There were a few things that inspired my fashion sense growing up. One was Ricky Stratton. The other was Marty McFly. The 80s dominated by two. I look on the bright side and think, at least Mr. T wasn’t involved (never liked gold chains that much).
Living in backasswards Roswell, and no such thing as the internet, the trendsetter was usually prime-time television. So I pleaded with my mother to control the dial on Saturday nights and watch Silver Spoons and Gimme a Break instead of the ex-starship captain on TJ Hooker. And no it wasn’t me that turned over to The Love Boat if there was too much Nell Carter and not enough Samantha. (ok, it was me. Sshhh! There was something appealing about Julie the cruise director.)
Ricky and Derek exposed me to Parachute Pants, Torn Tee Shirts and bright neon colors. Top Siders and Roled Jeans would follow. Who could forget the Reebok high tops with the Velcro on top! If a 10 year old boy had a fashion magazine, that show was it. It still boggles my mind how information turned into commercial products back in the stone age of the 1980s (no internet, no twitter, no social media!). One cold find a few of the fashions at Bealls but the place to be seen at was Miller’s Outpost- a chain store at the time and as popular as any Hot Topic today. It was Millers that I bought: the ultra cool Levi Jean Jacket! To be considered the ultra cool it had to have a lining. And the color and designed mattered. Plaid was the key. Red or blue. Green maybe. If it had little flowers or was satin then you just wore the earring in the wrong ear. The lining mattered as it was the thing to roll the sleeve to expose that lining. Cheerleaders talked to me because of that jacket. (well, that’s how I remember it anyways).
Also, since my mother was a conservative single parent it was hard to convince her that I needed the Parachute Pants in every color, or in one color at the least. My first pair came in as a birthday present from a good friend. They were blue. They rocked! And I wore them every other day. Then I convinced my mother to buy a gray pair and eventually a black pair (Christmas gifts if I recall). If I still had the size and shape of a 10 year old boy, I would want those pants today.
I was in a bowling league back then. It was my mother’s way of getting me out of the house on Saturday mornings and not spend the whole morning watching Saturday Morning Cartoons. (damn I miss those cartoons!!). All the Cools would pair the latest colors. I can’t explain the tinglings I got starring at Heather’s butt in a tight pair of red parachute pants in 1983 – a very strong memory of those days. I laugh as she was like 15 and I was only 11 (somewhere there’s a little Anakin and Padme joke minus the actually getting the girl and falling to the dark side). Noting attracts the babes than smelly bowling shoes and parachute pants. Heather was my real world Samanatha Kanisky.
We had a cool sound effect too. It was swish-swish-swish as we walked. Nothing like na-na- nanananana as I ran.
Then, things changed in 1985. A time traveling high schooler showed me that Levi’s with suspenders and button-down oxfords with a life preserver were cool. I was in the 7th grade and I verbally forced my mother to sew buttons on all my jeans so I could attach suspenders to them. (the clip-on versions were just lame and too Mork-like) This was under the threat that I would be a social reject if I didn’t show up at school on Monday with them. I think I wore that style until Junior Year. (did I forget to mention that I avoided change.)
