Retro 20s-90s Party Themes

Decade parties are a great way to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries or commemorations of an event or date. Guests love dressing up for “the look” of the period; just add nostalgic playlists, decorations, food and drink to create a memorable occasion.

Frankie & Annette Beach Party

And to get your creative juices flowing, we have put together a sampling of our best 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, & 90s theme party ideas. Whether you are celebrating a year, date or age, we've dug up the party-friendly highlights in trends, fads, icons, music, TV, movies, people and fashion from each decade from 1920-2000. 

Roaring 20s Themes


      Gangsters & Flappers Speakeasy 
      Silent Movie Premiere 
      Gatsby Art Deco Opulence 
      Cotton Club | Jazz

Highlights


      Prohibition of alcohol
      Modernization of autos
      Speakeasies, flappers & bootleggers
      Art deco style
      Charleston (dance)
      Raccoon coats, bob haircut, cloche hat, feathers, beads
1920s Flapper
Betty Boop

Dirty 30s Themes


      Golden Age of Hollywood 
      Miniature Golf & Board Games 
      Movie Monsters | Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy 
      Gangsters & G-Men

Highlights


      Great Depression, Dust Bowl, Hindenberg
      Superman, Betty Boop, comic books
      Monopoly, board games
      Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz
      Glenn Miller, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey
      Comedy teams: Laurel & Hardy, Abbott & Costello
      Sleek, fitted dresses, fedoras

Fabulous 40s Themes


      Military Men & Pin-up Girls 
      Big Band, Boogie-Woogie & Zoot Suits 
      Detective & Private Eye | Film Noir 
      In the Navy | South Pacific

Highlights


      World War II, rationing
      Rosie the Riveter, working women
      Private eyes & crime dramas
      Howdy Doody, Ed Sullivan
      Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Big band
      Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Fantasia
      Floral prints, bold make-up, bomber jackets, gloves
World War II I Want You Poster
1950s Jukebox

Nifty 50s Themes


      Rock n Roll Sock Hop 
      Soda Shops & Car Hops 
      Tiki Luau 
      Drive-in Movies

Highlights


      Television
      Jet travel, Sputnik
      Korean War
      Playboy Magazine
      Disneyland
      Soda shops, jukeboxes
      Drive-in movies
      Rock & Roll, Doo Wop, Elvis
      I Love Lucy, Marilyn Monroe
      Poodle skirts, bobby socks, leather jackets, sideburns

Swingin' 60s Themes


      Surfer Beach Party 
      Breakfast at Tiffany's 
      Flower Power | Hippie 
      Retro 60's Cocktail Party

Highlights


      Woodstock/hippie movement
      Civil rights
      Space race
      Vietnam War
      Beatlemania, Supremes
      Barbie, lava lamps, smiley faces
      Twilight Zone, Star Trek
      Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Andy Warhol
      Mini-skirts, go-go boots, beehives, bikinis, tie-dye, bell bottoms
Frankie & Annette Beach Movie Poster
Disco Ball

Super 70s Themes


      Studio 54 Disco 
      Tie-Dye Hippie
      Rock n Roll Dance Party 
      Rocky Horror Picture Show

Highlights


      Energy crisis, imported cars
      Streaking, macrame
      8 tracks, clock radios
      Bean bag chairs
      Black lights
      Shag carpet, waterbeds
      Saturday Night Fever, Star Wars
      Carpenters, Pink Floyd, Bee Gees, ABBA
      Bold prints, platform shoes, leisure suits, fat ties, tube tops, turtlenecks

Big 80s Themes


      Video Arcade | Pac Man
      Valley Girls Beach Party 
      Glow-in-the-Dark 
      The Official Preppy Cocktail Party

Highlights


      HBO, MTV
      VCRs, answering machines, boomboxes, walkmans
      Video Arcades
      Rubik's Cube, Cabbage Patch dolls, Baby On Board
      Break-dancing, hacky-sack
      Madonna, Michael Jackson, Duran Duran
      Back to the Future, Top Gun
      Dallas, Miami Vice, Cheers
      Big hair, shoulder pads, jean jackets, legwarmers, 
      Swatch, Wayfarers
Pac Man and Ghosts
Where's Waldo?

Grungy 90s Themes


      Grunge or Gangsta 
      Graffiti Dance Party 
      90's TV Characters 
      Back to the 90's

Highlights


      Aerodynamic cars
      Beanie babies & Furby
      Napster, 24 hour news
      Rollerblades, Tickle Me Elmo
      AOL, pagers, Gameboy
      Jurassic Park, Titanic, Lion King
      Boy bands, Nirvana, Spice Girls, Dr. Dre
      Beavis & Butthead, Baywatch, Beverly Hills 90210
      Overalls, flannel shirts, fanny packs, parachute pants, bleached hair & tips, scrunchies


Find more decade details for your party decorating inspiration here...  Retro Party Sign


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