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Hi,

Try something out of Miami Vice. Crockett and Tubbs (the Police Officers) wore mauve suits. The bad guy (Calderon) wore a suit that looked like it came from South America.
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Actually, that would be anacronistic.

MV came out in fall of 1984, and did not really influence fashion until 1985.  Unless the movie sequence is set in like November or December, that would not be realistic.

Remember, 1984 was the Olympic year.  Also, Oakland is largely a black ghetto.  Just look at what teens of the time wore.

Remember, other then in movies and TV shows, Pimps do not look like pimps, hookers do not look like hookers, and drug dealers do not look like drug dealers.  Mostly, they look like anybody else in the area.

If you want to see this, watch an episode of Cops when they bust a drug dealer.  Bet you 10 to 1 he is wearing regular street clothes.

Quoting:


Actually, that would be anacronistic.

MV came out in fall of 1984, and did not really influence fashion until 1985.  Unless the movie sequence is set in like November or December, that would not be realistic.

Remember, other then in movies and TV shows, Pimps do not look like pimps, hookers do not look like hookers, and drug dealers do not look like drug dealers.  Mostly, they look like anybody else in the area.

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I agree with Mr. 80s.  Straight leg Jeans, Izods, Members Only jackets.  Old school Nike Leather cortez shoes or dock siders, along with the Risky Business wayfarers (in fact Risky Business would be a good movie to watch, as the styles were pretty prominent for 2 or 3 years).  Hair should be feathered and just above the ear or covering half of the ear or gherri (sp?) curls.  Mustaches were typically either really bushy or really "thin."  Also popular were jogging outfits, Michael Jackson's Thriller jacket, tight sleeveless t-shirts, and soft soled leather dress shoes (for dancing). 

If you're looking for comedic pimp wear, check out Morris Day in "Purple Rain."

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I dunno, Mr. 80s, it seems to me when I go to my local shopping mall, everybody under 30 is trying to look like a hooker, a pimp, or a drug dealer, so who's to say who's who?   8)
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I dunno, Mr. 80s, it seems to me when I go to my local shopping mall, everybody under 30 is trying to look like a hooker, a pimp, or a drug dealer, so who's to say who's who?   8)
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Hahaha, so true!

But in real life, they tend to be much more subdued for the most part.

Granted, there can be exceptions.  But for the most part, hookers that look like hookers tend to get picked up fast by the cops.  In fact, I did not know how to tell what a "real hooker" looked like, until I went with a ride-along with the LAPD in 1984.  After that, I was amazed at how many hookers I spotted in my neighborhood!

When I lived in Vallejo (north of San Francisco) in 1990-1993, I would see the hookers that hung out near a computer shop I hung out at.  We could always tell when the VPD was doing a bust, because the ugly crack hookers in jeans and sweaters would be gone, and these beautiful gals who looked like something from a 1970's porn movie about hookers would then be on the streets.

After doing this a night or two, they would announce to the press how there was little prostitution in the area because of few arrests.  Then they would go away, and the streets at night would go back to being the way they were before.

There, you could tell the pimps because while they looked like everybody else, they drove all over at 10pm-2am on bicycles.  If you saw a guy in that area riding back and forth at night on a mountain bike, he was probably a pimp.  That let him keep an eye on "his girls", and not be bustable by the towns "cruising laws".

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I agree with Mr. 80s.  Straight leg Jeans, Izods, Members Only jackets.  Old school Nike Leather cortez shoes or dock siders, along with the Risky Business wayfarers.  Hair should be feathered and just above the ear or covering half of the ear or gherri (sp?) curls.  Mustaches were typically either really bushy or really "thin."  Also popular were jogging outfits, Michael Jackson's Thriller jacket, tight sleeveless t-shirts, and soft soled leather dress shoes (for dancing). 
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LOL.  I gotta laugh, because I e-mailed the guy that made the original post, and told him much the same thing.  Even down to Izod, Members Only, and feathereed hair!

He imagined putting this Italian drug dealer, in Oakland with greased hair.  That might have worked if it was in say, Brooklyn.  But in California at the time, only the Hispanic community wore greasy hair (and very few of those even).  

One thing I might add is that this is also during the Breakdancing crazy.  Bowling shoes became a minor fashion trend for people that did that.

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If you're looking for comedic pimp wear, check out Morris Day in "Purple Rain."
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For the same thing about Jerry Curls, check out "Comming To America" with Eddy Murphy.  Whenever I see that movie, the image of Erik LaSalle's family getting up from the chair, leaving those greasy spots that run down the wall behind them makes me laugh.

Quoting:


LOL.  I gotta laugh, because I e-mailed the guy that made the original post, and told him much the same thing.  Even down to Izod, Members Only, and feathereed hair!

He imagined putting this Italian drug dealer, in Oakland with greased hair.  That might have worked if it was in say, Brooklyn.  But in California at the time, only the Hispanic community wore greasy hair (and very few of those even).  

One thing I might add is that this is also during the Breakdancing crazy.  Bowling shoes became a minor fashion trend for people that did that.


For the same thing about Jerry Curls, check out "Comming To America" with Eddy Murphy.  Whenever I see that movie, the image of Erik LaSalle's family getting up from the chair, leaving those greasy spots that run down the wall behind them makes me laugh.
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Yes!  I remember the "jerry curl" couch scene!  Priceless!  What was the name of the company Eric LaSalle's family owned that made the jerry curl juice?

I also e-mailed the guy and put part of your quote in about how the pimps and the hos try to look as "every day" as possible.  If the pimps all looked like Morris Day and the hos all looked like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, the cops' jobs would be way too easy!