Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Like Gag Me with a Spoon!

"Hey Mom, can you help me with a project about the 80s?"

"YES! I can totally help you with it." I love getting requests like this because I don't have to come up with excuses why I can't help. Like when my 5th grader asks me for math help. I take a look at his assignment, see all the numbers and start feeling woozy, then I feign an injury that needs immediate medical attention so I have don't to admit to my kids that I still count on my fingers (and sometimes toes).

But a project about the 80s? Now, THAT I can do!

"So, what kind of music did you listen to in the 80s?"

"I listened to the same stuff I listen to now. I'm kinda stuck in the 80s," I confessed to Savannah. (Not a word, Chris!!!)

"Well, what movies did you watch?"

"Anything by John Hughes."

"What did you guys wear?"

I started getting excited at this point, reminiscing about my high school couture. Well, we wore Gunne Sax dresses to prom and homecoming. We wore tight, skinny acid washed jeans and we rolled the legs around as tight as possible and then tucked them into our socks. We generally wore a couple different pairs of brightly colored socks too. Or leg warmers! Oooo, yeah! We wore sock and leg warmers and we layered them!

"You tucked your jeans into your socks? On purpose?" Savannah looked at me like I was some sort of dork.

"Well yeah! At least, the totally cool kids did! Oooo and parachute pants! Everyone had parachute pants! I got mine at Madigan's Junior at Woodfield Mall. They were black. I was awesome. Oh yeah! And we wore lots of bright, neon stuff! Oooo, and color-changing shirts! They'd actually change color if you were hot or cold! And fishnet tops over other shirts!"

Blank stares from Savannah

"Oooo, and we'd carry a big ole comb in our back pocket!"

"To comb your hair?"

"I think it was more of an accessory because after we sprayed half a can of Aqua Net or Stiff Stuff in our hair, we couldn't possibly pull a comb through it."

Slight eye-rolling from Savannah

Yep, and we had portable curling irons that ran on lighter fluid, and we'd light our black eyeliner pencils with a lighter to make them more spreadable, then we'd layer it on thick. Oooo and we had jelly bracelets! And jelly shoes! And Swatches! Lots of Swatches! We'd wear half a dozen of these plastic watches down our arm at once!

"Seriously? And you were making fun of us for wearing those shaped rubber band bracelets."

"Um well. OK, you have a point there."

"We didn't have cell phones, we didn't even have cordless phones til later. I had to stand in the kitchen and have my conversations while my mom was cooking dinner or my sister was doing her homework. No privacy. And I couldn't move more than 5 feet away from the wall or the phone would unplug. And there was no caller ID either! Our video games were all the same - a little square that hit another little square back and forth. Actually, nope, sometime, later in the 80s, we had better ones like PacMan and Asteroids. And we had MTV and MTV was just all videos all day long back then!"

Savannah's eyes glazed over with information overload

"OK, what kind of slang was popular then?"

"Like I'm so totally sure! We had like the most gnarly slang like ever!"

"OK then. Umm, thanks for your help, Mom."

But it gets even better! My sister, who never throws anything away, was able to outfit Savannah for this project! Mini skirt - check! Leggings - check! Big earrings - check! Lace gloves - check! See for yourself!



Is she like totally awesome, or what?

65 comments:

Unknown said...

totally!!!

DarcsFalcon said...

Like, totally one of the best posts, EVER! Fer sure!!

Savannah looks awesome. :D

jean said...

I love the hair!

~ Elly ~ said...

AWESOME! Like totally.

Unknown said...

Savannah does look totally awesome! But why is it she looks totally normally dressed as well? I mean, this outfit doesn't look like "dress up", it looks NORMAL.

LOL

Oh yeah, it may be that I am also stuck in the 80's.

Long live Madonna and Prince!

The Gibson's said...

Haha too funny. I can not believe that some trends from the 80's are coming back. I saw a skirt with neon leggings at Kohl's. I hope it does not last too long!

Rebecca said...

...As a Jersey Girl, the hair is not big enough.

The rest of it is totally awesome, dude! (Oh, and DO play some Duran Duran and vintage Bon Jovi and U2 and Madonna for her.)

I was only born in the 80s. I had to deal with flannel and boy bands as a teenager. You had better music. (The fashion was universally bad.)

Chick Hatchers said...

That is hilarious! What I would give to be back in the day for a few more days...

So, have you compared her pic to a pic of you from the 80s? Do you look like twins? Just curious, because moms and daughters usually do look very much the same at the same ages.

I'm sure you had a lot of fun doing this.

Christina said...

One word SPANDEX...

Ok and a SSO questions. So have any of your kids broken out of preschool and tried to walk home?
Same child that slept with your book made a break for it today and sadly got half way home, she is fine though the licensing department is having a field day about it for me.

Anonymous said...

wow holly crap! can you say happy halloween!

Robin said...

Wow - time travel!

Anonymous said...

Now I have to go and check to see if my pink Swatch watch is still in the depths of my jewelery box...

Holly C. said...

You crack me up!

Joanne Lendaro said...

Dont' think I would have admitted any of this, UNLESS it was for a school project!! And then told them "UM...research, yep, that's what everyone else looked like".

