From Joan Collins to Victoria Beckham… we celebrate the rise and fall of shoulder pads through the decades
WHEN Gemma Collins took a leaf out of the Joan Collins’ fashion guide with her HUGE shoulder pads, it didn’t go down well with the fashion police.
The TOWIE star has been mocked online for her orange dress, with memes comparing her to an American footballer flooding the internet.
But, while the shoulder pad has fallen out of favour in recent years, it may not be long until it’s back in fashion again,
For decades, the broad shouldered look was seen as the epitome of power dressing,
From Joan Crawford to Victoria Beckham, women have used them to add a stamp of authority to their outfits and give themselves an edge in the board room, the business meeting or just out and about.
So here’s to the women who made shoulder pads great.
Joan Crawford
The original poster girl for the shoulder pad, the American actress embraced the post-war power look with gusto.
Her dresses and suits sported oversized pads that suited a new era which saw women’s roles at work and home changing dramatically.
Joan Collins
The eighties were the peak of power dressing and Joanie was the most famous shoulder pad wearer of all.
The British diva power-dressed like no other for her role as Alexis in Dynasty.
Her built-up suits were as sharp as her tongue and the combination had her rivals quaking in their boots.
Linda Evans
If you can’t beat them, join them.
It seems the Dynasty wardrobe department had a job lot of over-sized padding, and most of the female cast got reinforced shoulder.
Linda’s character, Krystle Carrington, did her best to shoulder Alexis out but you can’t beat La Collins in the power dressing stakes.
Margaret Thatcher
In 1979, Maggie was a woman dominating a man’s world and she had the armour for battle.
As well as deepening her voice and styling her hair for extra height, she piled on the pads to be extra intimidating.
As she made it number 10 and earned the nickname The Iron Lady, it clearly worked.
Princess Diana
Always the height of fashion, Princess Diana embraced the should pad craze of the eighties in her own style.
The broad shouldered look was usually given a more feminine twist with the elegant dresses and tops the royal mum favoured.
Melanie Griffiths
Working Girl was the ultimate girl power movie of the eighties - and Melanie’s rise to the boardroom no doubt began with her foam-filled jackets.
In the world of eighties corporations, it was no pads no pay rise.
Lady Gaga
As well as meat dresses and Kermtit coats, Lady Gaga has also embraced the retro eighties look.
But being Gaga, she has to take it one step further than most.
Her take on the power look is hardly something you’d wear in the office.
Victoria Beckham
Fashion guru Victoria was behind one of the latest resurgences of the shoulder pad, in 2009.
She wore it in dresses and tops but her most exaggerated look was a £4,050 Balmain jacket that she wore on several occasions.