11 Popular 80s Clothing and Fashion Stores

It’s sad to see boutiques, shopping malls and other storefront clothing stores closing their doors nowadays, especially due to the pandemic. But in the 80s, these were all the hype for teenagers and the young Generation X. As soon as school was out, these were the hangout spots, and it continued this way up until now. Teens wouldn’t go there to spend money, but to take advantage of the indoor space, entertainment and hype away from school and their parents.

Similar to the scenes from Valley Girl, Weird Science, Mean Girls, Fast Times at Ridgemont High and even Stranger Things, shopping at the malls in the 80s was so much fun. With tons of escalators, elevators, lighted water fountains, fast food stands and sometimes even live entertainment; this was their playground. Even when they did shop, the sky was the limit with colors, styles and accessories; everything that was weird was cool.

While some of these stores have withstood the test of time, like The Gap and Spencer gifts (currently known as Spencer’s) – many of these popular stores are gone. Some couldn’t keep up with the ever-changing trends, others lost money to online shopping and others were bought out by larger retail chains and phased out.

Popular 80s Clothing and Fashion Stores

But to reminisce a little from the past, here were some of the most popular clothing stores from the 80s:

1. Deb Shops

Back in the day, Deb Shops were dominating malls and strip malls as they owned a piece of the teenage and 20-something clothing store marketshare. With 295 stores, along with four sister stores, it sold everything from casual to sportswear and even lingerie. It was known for its low prices and small town customer service as it made frequent updates to stay on top of the latest trends. Deb even bought out Atlantic Book Stores in 1995 for 4.7 million as they noticed the downturn in demand for apparel.

But the biggest part of what made them so profitable is that they used their own capital to open new stores. This worked until the late 2000s when its parent company, DSI Holdings, was acquired by Lee Equity Partners and they filed for bankruptcy in 2011 and 2014. In 2015, they had to call it quits and close their stores. The business continued to sell online until their website was shut down in December 2018.

2. Merry-Go-Round

Merry-Go-Round was known for its taste in trendy, contemporary fashion as well as one of the leading retailers for young men and women between the ages of 15 to 35, a big market. It started out only selling blue jeans, but peaked during the 80s with almost 1,000 stores in 39 states, most of which were at shopping malls.

Merry-Go-Ground also had three sister chain stores, Dejaiz, Attivo and Cignal that offered everything from sportswear to sweaters to prom gowns. Since it went public in 1983, the corporation continued to show continuous profits with its ability to capitalize on the latest fashion trends.

Sadly, they made a big mistake when they began selling baggy, hip-hop clothing that was a major turn off for their target market. This ultimately led to a bankruptcy that left it dwindling by the 90s.

3. Chess King

Founded in 1968 by the Melville Corporation, Chess King had over 500 locations throughout the country by the mid 1980s. It was known for selling men’s parachute pants, shoes, bomber jackets and other trendy accessories. It also experimented with three spin-off specialty stores from the late 80s and early 90s. the first was the “FreeFall”, which carried men and women’s designer labels that targeted higher-end, designer and brand names. The second was “The B Club”, which had activewear for both men and women. The third was “Garage”, which had ’50 theme decor and a Nash Metropolitan car in most stores.

Chess King remained popular throughout the 80s as a purveyor of the crazy 80s fads and fashion. But it was bought out by Merry-Go-Round in 1993 before they filed for bankruptcy and closed theirs doors in November 1995.

4. Kinney Shoes

Commonly known as “The Great American Shoe Store,” Kinney had moderately prices shoes for each occasion for everyone. So if you were a kid in the 80s, you were probably here quite a few times to pick up new shoes.

Kinney Shoes commonly sold name brand shoes like Reebok and Buster Brown as well as their own athletic shoes under the brand name Stadia, which specialized in aerobics and jogging.  Kinney also used a ton of Velcro in its kids’ lines, called NoTies and Kapers, casual dress shoes for women.

The store was ultimately closed down in 1998, however, its name still lives on in Foot Locker stores, who now maintains the trademarks of the Kinney and Woolworth brand, the old parent company of Kinney Shoes.

5. Kmart

For those who were around in the 80s, Kmart was the big daddy of retail; it was the Target of the 80s, only cheaper. Not only did they sell clothes, but just about everything else too.

Kmart was a big box department stores chain that first opened in 1962 and hit its peak in 1994, with 2,486 stores globally, including 2,323 discount stores and Super Kmart Center locations in the US.

From 2005 to 2019, Kmart was also a subsidiary of Sears Holdings Corporation and is now transitioned to a subsidiary of Transform SR Brands LLC.

At the beginning of 1981, the 2000th Kmart store had opened, along with 54 more stores across the United States and Canada by the end of the year.  It also experimented with co-branding in 1985 with an in-store cafeteria at the Canton, MI, which was then converted to a Wendy’s.

But by the end of the 80s, the Kmart stores were known to be outdated and in decaying condition, which pushed the corporate office to shift its focus to other companies it acquired, including Sports Authority, Builders Square and Walden Books.

As of the publication date of this blog, there are 15 Kmart stores that remain, however, sadly it will only be a matter of time before the rest of them go.

6. Afterthoughts

Afterthoughts was a chain of accessory and jewelry stores in the US from the 80s to 2002. It was created as one of the specialty subsidiaries of F. W. Woolworth Company in the 80s. By 1996 the chain had reached 809 stores and grew even more with the Venator Group’s merger of 109 Accessory Lady stores, bought from Melville Corporation in 1993.