Bailey's Leaf said...

The peg pants.

The puffy paint shirts.

The denim jackets.

Trapper Keepers.

K-Swiss canvas shoes.

Banana clips.

The slick, metallic flecked, very thick iron-on shirts.

Tears for Fears.

Duran Duran.

B-52's.

Ahhhh.

Diana said...

SHe's GOT IT DOWN! That was a fun time! I graduated in 1980 myself!

WarsawMommy said...

Oh. My. GOD! Like, gag me with a spoon, fer sure, you know??

Also: remember how excited you were to get a Walkman? Which played tapes? Ah, the good old days.

Daisybelle said...

I went to high school in the 80's as well. I have been giggling inside as i walk through the stores with my daughter and see the leg warmers and neon socks from the days of my youth. I wish i had held on to all my old stuff too!! I am so surprised we did not all blow ourselves up by igniting our aqua net fumes while we snuck smokes in the school bathrooms...not that I did that or anything...hehehe

Anonymous said...

OMG - The flashbacks.

The 'hippies' had their 70s, but us boomers had the 80s.

LONG LIVE THE 80s! :)

Chick Hatch has a point... care to share? ;)

Rick Astley anyone?

Melissa said...

You forgot the most important feature of the 80s....... BIG HAIR!! Rofl :D

Kimberly said...

LOL! Just, LOL!

Her hair looks a lot like my senior picture. When my husband pointed to it while we were at my parents' house and asked my then-2-year-old who it was all she would say was, "Hair." Over and over. :)

I can remember buying a REALLY LONG phone cord so that I could pull the phone into the closet and talk to my friends - for hours! I honestly can't even remember what we talked about!

Courtney Breul said...

I, like, so totally remember all of this!
Loved this post! Those were the days...

Carrie M. said...

Like, Oh my GAWD!! Fer sure!! Like, thanks for the walk down memory lane! Totally!!

Simple Country Girl said...

Before I read who was in the picture, I thought this was one of your old 80's shots of yourself. She looks so much like you in these pictures! Cute outfit!!

Dawn said...

She will like totally get an "A"

BTW- Savannah is going to bring it all back....

Erin T. said...

Fantastic! She looks awesome! So glad she was able to dress like she was actually IN the 80's and not like the girls did around here for Halloween last year. They all thought the only 80's outfit was a Jane Fonda aerobics outfit!!

MamaLemma said...

My hair popped up about three inches, my face broke out in pimples and I was overcome with a wave of insecurity just READING this post! She looks great -- very authentic. Great look back in time for those of us denying milestone birthdays this year. :-)

Tinagsmarykay said...

LOVE this post!! LOL total flashback for me LOL

Jen said...

Like, totally far out, dudettes! :P She looks great! I really hope she gets an A++ for that project!! YAY! :D

Robin said...

Fer sure!! What's funny is that most of that look is back in style...with the exception of the over-teased hair. It's a wonder any of us have hair left after what we did to it in the 80's!

Dodson Family said...

She looks perfect!!!!
The lace glove is the perfect 80s touch.

Shari H said...

She like totally like looks like a chick like from the like 80's LOL!!!!!! Anyone else have a friend that did use the word like every other word???!!!!!

Vicki said...

I, too, am stuck in the 80s and am so excited to see so much of the fashion comng back for MY girls to enjoy!! Don't forget the Members Only jackets, Ocean Pacific, Gloria Vanderbuilt jeans, Chic, Sassoon, Panama Jack, the first Nikes that were white canvas with a navy stipe, jelly shoes that would make your feet sweat and gag anyone in a 20 foot radius, banana clips, slap bracelets and Garbage Pail Kids. And the best music in the history of music!!

Kristin of course said...

Oh. My. Valley Girl God. My daughter just interviewed me for the same thing. It wasn't until I got into it that I remembered the things I'd forgotten about - Swatch watches and Hypercolor. I totally still have my Hypercolor shirt, although 20 years in the attic might have taken the hyper out of it. Savannah looks so totally awesome. Did you get authentic Aqua Net for the hair or did you use some environmentally friendly version? I can raise my hand proudly and declare that I wholeheartedly contributed to the hole in the ozone layer.

Alana M said...

BWAH!! MY dd had 80s day at the HS last year. We painted a white shirt with "go-go" and she wore tons of beads and a side ponytail.

On Stage said...

Thanks for the flashback!

Jennifer in Wisconsin said...

Oh the memories. I still remember getting blank stares from the girls in my dorm ( easier than an apartment for me) when I told them I went to prom in the 80's. Still makes me giggle.

Marjorie said...

I was born in the 80's, but I still remember them well enough. What do you think is the best song to come out of the 80's? I'm very fond of Cindy Lauper's Time after Time.

Savannah looks super cute in that photo!

msprimadonna67 said...

I like, totally remember all this stuff! Ah, high school days....

Mimicutelips said...

Tell Savannah,

Everything the kids are wearing now is from the 80's. You could have walked into Target and dressed her 80's style head to toe. Fashion repeats itself.

While I'm just 30 this took me right down memory lane.

Candi said...

