Fashion in Stranger Things 4

Let’s be real - we all binged the new season of Stranger Things in one night, or at least I did. With over a $30 million dollar budget per episode, the costumes, the wigs, and the overall cinematic experience was a 10/10. Now, with Volume 2 releasing in less than three weeks, let’s review the new looks that the main characters have been given this season.

First, let’s take a look at the differences between the group in California, and the group in Hawkins. In the 80s, fashion trends took a lot longer to spread due to the lack of the internet, and information traveled pretty slowly. Because of this, the fashion in California was much more “ahead” than the styles in Hawkins. California had a much richer and brighter color palette, and fit more of the 80s stereotypes that we think of whenever we hear about 80s fashion.

For example, let’s take a look at the character, Angela. Here you can really see how the kids in California typically dressed in the 80s. Scrunchies, bright hair accessories and colorful tops were all staple pieces. But most importantly, we can’t forget about the hair. Hairspray was THE item for styling and creating hairstyles that many dislike today. Overall, the outfits in the California scenes really emphasize the idea of how teens dressed.

Now, let’s look at the Hawkins group. As you can see, the colors that these characters wore were a lot duller, but this was mainly also to emphasize the differences in plot between the two groups. One group was assimilating to the cultural reset in California, while the other group was in Indiana trying to find the monster that was killing the kids in their school. Another thing to note is the hairstyle differences between the two groups. While the hair in California typically follows that of the “80s norm”, the hair in Indiana usually had little to no change; other than Nancy (gray sweater in right of image), whose hair was constantly changing every season.

Overall, the costume designers and makeup artists did a great job of portraying how kids would normally dress during the 80s. It’s also important to note how fashion is always repeating- from scrunchies to the 80s becoming popular in 2019 to knit sweaters always being a timeless piece.