Totally futuristic
New-wave styles hit the clubs.

By Deborah Giattina

I HAVE A soft spot for the '80s. That's when I learned to hate the bomb and started experimenting with scissors and my mother's '70s-chic wardrobe. I gravitated toward black things: billowing, ominous trench coats, heavy eyeliner, and jagged objects I could dangle from my ears. My parents constantly asked me if I was on drugs or depressed (sometimes); classmates thought my friends and I were weird or queer (pretty much); and teachers considered us radical and rebellious (that explains those socialists who loitered on my high school campus and kept asking me to join their revolution). Despite our liberal political sensibilities, we didn't want to become Trotskyites. Instead, I scrawled "Fuck it all! Let's Dance!" on my sneakers. Like the spectacularly androgynous Anne Carlisle says to her former professor and lover in the no-wave high-fashion lesbian cult flick Liquid Sky, "You thought your jeans stood for love, freedom, and sexual equality – we at least we know we're in costume."

Now that new-wave fashion is making a comeback, outrageous '80s style has become the order of the day. DJs at Arrow, a new bar on treacherous Sixth Street, treat hipsters wearing disco designer jeans to their rare 12-inch dance remixes of Berlin and Missing Persons. Reinstituted establishments such as the Galaxy Club (formerly the I-Beam) have been focusing on electroclash, which has a strong new-wave influence by way of early synth-house recordings. A few new bands, such as sexy synth-pop group Memory Systems and the Nguyens (a Smith's tribute band), have been moving in on established rock venues like Kimo's and the Great American Music Hall.

For insight into this revivalist trend, I talked to the members of the quirky synth duo Feelings on a Grid, Stanley Lamontagne (a.k.a. Le Grid) and Gary Fembot (a.k.a. DM Feelings), who are proud to consider themselves "high mall '80s". They even have their own '80s fashion consultant, and of course, they care about how people treat one another and the earth.

"The '80s were kind of re-treading the '50s, and the '50s were all about what the future was going to be like, and new-wave kind of stuff was like that," Lamontagne says. "Now we are wearing those clothes going, 'Hey, it's 2000. It's the future. Check it out; it's just like you thought.' "

Fembot adds that his East Coast sources tell him, "Everybody in New York is Liquid Sky now."

Sitting in a diner in the heart of SoMa, we yak and reminisce about skirt-pants, unisex haircuts, and '80s-inspiration Rudy Gernreich's politics of style. Lamontagne and Fembot bring the issue of class into the conversation. Shopping for secondhand clothes was and still is a thrifty way for hipsters to broadcast their individuality. Thrift and vintage stores were the original places where new-wave fashion was born. They're where you went to find your secret-agent-man skinny black ties, '60s sharkskin suits, crinolines, black trench coats, pedal pushers, and stovepipe pants.

I want to keep talking to Lamontagne and Fembot about feelings and fashion, but I'm aching for a black, Members Only leather jacket in size small to get the recycled new-wave look. Once I hit the thrift stores, I realize that trying to be retro '80s takes the tenacity and perseverance of Joan Jett. You can't just walk into a store and have the perfect purple-and-black striped shirt fall into your lap. You're gonna have to dig through a lot of '70s Rod Stewart-groupie duds first. Where do those kids at New Wave City cadging Robert Smith's style get their clothes? Could they be – gasp – shopping online? We all know what that means, so don't even make me say it.

Before you transfer funds into your PayPal account, you should probably figure out what kind of new waver you want to be. In Sid and Nancy, a young clubber says, "I've decided not to be a punk no more. I'm gonna be a Rude Boy like my dad." And like that fine lad, you might want to consider what look you are going for: post-punk, no-wave, all-black, ska, neo-psychedelic, Goth, dominatrix/S-M, neo-mod, neo-'50s, or new romantic.

Or not. Hector Venavides, a shop assistant at vintage clothing store Held Over tells me, "I see a lot of mixtures of styles, like new wave put together with techno or '70s-looking stuff. I think it's great when people co-opt different eras. It refreshes an old look."

However you decide to do it, now is the time to immerse yourself in this re-retro trend that a culture commentator in a recent New York Times style article called the official entrance into double-quotation-marks irony. Deborah Giattina is a writer who lives in San Francisco.

Where to get that synthetic feeling

How to look new wave

American Rag The price tags say "vintage" not "secondhand," but you'll be drooling over these hard-to-find striped shirts and trashy princess dresses. Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., noon-7 p.m., 1305 Van Ness, S.F. (415) 441-0537.