So like totally wow, what kind of grade did she get on this report?! It's gotta be like, you know at least a major "A" chomp,chaw, chomp (can't leave out the wad of gum). Like I totally can't wait to find out.
That wasn't my era it was my kids', but it drove me into shock to hear all those syntax fractures once again, so I kinda went into shock for a minute. Please excuse me. ;)

Debbie said...

Total flashback!! Totally rad! And don't forget the satin jackets!!!

Tracy said...

Aw Madigans I LOVED that store! I went to the HIP though, it was closer lol. I remember my Mom buying me a huge long cord for the phone, I could snake it across our dining room and past the bathroom and into my room. Then you would hear her trip over it and curse the cord LOL.
Totally Gnarly Post Dawn!

Jessi said...

Man, I miss those days.

She looks like totally awesome man!

hehe at first I thought you were showing us a vintage picture of you. Never realized how much S looked like you before. She totally nailed the look.

Blended said...

SO YOU REALISE THEY WEAR THIS NOW!?......Sike (lol had to say it) anyway this is what is popular to wear now...your sister didn't need to save anything...go to a local store and find all of this! lol fun stuff!

Sarah said...

LOVE the hair, especially. WOW, that brings back memories (I'm about your age). This post made me smile. :)

Natasha said...

Literally... like, totally gag me with a spoon! xD jk, jk. What a sad, sad era. *Sniffle*

Beckie said...

Ummmm, I still have my butane curling iron. For camping, REALLY! And Dude, that was like the most totally awsome post ever! The only diffrence was if you had curly or wavy hair, Aussie Sprunch Spray was used instead of Aqua Net.

Unknown said...

Aww man, Madigan's and jelly shoes and big hair! Oh how I miss the 80's, well not so much since I was with my ex the entire decade, but eliminate him and the 80's were awesome.

Melissa Lear said...

She looks like Madonna in the "Like a Virgin" video!

I remember a few years back, my niece listening to the song "1985," and not even understanding why it was so funny. The video was hysterical. My sister and I graduated high school in 1985, so yeah, that was us!

And I love the 80's stuff coming back as well!

JennyF said...

When I first read the line that your sister doesn't throw away anything, at first I thought it was going to be a picture of YOU in the 80's. I had to look twice to realize it was your daughter. She looks totally gnarly!

Anonymous said...

OH my gawd!!!! I was just going through my jewelry box and found a whole drawer full of Swatches!! I also found a ton of neon earrings -- one pair was actually pink smiley faces!!

Don't forget to mention Frankie Goes to Hollywood -- I had a purple shirt that said RELAX in huge white letters on the front. **sigh** What a fashion statement I was!!!! ;o)


Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Dawn!!!

Donna in PA :)

Jenni said...

OMG! She's totally channeling Madonna from "Desparately Seeking Susan"

wiseopt said...

LOVE the hair,Thanks for the flashback!

Anonymous said...

she looks totally awesome! love it!

Amie

Jen K. said...

Oh My God! Like totally fer sure! She is bringing back memories!

Amy said...

Look on the left hand side of your website at your Facebook ad/picture. Y'all are standing the same way... and look very much alike! ;o)

Frau Mahlzahn said...

Uh yeah! I remember! (Although I don't really like to be reminded in such detail, *rofl*...).

I remember when I first came to the States in 84 as an exchange student, I was all upset because my hostparents didn't have MTV. I mean, what did I come to the States for, if not MTV, ;-)?

So long,
Corinna

Shannon said...

I had forgotten about Gunne Sax! I remember my friend and I sitting on the bus with our Seventeen magazine picking out Gunne Sax prom dresses! Thanks for the stroll back on memory lane :) Let us know how she fares on her 80's project!!

Chris Bean said...

LOL! I love it, but it shows my age because to me she looks just like how girls dress now! LOL! Doesn't she look that way to you?

Shannon said...

before I read the entire post I thought it was a picture of you..... and sad to say, I didn't even think the outfit/hair was all that bad =)

BTW- off subject I know-- but when are you going to do another review/giveaway? I imagine after the last one where no one would claim the prize, you have probably given that up for awhile. I always look forward to your reviews, and always hopeful to win!

Round Belly said...

Isn't it considered child abuse to dress a kid up like that?

Tanya T said...

Ahhh, a graduate of the class of 1988, this brings back so many memories!! Fer Sure!
I loved the 80's and hate to admit that i even miss the hairstyles from back then.

Karla with a K said...

Dawn,
HiLARious! The side pony tail - I forgot about that one. And the shirt off one shoulder look. Also, I totally had a magenta net shirt that I wore over a purple t-shirt. But that was college for me, as I graduated high school in '83. Also, we permed our long hair.

Don't forget Asia, Boy George, and - was it George Michael?

Svannah looks awesome! (I thought it was you at first, too.)

Cristy said...

I am so relieved to hear that I am not the only one stuck in the 80s!! I think it's why it doesn't bother me that we don't have the money to update our house...built in 1983 (same year as Risky Business and the song Der Kommissar!).

Love your blog! Check mine out:
www.somanykidssomuchfun.blogspot.com

Thanks!

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