I was a YUPPIE in the 80s...I was the poster-child of the Young Urban Professional--or is that "urbane?" because I sure thought I was!
I was too old to have played with an Atari 2600, carried a Cabbage Patch Doll or to have swooned for a New Kid on the Block. I never sat through an episode of Fraggle Rock and there was no Scrappy character on Scooby Doo in my day! Instead of an infatuation with Sean Cassidy, I had already survived a crush on his older half-brother, David. And the Coreys. Well, they were just way too young for me!
I never wanted to be a member of The Babysitters Club or play with My Little Pony. I didn't even know Barbie had a punk alter ego in Jem and her Rockers. I didn't know you could get your power from Greyskull or collect He-Man and She-Ra action figures.
No, I was wearing shoulder pads and power suits cut for an NFL quarterback! And lots of very big gold jewelry, encrusted with colorful stones and lots of pearls. I still have my quilted Chanel bags with gold chain straps and my very first Louis Vuitton Parisian.
I might not have taken notice of the kid-stuff, but I fell victim to 80s fashion! From banana clips to RamsHead hoops. Ooh, I think somewhere I still have all my Anne Klein LionsHead earrings and necklaces and belts!
In an effort to be truly top drawer, for years I lived by the code of Lisa Birnbach's Official Preppy Handbook--from J.Crew's Fair Isle sweaters, the hot pink and lime green striped grosgrain belts, the Lily Pulitzer print skirts and sundresses, and the embroidered repeating whale motifs on my pants, which I wore with duck shoes or topsiders.
At one point, I changed my look to a more Laura Ashley inspired feel. That didn't last long.
But, possibly the worst, I owned spandex...bike shorts, leggings. I wore them with big Tshirts I puffpainted myself and tied off at the bottom with my Tshirt ring. I had swatch watches, plural. And, yes, I wore my Reeboks--with my skinny acid washed jeans, with my slouch socks and again with those spandex bike shorts. We all did. I even wore my Reeboks with my power suits of many colors, walking to and from work each day. Unless, of course, I was stopping off at the place "where everyone knew my name."
If I wasn't living the Cheers life, I was watching it, or Luke and Laura on GH. I knew what Willis was "talkin' about" and often invited the Huxtables and the Fresh Prince into my living room. I was addicted to MTVwhen it was truly Music Television and all they played were music videos interspersed with cool news and trivia delivered by one of those Fab Five VeeJays.
To the hits on MTV, we Safety Danced, Break Danced and spent hours planning the party we were going to have in 1999...
I was a Pepper. Were you a Pepper? Didn't you want to be a Pepper, too? Dr. Pepper was a perfect match for the first microwave pizzas...while we watched rented movies on Beta, if you could afford the equipment. I'm pretty sure I paid about $600 for a VCR. Which was more than I spent on my Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer! I have no idea what I paid for my first cell phone...must have been alot because it came with it's own carrying case the size of an Igloo cooler!
While not a child of the 80s, I was impacted by the times: New Wave, big hair, PacMan, Dallas and Dynasty, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Hands Across America and starving Ethiopians saved by pop stars. Camcorders, walkmans, cordless phones, cell phones and faxes. Pop songs and pop culture. The stock market crashed, Michael J Fox was omnipresent, Communism and the Berlin wall fell and glastnost prevailed.
I was too old to have played with an Atari 2600, carried a Cabbage Patch Doll or to have swooned for a New Kid on the Block. I never sat through an episode of Fraggle Rock and there was no Scrappy character on Scooby Doo in my day! Instead of an infatuation with Sean Cassidy, I had already survived a crush on his older half-brother, David. And the Coreys. Well, they were just way too young for me!
I never wanted to be a member of The Babysitters Club or play with My Little Pony. I didn't even know Barbie had a punk alter ego in Jem and her Rockers. I didn't know you could get your power from Greyskull or collect He-Man and She-Ra action figures.
