:cheers: (CBS) Remember when dressing up in a poodle skirt or slicking your hair back in a ducktail and heading to a '50s sock hop was the retro thing to do?
Well, these days it's more about strapping on the shoulder pads and teasing your hair up nice and big, reports entertainment contributor Laurie Hibberd on Tuesday's The Early Show.
It was the time of Jordache jeans, leg warmers, IZOD shirts and hairspray bands. We're talking, of course, about the decade of the moment, the '80s.
"We're seeing '80s companies like Lacoste,like Le Tigre, Esprit - all these companies that you remember from your childhood, from your high school days - they're coming back," says Lori Bergamotto, an editor at Lucky Magazine.
These companies are hoping to be better than ever. In its '80s heyday, Le Tigre was a $200-million-a-year company. The new owners think the updated Le Tigre will have crossover appeal.
"There's a nostalgia involved with people from generation X and older that remember what was a wonderful time. And I think there's also a younger generation of consumers that look on it and almost wish they were a part of it," says owner Caley Rogan.
Tracksuits made famous by rappers Run DMC are one of Sean John's hottest selling items this fall.
Jenniefr Beal's off-the-shoulder look in "Flashdance" is all over the store racks,
And people like Jessica Simpson are giving the preppy polo shirt look a double update.
"In the '80's you know, you would wear them with maybe - dare I say it - pinch-rolled jeans," says Bergamatto. "Right now, you can wear them with cargo pants, you can wear them with a really fun designery-looking skirt. And it breathes a fresh new life into the outfit."
It would be tough to breathe life into those taffeta-choked '80s prom dresses worn by the mean girls in "Pretty In Pink."
But that slice of retro is at the center of the interactive off-Broadway show "My Awesome '80s Prom."
The preschool set are jumping on the bandwagon, too. some '80s toys like Care Bears, My Little Pony, Transformers, Cabbage Patch Kids and Strawberry Shortcake are seeing their own resurgence.
And for the kids at heart, high tech has also gone retro with home versions of arcade staples like Ms. Pac Man and Asteroids.
"They're only $20. You don't have to buy any hardware, any other software. Just plug it right into your TV. And we're seeing - those are flying off the shelves and a lot of adults are buying those," says Kelly Cullen of "Toys 'R' Us."
So when will this '80s craze end so we can start obsessing about the '90s?
"I don't know that the fascination with the 80's will ever go away. It will ebb and flow. I think its a decade that is so defined by music and fashion that we'll see it come back over and over again," says Meredith Roth, producer of the VH-1 hit show "I Love the '80s."
Some '80s bands are also back on the scene. All the original members of Duran Duran are touring, and George Michael has launched a new album.
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