Pat Benatar Says She Still Has Clothes in Her Closet from the 1980s (Exclusive)

Pat Benatar still has some of her favorite outfits from the 1980s.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE at WhyHunger’s 50th Anniversary Chapin Awards Gala in New York City, the singer, 72, revealed which one of her decades-old clothing items she has kept remains a hot commodity.

“The striped shirt … from [my] first video on MTV,” Benatar said, referring to the top she wore in the music video for her song “You Better Run” — which was the second music video to ever premiere on the channel after The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

“Our youngest daughter begs for it every week, but we hide it,” the music icon added, referring to husband Neil Giraldo and daughter Hana Giraldo, 31. “It’s in a frame, and she can’t have it.”

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In a 2022 interview with Vulture, Benatar — who is also a mom to daughter Haley Giraldo, 40 — spoke about how her style helped shape her career at its onset.

Recalling how she was looking for an “aggressive stage presence” in the 1970s while she was performing at an open mic, the singer-songwriter recalled changing her attire one night.

“I went up in this little leotard with black tights and short boots and big eye makeup. I always wore makeup, but not like that,” Benatar said.

“I sang the same songs that I’d performed for two years, and the audience went insane. I remember standing there going, What’s happening here? Is everyone drunk? Is it too late?’ So I did it again the next night toned down,” she continued.

Added Benatar to the outlet, “I didn’t have the ray gun, but I kept the makeup and tights, and I wore something that had a little more fabric. The same thing happened. I did this for ten subsequent nights, and I thought, ‘That’s it. I cracked it.’ ”

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Benatar said the fashion change not only affected her audience, but herself as well.

“The audience changed how they reacted. But I changed, because I was wearing a costume, and I became another persona, which was always part of who I was anyway,” she explained.

Added Benatar: “But now I had it on the outside. It looked like what it felt like.”

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During the WhyHunger event, Benatar — who is beloved for hits such as “Love Is a Battlefield,” “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” and “Promises in the Dark” — was presented with the ASCAP Harry Chapin Humanitarian Award alongside her husband.

She and Giraldo, who also collaborate together on music, wed in 1982.