No, I was wearing shoulder pads and power suits cut for an NFL quarterback! And lots of very big gold jewelry, encrusted with colorful stones and lots of pearls. I still have my quilted Chanel bags with gold chain straps and my very first Louis Vuitton Parisian.I might not have taken notice of the kid-stuff, but I fell victim to 80s fashion! From banana clips to RamsHead hoops. Ooh, I think somewhere I still have all my Anne Klein LionsHead earrings and necklaces and belts!
In an effort to be truly top drawer, for years I lived by the code of Lisa Birnbach's Official Preppy Handbook--from J.Crew's Fair Isle sweaters, the hot pink and lime green striped grosgrain belts, the Lily Pulitzer print skirts and sundresses, and the embroidered repeating whale motifs on my pants, which I wore with duck shoes or topsiders.
At one point, I changed my look to a more Laura Ashley inspired feel. That didn't last long.
But, possibly the worst, I owned spandex...bike shorts, leggings. I wore them with big Tshirts I puffpainted myself and tied off at the bottom with my Tshirt ring. I had swatch watches, plural. And, yes, I wore my Reeboks--with my skinny acid washed jeans, with my slouch socks and again with those spandex bike shorts. We all did. I even wore my Reeboks with my power suits of many colors, walking to and from work each day. Unless, of course, I was stopping off at the place "where everyone knew my name."
If I wasn't living the Cheers life, I was watching it, or Luke and Laura on GH. I knew what Willis was "talkin' about" and often invited the Huxtables and the Fresh Prince into my living room. I was addicted to MTVwhen it was truly Music Television and all they played were music videos interspersed with cool news and trivia delivered by one of those Fab Five VeeJays.
To the hits on MTV, we Safety Danced, Break Danced and spent hours planning the party we were going to have in 1999...
I was a Pepper. Were you a Pepper? Didn't you want to be a Pepper, too? Dr. Pepper was a perfect match for the first microwave pizzas...while we watched rented movies on Beta, if you could afford the equipment. I'm pretty sure I paid about $600 for a VCR. Which was more than I spent on my Radio Shack TRS-80 color computer! I have no idea what I paid for my first cell phone...must have been alot because it came with it's own carrying case the size of an Igloo cooler!
While not a child of the 80s, I was impacted by the times: New Wave, big hair, PacMan, Dallas and Dynasty, Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Hands Across America and starving Ethiopians saved by pop stars. Camcorders, walkmans, cordless phones, cell phones and faxes. Pop songs and pop culture. The stock market crashed, Michael J Fox was omnipresent, Communism and the Berlin wall fell and glastnost prevailed.
9 comments:
AHHH... those were the days. I remember going to school the first day after I talked my mom into buying me my parachute pants. Gray, no zippers though,"they cost more" mom said. That didn't matter, I was cool with my Def Leppard rock t-shirt, pink and purple Vans and pants that made so much noise everyone knew where I was.
I saw Cheap Trick up close,at Texas Tapes and Records here in Pasadena. I still have the guitar pick they threw out into the croud. I couldn't get enough of them so I saw them in the parking lot of the Astrodome. Billy Idol at the Astroworld outside concert pavillion was quite the experience as well.
My most memberable moment that showed my devotion to the 80's was when I refused to turn MTV off when my dad said to because the FOOLIN' video from DefLeppard was premiering. I HAD to watch it, I had to hear it, as if I didn't have the cassette tape in my boom box, I guess I didn't quite comprehend that MTV would play a repeat of it. It didn't matter, I had to "fight, for my right, to paaarrrty", (or at least watch the video) to the point that my dad band MTV from his house FOREVER. To this day he will not allow it on in his house. (this made it quite dificult to know what time it was without watching the rocket launch every hour). Later ,my step sister and I went to the mall with "Twisted Sister" crying out "We're Not Gonna Take It". Boy we thought we knew it all.
Wow... what memories! My poor parents...