Claire's Grown-ups might feel embarrassed to enter a teen accessories shop, but it's got enough rubber-gasket bracelets to cover your entire arm. Mon.-Sat., 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-6 p.m., 104 Powell, S.F. (415) 544-0441.

Clothes Contact This store has a large rack of black trench coats, enough to go around for the whole city to join the brigade. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., noon-7 p.m., 473 Valencia, S.F. (415) 621-3212.

Held Over Skinny black ties that get snapped up fast, leather ties that just came in, trashy pumps, off-the-shoulder sweaters, and wide belts make this a great place to develop your personal new-wave style. Mon.-Wed., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thurs.-Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., 1543 Haight, S.F. (415) 864-0818.

HRM This small designer-owned boutique creates some beautiful '80s-inspired pieces, such as diagonal-striped shirts and drop-waist dresses. Tues.-Thurs., noon-7 p.m.; Fri.-Sat., noon-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m., 924 Valencia, S.F. (415) 642-0841.

Retrofit Come to this shop for a nice selection of puffy-sleeved sweaters. Mon., Wed., and Fri., noon-7 p.m.; Thurs., 1:30-7 p.m.; Sat., noon-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m., 910 Valencia, S.F. (415) 550-1530.

Savers Here's an inexpensive and out-of-the-way thrift store that might not get picked over as quickly as the centrally located shops. Mon.-Sat., 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m.-6 p.m., 2840 Geneva, Daly City. (415) 468-0646.

Ver Unica Classy Ver Unica doesn't cater to retro-'80s style per se, but it has plenty of secret-agent-man skinny ties and gorgeous vintage shoes from all eras in stock. Mon.-Sat., noon-8 p.m.; Sun., noon-6 p.m., 148 Noe, S.F. (415) 431-0688.

Villains The store has loads of New Creepers, Vans, and shiny patent-leather buckled shoes in stock. Look for pointy toes in the fall; check out local design label Brick, by Emily Bricker, for the coolest neo-Gothwear. Daily, 11 a.m.-7 p.m., 1672 Haight, S.F. (415) 626-5939.

The Wasteland Zipper jackets in an array of colors fly off the racks, but there's plenty of '70s-style clothing left over if you want to go proto punk. Mon.-Fri., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sat.-Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., 1660 Haight, S.F. (415) 863-3150.

How to sound new wave

Amoeba Music The local behemoth still delivers. Shopping here, Skip from New Wave City found a 12-inch dance single, "Voyage Voyage" by Desireless, that wasn't already in his collection of 10,000 records. Mon.-Sat., 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-9 p.m., 1855 Haight, S.F. (415) 831-1200.

Open Mind Music They put proto new-wave/no-wave band 23 Skidoo in the abstract beats section. This does not make shopping easy for those of us who just want to dance. Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., noon-8 p.m., 342 Divisadero, S.F. (415) 621-2244.

Streetlight Records Good for lots of 12-inch club remixes of Depeche Mode. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m., 2350 Market, S.F. (415) 282-8000.

Univibe This guitar and amp shop also carries vintage synthesizers, so you might find a Roland JXP there. Tues.-Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m.-5 p.m., 3290 Adeline, Berk. (510) 420-0302.

How to be new wave

Closer to the Edit Thursday night seems to be '80s night in the city, what with 1984 at the Cat Club too (see "Cheap Clubs," page 28). This is where to get an early start on all the popular new-wave tunes. Thursdays, 7-10 p.m., 26 Mix, 3024 Mission, S.F. Free. (415) 826-7378.

Electro Rodeo More electroclash/techno than '80s, this is where the '80s-inspired futurists hang out. Wednesdays, 10 p.m., Galaxy Club, 1840 Haight, S.F. $3. (415) 387-2996.

Le Freak Plastique Thanks to one of the very forward-looking Synth party night people, this semimonthly event mixes old and new electro with disco-punk and nu wave. Second and fourth Sundays, 9 p.m., Hush Hush, 496 14th St., S.F. $5. (415) 241-9944.

New Wave City Since 1991 and still going strong, this club, which celebrates a new theme at each New Wave party, started the revival just after the '80s ended. It lost its primo clubland spot at the King Street Garage, because of impending demolition, but the next party will be at the Justice League, and soon a new home will be found. Next party July 6, 9 p.m., Justice League, 628 Divisadero, S.F. $10 ($5 after 10 p.m.). (415) 675-LOVE.

Synthesis Hear the New Wave City DJ spin new and no wave for free on a weekly basis. Thursdays, 10 p.m., Jezebels Joint, 510 Larkin, S.F. Free. (415) 345-9832.

D.G.