I have a love-hate relationship with school dress-up days. While Pajama Day can be fun (who doesn’t love spending a whole day in flannels), other days, like Crazy Pants Day, can require a bit more planning, not to mention a glue gun.
My kids’ elementary school recently held 80’s Day. If you’re six-years-old, the eighties are ancient history, like the Beatles were to me when I was in Grade 1.
Vivian, ever the competitor, wanted to start working on her costume the day the notice came home. William, unaware of the upcoming change in school attire, was building his latest invention out of Lego.
I stalled Vivian for a few minutes with lifeless lines like, “Mommy’s busy” and “We’ll talk about this later.”
Eventually, we had the what-to-wear chat.
“How about some neon clothes?” I suggested.
Vivian looked at me, unimpressed.
I continued, “We could also put your hair in a high ponytail on the side of your head.”
Vivian glanced at her brother, who was now singing Don’t You Forget About Me while adding more pieces to his Moon-Beamer. Vivian looked back at me. “What else can we do?”
“What do you have in mind?” I asked.
“Can I bring a cane?” she asked.
I pondered this for a moment before asking for clarification:
“To show I’m old,” she explained.
And then, the light bulb appeared above my cartoon head. “80’s Day isn’t about your age,” I said.
“What’s it about, then?”
Explaining 1980’s fashion to a six-year-old is as easy as defining the phrase Gag Me with a Spoon to a second language learner.
For Vivian, here is your mother, in 80’s “Style.”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhLxWAuGo0U]
Assuming you survived (or ignored) these two minutes, please leave a comment below and tell me the following:
What makes 80’s style distinctive for you? What’s your favourite song?
Also, you can find me around the web in a couple of places today.
- My friend Clay is running March Movie Madness at his blog, Educlaytion, where he’s pitting different movies against each other to determine one ultimate winner. I’m backing The King’s Speech (a.k.a. The Firth). Go vote for it (click here) so I can advance to the Sweet Sixteen. If you want to check out the entire bracket, click here.
- I’m guest posting every Wednesday in March at SweetMama.ca. If you want to read about a bad St. Patrick’s Day tradition I started two years ago, click here.
um. wow. You had it ALL GOING ON girlfriend. Loved the montage, and was very impressed at the wall of hair (thanks to Aquanet!) LOL (and with my 20 year reunion coming up this summer) Enjoyed reliving the crazy. You brave girl (and my hero!!!)
“The wall of hair” is a brilliant description. I think that particular hair style was also a fly trap.
Wonderful montage. Laura has some of those exact same looks.
I was impressed with the Flock of Seagulls look.
Was the yellow, blue, white facepaint an homage to the Synchronicity cover?
Face paint = first year at Queen’s University. Crazy. I’m sure you also had some crazy 80s looks – maybe some pastels, a white blazer, shoes without socks, skinny ties?
Love the Aquanet (electrocuted) hair. Ah, those were the days! RIP 80s…
Yes, RIP indeed. Maybe this is my funeral for the decade!
My 8 year-old has to dress up in 80s clothing for a party, so this was very helpful! 😉 She’s all about the big hair and blue eyeshadow, and would go for that as an everyday fashion statement.
I love it: my horrible styles as research! I think “big and bold” appeals to most kids.
Oh, my god, I am crying with laughter and nostalgia. Trade blond hair for brunette, purple, red and jet black – and replace the sport pics with drama productions and this could be me! So freaking funny! You were a hot 80’s teen, sistah!
Thanks, Vicki. I can well imagine your changing hair styles. Purple? A little punk in you? You are my 80’s sistah!
Psycho prom up-do down-do? Bahahahahahaha and also HA!
You are my new favorite person. Ever. Bar none.
I can’t even tell you how funny I find this because you will think I am exaggerating.
Every year at the high school where I taught they’d have 80’s day. Because I’m a good sport (and also SPIRITED!) I’d dress up. My students would marvel at the authenticity of my outfit.