THE MUNCHIES
The summer before I turned 16 (1983), I went to my first concert – LOVERBOY. The ALBUM was “Get Lucky.” You know the cover – Hot red, skin tight leather pants worn by Mike Reno, right hand behind back over his butt, figures crossed. What a picture!
Two of my friends and I were driven to and from the concert by one of our parents. How it was planned was….Julie’s Dad dropped us off and Chris’ mom would pick us up. We saw them at what was the Summit (now Lakewood Church) I didn’t know why we had to do it that way, but Julie and Chris insisted that my parents wouldn’t understand, and Chris’s mom it the coolest of all the parents. Not that I led a sheltered life, but there was not a lot of things I was allowed to participate in before I could drive – not much either after I started driving, but a little more.
We go to the concert it was awesome! And I thought we were cool talking to the guys.
While in our seats I smelled something that burned my nose! (By the way, smoking was still allowed at “sporting” venues in the 80s.) I leaned over to my girlfriends and asked if they smelled that awful smell, too. They both started laughing at me. I was offended and asked what was so funny. They both answered, “don’t tell me you have never smelled that before?” I didn’t smell whatever it was before that, and I didn’t know what it was. I got a quick explanation – you can figure it out – and then enjoyed screaming my head of for Mike Reno! I had to “Smell that Smell” all throughout the concert.
After the concert, Chris’ mom picked us up. Promptly, upon shutting the doors of the “FORD LTD” she announced while looking each of us in the eyes – you’re all high! I said no we’re not we did take drugs, but I am hungry and could go for a burger and fries!
MTV Debut
I remember the summer of 1982. Swimming in my best friend’s – Julie H.- backyard pool with a slide. All of our friends there, playing Marco Polo, throwing water balloons and jumping off the top of the slide – real safe! But that was the 80s, try anything once. The backyard was cool – big cement patio between the pool and the house with huge sliding glass windows.
Starting about 11 am Julie turned on her TV in the living room - we could see it from this patio and if the sun was not too bright we could see from the pool. The TV was a console – you know the kind that takes 2 moving men to move! Huge! All we saw were “ants” on the screen. Her mom kept walking by the TV and shutting it off. Someone would notice and we would all rush to the sliding glass door while Julie ran in soaking wet to turn it back on. After about 3 times, Julie and her mom were screaming at each other about why the TV should be on or off. We all finally convinced her mom to let it stay on – for we did have the volume down low. Probably the only time we had it low!
Then finally, MTV hit the airwaves with the first video!! We all were jumping up and down on the patio, screaming and giggling. Her mother standing there with a smirk on her face, glanced at the TV and stated as she rolled her eyes “Oh, Julie! That’s what you were waiting for? Really!?”
We talked about how MTV was going to change things, who we were going to see videos from, the new fad - VJs. It was great! We were making music history! We always talked about the stars as if we knew them personally because we “heard it on MTV!”
But…I did not know until the late 90s that the first video on MTV was “Video Killed the Radio Star” when we were playing Trivial Pursuit! We didn’t even watch the video we were so excited!
The 80's. I sang in my first band in the 80's. Badd Boyz. Funny, I was the only GIRL. AHEM!! Anyway... I can't remember if the lead singer's hair was bigger than mine, but I do remember an ongoing contest and arguments over which color hair spray to use. He had the bleached-blonde-Vince Neil-David Roth thing going on while mine was much darker. The silver spray looked much better on me and just made him look gray! LOL! I also had those gloves without fingers and thumbs (the black lace ones like Madonna and Cyndy Lauper wore), those black rubber bracelets, lots of shiny metallic wide belts (should have saved them for THIS fall) and Mia flats to match. I never got the parachute pants, but I had a closet full of Jordache and Sergio Valentes! I think maybe I had a pair of Gloria Vanderbilts and Sassoon's but don't tell anyone. Those were SO lame. Bitsy used to help me put on those jeans on friday nights. We'd pop them in the dryer on hot for about 20 minutes, unbend a wire clothes hanger and struggle to pull up the zipper. Anyway, Sam's mom used to put up with all of our noise -er um - music I mean. We had wa-wa pedals , mic cords and guitar picks scattered all over the place in her family room. And she still made us Pizza Rolls every afternoon. Bless her heart. We're really sorry about freaking her cats out. Well, at least we kept the drums at Charley's house, right? Ok!