But by 1999, the number was reduced to 768 stores and the company was bought out by the little girl giant accessory retailer Claire’s as the Venator Group sold off the rest of its stores to focus on Champs Sporting Goods and Foot Locker.

According to their 2000 annual report, Claire’s was planning to convert their stores with The Icing name to Afterthoughts as they targeted the same market, and Afterthoughts had higher sales and margins at the time.

At the beginning of 2000, Claire’s had closed 300 stores: 100 Claire’s and 200 Afterthoughts in malls that couldn’t support both stores. By February 2, 2002, the Afterthoughts brand was no more and was consolidated into the existing The Icing brand.

7. Hess’s

Started off as just 1 store in 1897, Hess’s was a department store chain based in Allentown, PA that grew to 80 stores at its peak in the late 80s. The store sold clothing of all sorts to people of all ages while it enjoyed the booming retail market of the 1980s. But after a few transfers of the chain from Crown American to Berman, most of the original Hess’s practices were abandoned, including the flower/fashion shows and celebrity appearances. Even the store’s outside windows in the main Allentown store were covered after their annual holiday window decoration displays ended.

These abandoned practices combined with increased retail competition and a national recession hit Hess’s hard as it sold or shuttered 43 of its stores. The remaining stores soon followed, ending the 97-year enterprises in 1994.

8. County Seat

Founded in 1973, County Seat was an American clothing store retailer with over 740 stores at its peak before it closed in 1999 after filing for bankruptcy. Specializing in blue jeans and other casual wear, the store was sold to Carson Pirie Scott in 1983 for $71 million.

Carson Pirie Scott redesigned these chain stores with matte black fixtures and re-focused the merchandise line to target young high schoolers. In 1989, Berner’s acquired Carson Pirie Scott and sold County Seat, with 415 stores, to a new management team.

In 1996, Wet Seal offered to buy 508 County Seat stores but was rejected. The chain then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy later that year and again in 1999.

9. Contempo Casuals

Contempo Casuals was full of popular 80s clothes and accessories. Everything from patterned jams to jelly shoes to leg warmers to fishnet stockings, they followed the trends started by Madonna, Whitney Houston and Cyndi Lauper. It was a mid-priced store that set the footprint for other big name stores like American Apparel and Urban Outfitters. It also had cute shopping bags with Andy Warhol-esque graphics and geometric line drawings.

Contempo Casuals was first started in the 60’s by Dottie and Will Friedman who liquidated a variety store called Bargain Town into a women’s clothing store that specialized in fresh, trendy styles. While they weren’t experts in fashion, they had a passion for service in retail.

After growing the brand from Granada Hills, CA, with pink walls and red carpet to a full on chain, women of all ages crowded in looking for the newest styles.

In 1978, big box department store bought Contempo Casuals and operated under their rules until it was sold again to Wet Seal. This company would keep this name until 2001, when all remaining stores were converted to the Arden B name.

10. Today’s Man

Today’s Man was a retailer chain of Men’s wear, with 25 stores in the New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. areas. They sold a variety of low-cost, but high-quality merchandise. Their suits would range anywhere from $50 – $200 in addition to shirts, socks, ties, leather jackets and belts.

Today’s Man grew steadily in the 70s, opening larger and larger stores with one-third of its clothing private-label. By 1990, the retailer converted all existing stores to superstores while sales reached $100 million. Expanding even more, they raised working capital to pay their debts and even went public in 1992 (TMAN).

The superstore would have an average of 25,000 square feet with about 8,000 men’s suits, 3,000 sports coats, 15,000 ties, 15,000 dress shirts and 10,000 pairs of casual or dress pants.

But in 1995, expansion halted as the company’s sales began to fall and the company filed for bankruptcy in February 1996. This was the result of both soft demand for men’s business wear, management’s aggressive plans and mistakes, money issues and growing competition. Finally, they went out of business on April 24, 2003.

11. Casual Corner

Casual Corner was an American retail chain founded in 1950 that operated their stores under the names Casual Corner, Petite Sophisticate and August Max Woman brands among others. In 1970, it was bought by United States Shoe Corporation, with 20 stores when it began to grow rapidly.

By the 90s, the target demographic was changed from women’s sportswear to women’s working attire. With over 525 stores at its peak, the chain became the foundation of a larger holding company entitle Women’s Specialty Retailing Group, which owned and operated several other brands. The large company owned over 1,300 stores nationwide.

Then in 1995, Luxottica purchase U.S. Shoe with the goal of acquiring its LensCrafters division, but sold off Women’s Specialty Retailing to another company also operated by the Luxottica founder and his family. Women’s Specialty Retailing was then renamed to Casual Corner Group.

But with 525 stores at its peak and increasing competition, Casual Corner eventually closed all their stores in late 2005.

Which Was Your Favorite 80s Fashion Store?

Can you think of any other fashion stores that were booming in the 80s that no longer exist today? I’d love to hear them! Many of the popular stores in 80s that weren’t mentioned in this article, like Au Coton, Esprit, B Moss, Le Chateau, Limited Too and Bennetton are still alive and well today, while others like The Ground Round are still around, but just don’t thrive like they used to.

While these brands will likely never be revived, it’s great to reminisce in the past and share experiences of what it was like when shopping at these stores. I’d love to hear about yours, please feel free to share in the comments section below!