“Where did you GET that Mrs. Gardner?”
Me: My closet.
Still. I must admit, Vivian’s suggestion of a CANE? Perfection. I can picture her blinking at you in confusion when your ideas consisted of wearing neon and a side ponytail.
(How is that OLD, mom?)
Going to watch that montage again while cradling a can of Aqua net (what’s sunscreen? BAH!) Favorite song in your montage? I must admit my heart skipped a bit when I heard “Heat of the Moment.”
No. I don’t have an obsession with the 80’s. Swear.
Thanks, Julie. A little Asia to pick you up this morning, eh? Yes, it was rather like Vivian and I were having two conversations. Giving the kid a cane would have been easier than making her cry for the severe-side-pony-tail look. I love how you look authentic at your school. Truth is, I’m dying to make my hair defy gravity again. I think I’d have to come with an environmental alert, though.
YAY! See now doesn’t that feel good? You’ll never have to go looking for those pictures even again. I love the “hat,” “bad girl,” and (as I mentioned a couple days ago) I always appreciate a good Aquanet cement job.
The scary part is that 80s day to your daughter meant senior citizen day. Yikes!
I meant to link to your sweater Christmas video! Ahh. Sorry. I must go look for the link!
Here’s the link to Clay’s Christmas Sweater Video. (Took me forever to find. I have sucky research skills). Better late than never, or something like that http://educlaytion.com/2010/12/23/greatest-christmas-movie-ever-the-finals/
That was awesome. The big hair, the heavy makeup, don’t forgot the tight jeans. (and they had no spandex in them the way they do now–how did we sit down all day at school?) I actually was jut telling my daughter the other day about how we used to wear the headbands that went on your forehead, peeking out from under the poufy feathered bangs…remember?..and then the feathered roach clip would hang down on one side of your face. (Mom, what’s a roach clip?)
The tight jeans. Yes. I think I used a coat hanger to zip up my Jordache (sp) jeans. And the Olivia Newton John headband/bang look. Yes!
never mind the long white sox. what about the long white legs?
NBA shorts. Polo shirts with collars up. Miami vice tee shirt with sport coat
spandex bike shorts, polyester coaches shorts. somebody stop me!
The short basketball shorts. Painful. Great additions, John (though some of these I’d love to forget!)
That was fabulous! I loved the picture with the music! I had a few fights with the aquanet myself but hey, it held my bangs in the upright position! Straight up that is!
When did bangs become a fringe? Just wondering. And isn’t Aquanet another element on the Periodic Table? Glad to know I wasn’t the only one using half a bottle on my head.
Oh, Leanne, that montage was priceless! I was never truly allowed to be an 80’s fashion victim, but here are a few of the trends I longed to sport at the time:
Pegged/zippered ankle length acid-washed Guess Jeans
Debbie Gibson’s bowler hat
Jennifer Beal’s ripped sweatshirt and leg warmers
Madonna’s fingerless lace gloves and lingerie as outerwear
Jelly shoes and jelly bracelets
A perm that would actually curl rather than simply frizz my impervious hair
Alas, my fashionista goals were suppressed by the tyranny of my draconian mother. Instead, I sadly was rocking hand-me-down bell bottoms, plastic glitter silkscreen T’s and other 70’s memorabilia. Two decades too cool, ahead of the retro redux.
Did you also try to learn all the dances from: (a) Flashdance (Manhunt!), (b) Footloose (I’m still mourning I never got red cowboy boots), (c) Dirty Dancing?
Zippered ankle jeans and jelly shoes. How quickly I forget!
Fun to watch and listen. It’s amazing how many 80’s looks are back in style like Leggings, Leg Warmers, Oversized shirts. And 80’s music is getting lots of radio play on the so called “oldies” stations in town. All that’s missing in 2011 from the good ol’ 80’s I would say is the the hairdos or hairdont’s.
And the sunglasses, a la Vuarnet style. I love your term, hairdont’s. It’s perfect.