So where are those infamous Badd Boyz today? Yep, I knew you were wondering. We're all still musicians just not together. No reunion shows any time soon so don't hold yer breath there!
I was born 7 days after the decade started. I can remember waking up on Saturday mornings watching the Smurfs, Fraggle Rock, Care Bears, Snorkels, and the ABC 13 Special. Unlike most of you, the 80s were my baby and preteen years. There's nothing much to report. I can recall Smurf Berry, The Count and Captain Crunch were some of the popular cereals. Madonna was a "Daring" star. Michael Jackson was "Michael Jackson" (not climbing trees). Thriller was the video to watch and trying to imitate the moves. Guess pants were in. Curls were definitely in, but I sure didn't have one. The Lost Boys, Ghoonies, and The Creep Show are just a couple of movies right off of the top of my head. Hungry Hungry Hippo, Monopoly, Hide n' Go Seek, Red Light, Green Light were just some of the games we played. It was sooo long ago and sooo many memories that come to mind. Thanks Jill for opening that path down memory lane.
Wow, while reminiscing about the 80’s, I recall many fond memories. The 80’s were the ending of one part of my life and then the beginning of the rest of my life. I graduated from High School in 1980 so that marks the ending of my sheltered life as a teen at home, and then the turning point of a whole new life out there just waiting for me to encounter. I remember my Senior Prom, dancing to our class song, “Free Bird”, by Lynrd Skynryd. I had never danced like that before in my life, but I really liked the guy that I went with, and it started out slow, but who would have thunk! Oh well, that was then.
One of my first travels took me to California with one of my very best friends. She had relatives living in Monterey and we being “Astros Groupies” planned our trip in order to actually go to a baseball game in San Diego, with the Padres playing against, you guessed it, the Houston Astros. As the time came closer and closer the NBL was facing a possible strike, and our hearts were sinking as we fretted the possibility of being in California without our STROS. As it turned out, we went to California and had the time of our lives, and even enjoyed going to an Astros Padres game in San Diego. The Astros won and it was also the first win of one of their longest winning streaks ever. It was Great!
My friends and I also attended many of the charity events that the Astros sponsored, such as a Luau and a benefit roasting “Joe Niekro”. It was our way of getting close to the Astros.
I remember my days of going to a near by community college, spending as much time as I could in the student lounge where I could catch a glimpse of my favorite soap operas. It was around the time of the famous “Luke and Laura” wedding, wow, many of us skipped classes in order to watch the wedding. The other wedding of the days was the Prince Charles and Diana wedding in 1980, and then the beginning of their split in 1987 where they began living separately.
I purchased and adopted 2 Cabbage Patch dolls. One was a boy and one a girl. I just had to have them. Not because I played with dolls, because I was much older than that, but because everybody wanted one, and I had the opportunity to purchase them from the Department store in which I worked at. I had hoped that they would be worth something one day, so I even kept the boxes. I still have them to this day, and will probably pass them onto my grandkids, or even better sell them on E-Bay! We’ve come a long way, baby!
So many songs from the 80’s come back to mind. I love that old Rock. I remember driving around at night wearing my sun glasses. Inspired by the hit song by Corey Hart, “Sunglasses at Night”. I remember dancing to “Whip It”, by Devo, just jumpin’ around acting like we were on pogo sticks. Remember those? Wow, just too much fun!
I eventually had to settle down, and I did. I started a new job and have remained with that company for over 23 years. I never graduated from College, but I did get my MRS. For me, that was success, as I entered a whole new world. I met him in my Sociology, and we began socializing. The rest is history.
The 80’s were a great time for me. I will never forget the time spent with my friends and how it all played an important part in my life as it brought me to the place and the person that I am today.
