"Costumes" o' the 80s

I know you’ve been waiting anxiously for the next installment of “‘Costumes’ O’ the Decades.”

Oh, you mean you haven’t been holding your breath? Well, I’ll refresh your memory: back around Halloween, I was inspired by a funny e-mail circulating online to post some pictures of some of my happenin’ getups from the 1970s. They were good enough that they could now be used as costumes, thus the “Costumes” –well, you get the picture.

So on to the 80s, totally my favorite decade.


“With my poofy sleeves and bubble skirt, I feel oh-so Debbie Gibson-esque!”

Girls, do any of you remember “Units” clothes? If not, the best way I can describe it is….well, modular clothing. They were the cat’s galoshes in their hey day. So feminine and flattering with the angular lines, which come in handy if you’re auditioning for Devo. My friend Laura here borrowed this outfit from me and actually made it look better than I could. Take care to note also the peg leg cuff at the bottom of the pants leg, popular also with fashionable gents of the day.

And here we have a vast array of the awesome bangs of the decade. Aqua Net hairspray must’ve been giddy over their stock prices back then. But please note that I can’t make fun of my friends who are in this picture, because at the time I could only aspire to their coiffured greatness, fer sure.


And for the finale, a nice hair and fashion combination. The Laura Ashley-ish florals with flouncy rows of ruffles, the buttoned collar…ah, the epitome of style. My sister was my hair idol, with the big, broad bangs and overall Bon Jovi hairstyle tribute (your words, Sister). At the time I was growing out a baaaad haircut (no storytelling by you, Sister!), so I could only stand next to her and hope that some of her hair glory would make its way to me.

That’s it for this episode. In the future I’ll tackle the 90s, although that’ll hit a little closer to home since it’s relatively so recent! Until then, let’s not take ourselves too seriously and smile, knowing that what we’re wearing today could someday end up in a blog post like this. =)