I Love the ’80s
I was at Live 8 on Saturday, and it brought back memories of Live Aid in 1985, when I was a wee lass in Texas and Jon Bon Jovi looked like this:
Oh wait, that was from this weekend!
So some people never outgrew the ’80s sartorially. I guess it’s marginally acceptable for a rock star (though even Bono has given up his mullet). And I can relate. I still have fond memories of my fashion awakening via some landmark purchases during my childhood in Texas, circa the late ’70s and early ’80s. Those calico high-waisted long dresses I wore in the ‘70s don’t count — I was 4 and I had no say in that!
These were the first items I clearly remember desperately wanting:
When I was about 8, I asked my mom for a pair of Famolare shoes — you know, the ones with the wavy rubber soles embossed with the icon of the bicycle with the mismatched wheels? Of course the ones I wanted weren’t the crazy wedges (though, in retrospect, those would’ve been very retro for this summer!) but some flats with multi-colored straps. I told Mommy I’d love them forever. I loved them through third grade anyway.
The next year, all my friends had rabbit-fur jackets for winter. While I did want to be like the other girls, I had bunny trauma in my recent past. (Long story short, my parents gave away my pet rabbit when we moved and the family ate him! I even recall they invited us over for that dinner, but that may just be my sister’s evil imagination.) So a rabbit’s foot, much less a whole jacket, would’ve made me cry. Instead my mom bought me a beautiful saddle-colored suede bomber-style jacket that I loved forever… until I left it hanging on my chair in homeroom and someone marked up the sleeve with magic marker. Forget the bunnies — that made me weep.
For my 10th birthday, I begged and pleaded for a "grown-up" watch. The particular one I had in mind: a tiny white watch with a spring-loaded enamel lid painted with pink roses. Rather Victorian… rather tacky. I really did love it forever – until the spring gave out and I couldn’t flip the lid anymore. I sadly put it away and got a very minimalist navy Swatch. My dad still occasionally makes fun of me for that watch.
After that, my fashion fixes came fast and furious. They’re like a time capsule of my youth: the Members Only jacket, the Jelly shoes, the Guess? jeans, the topsiders… Sigh…
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