was super-popular in the '70s (but whose reign of terror continued well into the '80s and even the early '90s). Not only are they incredibly awkward-looking, but I mean... how do you even pee while wearing one of them?
Low-rise jeans
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Why, oh, why did anyone ever think this was flattering? No matter how taut your tummy, the cut-down-to-there jeans of the latter part of the 20th century left too little up to the imagination (and perhaps too much up to your friendly local bikini waxer).
Shoulder pads
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I get that the whole '80s power suit thing was supposed to project the worth of the working woman, but I can't help but think that our moms looked like linebackers in those heinous, bulky shoulder pads.
Platform sneakers
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The Spice Girls will always hold a place in my heart (Viva Forever!), but that spot certainly doesn't extend to their footwear. The huge, hulking sneaker-shoes that the pop stars wore are so '90s it hurts.
Creepers
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We understand the value of comfortable footwear, but we definitely don't get why this brand of butt-ugly shoes gained any popularity... ever. The ska-punk-rockabilly vibe is one thing, but I can't help thinking that these look like shoes for some really hip dinosaurs, not human beings. For comfy, cozy and actually stylish footwear, we recommend Sanuk shoes.
Tie-dye
Photo credit: bjones27/iStock /360/Getty images
Yes, there is a time and a place for tie-dye. And it's in children's art classes or at music festivals full of people dancing in fields. Hippies in the '60s brought this bright style into the mainstream, and although we really love some of the fashion from the mod era (Hello, Mad Men), tie-dye is a relic best left back at Woodstock.
Hammer pants
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I guess it's not a coincidence that so many of the trends here on this list are from the '90s. Because '90s fashion was altogether heinous. But I think Hammer pants (sometimes called Aladdin pants or drop-crotch pants) have to take the cake in terms of sheer ugliness. After all, they rate pretty high on the scale of "clothing that reminds us of diapers" and that's really never good.
Leather pants
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The popularity of leather pants will, in all probability, never die. Regardless, these shiny, sweat-inducing garments have to rank as one of the most awkward articles of clothing you can put on your body. Yes, they have a certain air of devil-may-care, rocker chic, but they're hard to move in, expensive and might ultimately make you look more foolish than bada**. Remember the episode of Friends where Ross wears leather pants and gets stuck in a date's bathroom? 'Nuff said.
Cone bras
Photo credit: Hulton Archive/
Archive Photos/Getty Images
Our grandmothers thought they looked amazingly stylish with cone-shaped brassieres, but to us they just look seriously uncomfortable. The super-feminine silhouettes of the 1950s imitated the social mores of the time, but I'm seriously wondering what torpedo boobs had to do with the post-WWII U.S.
Legwarmers
Photo credit: Jacqueline Veissid/
Photographer's Choice RF/Getty Images
If you're not in dance class, why are you wearing bulky items to keep your legs warm? Ladies of the '80s may have thought these knitted accessories were the height of style, but they're as puzzling as they are almost routinely ugly.
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