Remember the 1980s? Stadium Rock was the music of the day; Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan made up the dynamic duo on the world’s political stage; and pastel colours combined with the “bigness” of fading ’70s fads dominated the fashion in the Decade of Excess. Well friends, fashion and cultural trends are cyclical and like it or not, the ’80s are back to some degree.

One of the best mediums to witness the resurgence in is fashion, most notably in the realm of t-shirts. The three staples of t-shirts in the ’80s were bright colours, clever slogans, and caricatures. The colours began to quiet down with the turn into the ’90s, but retailers are once again beginning to showcase neon green and pink, bright safety orange, stunning turquoise-blue, and fire-hot red. The colours that require sunglasses to look at.

Having graduated from school in the early ’80s, I was hoping the era would die right along with my youth. Indeed it was gone for a while, but bright green hoodies have been appearing alongside t-shirts replete with glitter and psychedelic lettering. Slogans that I thought I’d never read again are finding new life on the chests and backs of teens everywhere.

Twilight t-shirts, hoodies, bags, and other accessories are currently a hot item at clothing stores in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. Driving the sales is a demographic which includes pre-teens, teens, and young adults enthralled with the story of Bella and Edward from the Twilight novel and film. The plot line and vampire theme are just the sort of things which will easily capture the imagination of younger people.

Ever since the 2005 release of the original novel, Twilight has been a runaway hit with pre-teens, teens, and young adults. For some reason we can’t resist the vampire love story of Edward and Bella. Marketers have caught on and are making Twilight gear among the most sought after in clothing shops. Store owners are keeping the shelves full to satisfy the appetite.

Combining the horror film genre with the excess of the ’80s may seem to be an odd marriage, but crafty marketers are making it work. A bright green T-shirt with the message “I love Edward forever” doesn’t seem so out of place. Even the basic black of the horror genre looks pretty good with a glittering “I want to be a vampire” stretched across the front of a hoodie. The ’80s weren’t so macabre but the match seems to work.

For the younger set the t-shirt and hoodie selection is quite modest. All the bright colours are available but thankfully, manufacturers are trying to leave off the more graphic messages and images, preferring instead the seemingly innocuous phrases like “Do I dazzle you?” No need to make the young ones grow up too quickly, eh?

The Twilight saga is now up to it’s third installation with promises of more to come. As long as it remains a big hit with fans, I’m sure clothing manufactures will make sure to keep the shelves stocked with Twilight items. We can only hope they out-live the return of the ’80s fads. Hopefully the ’80s won’t get bitten by a vampire and live to suck our blood forever!

Entertainment critic and trend veteran Demi L. Allan reports on active trends and forecasts in the U.K. and around the world. Her work can be found on a selection of independent and syndicated internet sites. If you want to see what Demi was talking about or get hold of some Twilight T Shirts for yourself, visit her website.