Torture........love it or leave it. Many women in the late 80's asked Santa for the newest women's gadget called an "Epilady". The Epilady was used to get rid of hair on women's legs instead of shaving with a razor. The contraption consisted of steel coils moving in a circular motion pulling out the hairs from the root. "OUCH"! Retailers were bombarded with dissatisfied customers returning the Epilady just days after first receiving it as a Christmas gift. 20's years later, I still use my Epilady, and LOVE IT! If you can get past the first few months of torture, the hairs do grow back softer and fewer than before, leaving a very smooth surface with very little pain. The "Epilady" is still manufactured and sold in many countries all over the world.
Celebrating the 80's
The USPS celebrated the 80's by making special commemorative stamps depicting significant people, special events, fads, and accomplishments of the era. Some of the issues celebrated were:
Figure Skating- Americans captured nine World Championships, and American men won the gold medal in 1984 and 1988.
Hostages after being siezed from the American Embassy in Tehran in 1979 were released after 444 days in 1980.
The San Francisco 49ers won 4 Super Bowls between 1982 and 1990 making them the most successful football team of the 1980's.
Debuting in 1984 "The Crosby Show" became TV's top-rated program the next year, remaining the number one for five straight seasons.
"Cabbage Patch Kids" were the success of the 1983-84 holiday season.
"Compact Discs" (CD's) first manufactured in the USA in 1983 changed the music industry as previously known.
"Cats" first appeared on Broadway in Oct of 1982, which became the longest running show in Broadway history.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1982 in Washington D.C. displaying the names of the more than 58,000 Americans who died in the Vietnam War or are listed as missing.
Columbia, the first space shuttle was launched in April of 1981.
Cable TV expanded rapidly in the 1980's allowing channels devoted specifically to news, movies, or sports.
"E.T." - was the winner of 4 Academy Awards and held the record of the top grossing film for 15 years.
Video Games - Americans spent more than 20 billion quarters in arcades in 1981.
The Berlin Wall fell in 1989 illiminating travel restrictions between the communist East Germany to the West.
Hip-Hop culture began created predominatly by the African American and Latino youths from the South Bronx. This also included rapping, break dancing, Djing and graffiti.
PC's - Personal Computers revolutionized the 80's.
The 80's hold many fond and memerable memories. Thanks to USPS to Celebrate them.
I am a child of the 80’s. The main thing I remember about MTV is Michael Jackson’s Thriller video, even when grounded, I found time to watch MTV. The Smurfs were the best. I didn’t find out until a few months ago that Smurfette was an intended nemesis for the Smurfs created by Gargamel and she originally had black hair. Yes, I still like my cartoons! Poochie! Who could forget Poochie? And Rainbow Bright? I had the doll and the blanket set. Care Bears? I had the Care Bears canopy bed set along with at least 8 care bears. Cabbage Patch Dolls? Yes loved them, but they had to be signed on the butt by Xavier Roberts. Why they didn’t sign them on the foot or something is beyond me. I had the bald one, a brown haired one, twin blonde haired boys and my favorite, the red head with long yarn like hair. I remember coming back from my grandparents one weekend, which must have been Thanksgiving because our trunk was jammed packed with Christmas presents that I was not allowed to see. Well, we stopped somewhere for gas I’m sure, and someone opened the trunk. That was my opportunity to check out the goodies that I had to wait so long to open. I peaked through the back window and the crack of the trunk while opened and saw my cabbage patch doll. I was so excited but kept the news to myself until now. Sorry mom! Don’t forget about those obnoxious Garbage Pail kids. I had tons of Garbage Pail stickers that I put in my beloved Sticker Book. Obviously I grew out of dolls and went on to middle school, which is where I was in the late 80’s. I had the whole acid washed collection and my Hypercolor shirt that changed colors! But this decade wouldn’t be complete without my ridiculous high hair. I loved it and thought we all looked totally awesome, however, now that I look back at the pictures; I have to ask… What were we thinking?
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