OT why I'm a pack rat

Howdy!

Headbands! That cute little strip of sparkly elastic to grip your forehead. Show up that punked hair-do (spiky and gelled). Trashy, torn clothes ala that slutty Madonna look. Big earrings, lots of cheap jewelry. One black glove w/ sparklies on it.

Ragmop/Sandy--remembering how few of us were quilting in the 1980s and how difficult it was to find real cotton fabric ;-)

Oh my! Did you actually WEAR that stuff back then?

Donna

dare I say it: big baggy coveralls in a not quite neon colour worn with a super wide belt (thank goodness there are no photo's of me in one!!!)

big square scarves with glittery woven squares wrapped around the neck with the point on the front and the two ends dangling on the front too (no knots)

harem pants

That spiral perm look, or crimped hair would work too. Debra in VA See my quilts at

Not everyone did. I didn't! I've never liked a flashy look. I don't care what others wear, I don't like that look for myself. (Though lately I've been getting a wee bit more flamboyant. I have a few shirts with sequins or trim.)

Looking at old eighties photos, I see I generally wore casual slacks, turtleneck shirts, corduroy gathered skirts, blouses. I do have some pictures where I have a floppy little bow at the neck of a suit blouse. I had quite a collection of those!

I started quilt> Oh my! Did you actually WEAR that stuff back then?

You wouldn't BELIEVE the glitzy stuff we made! AND wore! The sparklier the better! Of course, when we came back to Iowa on vacation it didn't quite fit in, but at the time I just figured they were behind times.....now, I think perhaps they had better taste!! Though I did sell some items when I came back, come to think of it. I never had the crimped/curly hair, but I did have DD get a perm...and she was in early grade school! Oh dear.....the things we did. KJ

Howdy!

Less glitz, more punk, for me. Back then in the "skinny '80s" I had my head shaved in one patch over my left ear. Just because. ;-P Perms were for the later '80s, when Big Hair came back into Vogue, esp. in Tx. where we've always done Big Hair. Obviously much of the local population hasn't yet let go of the Big Hair, squiggly perms, or that rooster tail swathe of hair over the forehead. Yikes! The '80s live on. And on. ... Yeah, we wore it, all of it, but I never saw the need for leg warmers in this part of Tx. Shoulder pads. Looked like women were going out to the football field in high heels and full make-up with those shoulder pads.

Meanwhile, my mom was embroidering quilt tops and sending them to me to Finish. The boys wore out their Granny quilts; I still have the red & white cats quilt in good shape.

Ragmop/Sandy--not sorry to have left the 1980s ;-)

Yes! Shoulder pads! I should have sent a pair with DD's outfit. I haven't heard back from her yet to see how it went over. Ahhhh the "skinny '80's"....that's one part of that decade I WOULD like to see return! High heels and leggings.....that was a sight! Could never do the high heels part....even in my younger, more agile and skinny days. Nope, couldn't do it. We rarely saw leg warmers in Arizona either, unless it was in a dance studio or Jane Fonda video....hummm wonder if I still have my video. Belts on leotards was always a good look too! KJ

Never did the punk thing, but I will confess to having owned and LIKED two pairs of leg warmers in the late '70s. Wasn't wearing them in the '80s, though. :)

On Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:06:08 -0500, KJ wrote (in article ):

AAAGH! I'm running away from the thought of that hair crimper. Yes, I actually had and used one. But I was in high school at the time, and pretty stupid.

Maureen