For me, the 80’s were about my teased, hairsprayed, Sun-In’d, three-inch, bangs. And my maroon legwarmers.
p.s. And, I just spent six months in a leaky boat…
Sun-In! I forgot about that. And Styx.
Babe I’m leaving, I must be on my way.
Too funny! Love the montage! It brought all the fashion freakiness back to me. I’m wiping tears of laughter away right now. Love, love, love this post! You are a brave soul to put those pics up. BTW you like ROCKED the 80s! Like you were totally awesome!
Like, totally! Thanks for the comment, Trish. I want to hear about your 80s fashion forays on our WordBees gathering Friday. Was Elena born yet in 1980?
you SAVED those photographs? you SAVED them???
nevertheless, i think we all agree that 80s music probably was the best ever, and the hair, yes, well, the hair… was darned impressive. tell vivi a side ponytail is the least of all possible evils.
I found my high school albums in a rubber maid container in the storage room on Saturday night.
Doing this actually freed my ego. I am no longer embarrassed about these photos; they’re too fun to laugh at!
A very funny montage. Jessie’s Girl has to be one of my favourite 80’s song. I loved Madonna’s Like a Virgin. My mother was horrified.
I had big hair, loved blue eye shadow and pink shiny lipstick.
Did you ever wear stir up pants? I sheepishly admit that I did.
Stir-up pants: I wore them! Except being rather tall, they were never long enough, so the elastics stretched to such a degree that – if I lay sideways – I was almost a slingshot.
This was totally rad.
I’m visiting from eduClaytion.com, but I got it, I got it, I got your number on the wall.
Thanks for popping over, Tamara. Clay partially inspired this post with his 80s Christmas video.
You’re, like, totally awesome, dudette!
Oh, oh, it just hurts! All the repressed memories are rushing back and we cringes!
The bolero hat worn to the first English class I ever had in college.
The shaved left side with rat tail and feathered, poofy right side hair.
The acid-washed jeans tucked into layers of socks with high-top Reeboks.
And…the worst of all…don’t judge me!…THE PARACHUTE PANTS!!!
(Buttafuoco, Buttafuoco, Buttafuoco!)
At least we had Duran Duran.
I’d love to see a picture of the rat-tail-shaved look. Although, I have such a clear picture in my head, I likely don’t need one.
Parachute pants. Duran Duran. Simon Le Bon. Nice flashback!
Love the 80s … that was my time. Pac Man, Atari, Members Only jackets and Divo. Whip it good!
Pac Man. I can feel the joy (stick) right now.
Dammit…where’s my cane? LOL.
I was in college in the 80’s, and married in 1984. I was ever so happy when I was pregnant with Kaylee in 1986 that sweats were in style! I also remember shoulder pads!!! The ’80’s were my perm years too…yikes!
I love ’80’s music, because it sends me back to a happy time in my life (college)…songs by The Police, Genesis, and Loverboy were some of my favourites!
Fun post, Leanne…loved your photo montage!
Wendy
Thanks, Wendy. How could I forget shoulder pads that made us all look we were training for football?
I think we had the same albums. And some of the lyrics hold up well, like “everybody’s working for the weekend.”
Montage = you are the bravest woman in the world.
Either the bravest or the stupidest.
Dressing as an 80 year old would be a lot easier than explaining 80’s fashions. I’d let her run with the cane and throw in a bottle of prune juice, to boot.
I’m actually wearing my parachute pants today. Ironic, Mom?
Prune juice: let me open my fridge, my friend. Parachute pants: your middle school students must be loving that. Love the use of the comma in IM.
Love, love, love the pix! I had my fair share of mullets and big, permed hair! Thanks for the memories! 🙂
Thanks, Paula. I’m glad I’m not alone!
Ah, Aquanet. How I miss that smell. Along with “Baby Soft” perfume and plastic bangles. This is the BEST montage EVER and I am so jealous that you had mall hair bangs. I had stick-straight hair, even WITH a perm.
