The eighties have been hailed as the decade of bad taste fashion where every aspect of clothing was exaggerated to the extreme be it shoulder pads, wild colours or over the top accessories. I previously delved into the subject of 1980s fashion being influenced by the music of the time, however I feel I must revisit the decade again only this time from a purely fashion point of view. On a recent shopping spree I couldn't help but notice the sheer scale of 1980s influenced clothing. Everything from neon colours, graphic prints, leggings and tights in all shades and patterns, washed out ripped denim, boyfriend blazers and figure hugging dresses. We now have new role models to follow such as Lady Gaga, MIA or Agyness Deyn who dress like they have just stepped out of the Flux Capacitor from back to the future, which has just transported them from the mid 80s. The great thing about bringing this style back round again is that we can take tips from before and learn from the mistakes our parents made (for those of us whose parents went out in the 80s). For those of you who went out in the 80s I wouldn't recommend going for a full on revival but instead take aspects from your past and modernise them. Many fashion critics are praising the modern version as a stronger, sexier and much more fashion conscious tribute to a decade we all secretly love. I have taken a look at several micro trends within the modern take on the eighties along with some original role models.

NEON

The style that was championed by Cindy Lauper. She sang about girls just wanting to have fun and she really looked like she was having the time of her life in her layers and layers of coloured beads and mad multicoloured hair. Nowadays we tend not to go quite so crazy, especially in the hairdressing department. Our modern take on neon can be seen across the shops in many forms such as highlighter coloured t-shirt dresses, neon bracelets or neon panelling in shoes. The list is endless. On the catwalks neon colours were featured in Richard Nicoll's designs and also used by Erdem in many of their graphic floral print dresses.

GIRLY STYLE

Madonna was the girly girl of the 1980s, as far as girly went back then. She often went through phases of dressing up in pearls diamonds and ball gowns like she did in her Material Girl video. Nowadays our hair is definitely not so big and messy with roots but a lot more sleek and polished. We are still fond of our layers of pearls and sparkly bling and give us a ball gown or prom dress any day. Girls of any decade do not need an excuse to get out the bling and go to a fabulous party.

THROWN TOGETHER CHIC

80s girls like Bananarama were fond of their casual slouchy look. They were all about the effortless cool look and making a statement that fashion didn't rule them. They were particularly fond of bleached denim, oversized blazers and oversized t-shirts. Our modern take on this look would have to be the boyfriend blazer, statement t-shirts, oversized t-shirt dresses, bleached denim, distressed denim and biker jackets.

GLAMOUR GIRL

The ultimate original role model for this trend would have to be Jerry Hall. Who else would be able to pull off this trend but a stick thin model? Jerry was very fond of her figure hugging dresses and body con. This calls for long toned legs, sleek shiny hair and killer heels. I wouldn't change too much about this look if you are skinny enough to pull it off. Obviously I wouldn't go for the wild curly hair look that Jerry had in the 80s and the heavy eyebrow look was really a mistake but, in terms of the clothes, tight mini dresses are pretty much the same as they were back in the day, we still have plenty of clutch bags to choose from and our modern heels are much more exciting than the 80s version.

POWER DRESSING

In the 80s there was no one more powerful, or scary for that matter, than Grace Jones. She loved her statement dressing be it a crazy hat, leather trousers or big shoulder pads. If she wasn't looking razor sharp then she wasn't herself. Grace was like an asexual person; if you didn't know who she was then you may have found it difficult to guess whether she was man or woman. The masculine look has been carried through the decades as women have constantly dressed in this way, particularly in a male dominated environment, to make themselves look more powerful and not to be treated as inferiors. On the catwalks Stella McCartney teamed cigarette trousers with oversized blazers and casual t-shirts. Pieces can be worn separately for a more casual look such as waistcoats with skinny jeans, blazers with jeans or shirts with skinny ties.