Consumerism in the 1980s.

A preoccupation with the purchase of consumer goods and the ideologies that support or endorse that preoccupation. The extravagant inaugural festivities accompanying Ronald Reagan’s 1981 assumption of the US presidency were in retrospect a hallmark of the decade ahead. The 1980s heralded the return of formality and ostentation in American society, as well as in dress, in keeping with Reagan’s social customs. High school proms, elaborate weddings in formal settings, coming-out parties, charity balls, and private black-tie dinners proliferated, with women dressing for these events to appear extravagant and lavish. Nancy Reagan’s elegance and Princess Diana’s love of fine fashion were important influences. The predilection for things “natural,” which prevailed in the previous decade, expanded to include the most expensive natural materials: cashmere was preferred to wool, linen was chosen over cotton, and silk clothing was worn everywhere. Ornamentation was the rule of the day, with cabbage roses, animal prints, polka dots, tassels, beads, chains, ribbons, scarves, shawls, and patterned stockings all being consumed and displayed prominently. Binge buying and credit became a way of life, and high-end labels were snapped up. The novelist Tom Wolfe coined the term “the splurge generation” to describe the baby boomers, who, with their children, were avid consumers.