Baby Soft! I can still see that bottle. And “mall hair bangs”: how I love that term.
I am on my phone and cannot see the photo-montage. But I’m imagining great things based on the comments!
Warning: you’ll need a wide angle lens for the hair.
I sneaked a look whilst I was at work… fantastic! I wish I could study each and every detail of every pic — I reckon you should put up a gallery 😀
Strange theme for a dress up day for an elementary school in 2011. Hence Vivian’s logical response. I’d be paying close attention to the age demographic of the teaching faculty. Anyone still trapped in the 80’s? Shoulder pads a dead give away.
Big Hat, Big Hair = very Boy George/Culture Club
I had to google Aquanet. We didn’t have that in New Zealand in the 80’s. We were too busy pouring ourselves into our ‘bubble gum jeans’. http://www.inthe80s.com/clothes/bubblegumjeans1.shtml
Be sure to enlarge the picture for full effect.
My 80’s spiral perm was pretty bad. In fact it was so bad that once I hit the 90’s and began to travel they would do a double take at passport control when I would hand over my pre-90’s passport ‘photo’ identification. I nearly didn’t make it through the border patrol of a number of countries. My husband doesn’t understand why I now insist on a studio portrait shot every time I renew my passport. “It’s not for vanity’s sake honey. It’s so they’ll let me through passport control.”
RIP the 80’s. Although I have to be honest – I am considering it as a theme for my 40th later this year…..
Bubble Gum pants? I did enlarge. I can tell that they would enlarge my butt, even at age 14.
You so have to have an 80s-themed 40th. I wish we lived closer! Maybe I’ll Skype you in costume – only 8 months to go!
And your idea to get a studio portrait shot when you renew passport: I’m going to do that.
Leanne that is an AWESOME montage. Clearly we shopped at the same stores! LOL I so love the Princess Di look, very well done.
I did the giant Franciscan wooden prayer beads as a belt to honour Madonna’s ‘Like a Prayer’ and my more-Catholic-than-the-Pope-Father almost had a stroke. I was grounded a long time for that one. 🙂
The prayer bead belt? I am laughing. I bet you were grounded! Bet Madonna never was grounded.
Wow – it seems like every major 80s style and milestone was documented! You hit all the hairstyles, all the fashions. Somehow I went through the 80s without getting a perm, feathered hair OR an asymmetrical haircut or a bad dye job. I feel kind of ripped off now. I did get a lot of BAD SUNBURNS though 🙁
You were fashion forward, then (otherwise known as lucky), with the exception of the sunburns. I don’t even burn easily, but I managed it a few times.
Love the music and the hair LOL
The hair is an institution unto itself.
Loved this, Leanne. Makes me feel very old because I’m more from the mid 60’s, early 70’s. I’ll just get out my cane and FEEL 80!!
Don’t feel old, Becki; a cane is less trouble than hairspray (and likely healthier too)!
Can’t type comment. . .laughing too hard!
I’m laughing with ya.
Ok. This was my first time here and that video was FANTASTIC. Please tell me you got your bleached blonde hair with Sun-In because Sun-In was EVERYTHING to me in the ’80s. That and EG socks with your jeans tucked in.
Does Sun-In still exist? I’m going to have to look for it for ol’ times’ sake. The jeans tucked in to socks: I forgot about that look! Thanks for visiting.
I’m really glad I don’t remember the 80s. O.o
All I can say is that in the 80’s I TRULY believed that would have been really good friends with Madonna. Loved your montage. We would have been best friends, and I would have totally let you put your stuff in my locker. 😉
And I would have hung a picture of Bono or Mellencamp or Bowie in your locker. And I would have kissed that picture with my root beer roll-on lip gloss.
Speechless with love of the music, the pictures, the memories.
Why did we think those bangs were a good idea?!
I can’t begin to explain the ’80s to my daughter.