Clothes: the 80's, 90's and today!

OMG! That JCPenny's catalog was a "real" treasure to find! I found myself laughing out loud and some if the pictures and written commentary! For example, those green bathroom covers were putrid! I am sure that elementary school boy wearing the red stripes and HUGE, flashy belt did have a rough time at school if his mother put him on the bus in the AM dress like that! (He would be one to vote for school uniforms just so his mom did not have a say with his school clothes!) I am glad 1977 fashion is staying in the 70's because I am not sure that I would be OK with using my hard earn money to buy an orange jumpsuit that makes me look as if I was spending time in prison! What was that? And how many socks did he have stuffed into his underwear area...or was that to complete the "look?!" Two more observations, from the JCP clip, so please bare with me! The commentary about "How to get your a$$ kicked on St. Patrick's Day," in my opinion, those men looked like giant, green boogers with chest hair! And last but, certainly not least, what about those couples (so very much in love) wearing matching outfits!?!?! I especially like the lady who was checking out her partner's package in a swimsuit that matched the polyester suit she was wearing! The only time my boyfriend and I match is when we are both wearing our U of M sweats from college on Football Sundays...I think I would hurt him if he wanted to match any other days of the week! I am glad that our fashion tastes have improved (or at least changed) since 1977...I just wonder what our great, great grandchildren will think of our current fashion choices (or fopaux!)

This next video will be a trip down memory lane as to what many of us looked like in the 1980's. I made some of these mistakes (unknowingly, of course!), and these will get you int right mind set for what I write next!



My fashion fopauxes from the 80's...Off the shoulder sweaters, ruffled socks, pinned & rolled stonewashed jeans, bright neon colors, matching plastic earrings for EVERY outfit, just to name a few! Now for the hair...I did sport the HUGE curled bangs that defied gravity (thanks to the help of lots of hairspray!), but it really stunk the days that it rained and I had to wait for the bus. By the time I got to school, my previous rock hard bangs were droopy and a hot mess all day long...talk about traumatic. Take a look at this link to get a visual of what I talking about...
http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/images/blog/myhair-1989.jpg
This is not a picture of my in my heyday, but it is very similar to how I used to style the 80's bangs! What was I thinking?!?!

Another extremely popular haircut (this time from the 90's) was the "Rachel" copied from Jennifer Aniston who played Rachel Green on the hit TV show "Friends." Check out the video clip below when an avid fan of the show gets a hip, new do!


So this leads into the 20th century...what about the clothes of today? I am a teacher and here is my dress code: Khakis, button up shirt, and my Puma Shoes...I have variations, but this is the general guideline. The purpose of these clothes=Comfort, Convenient, and it's easy! As a teacher you have to have pockets...you never know what you are taking from kids throughout the day, and it's funny to see what you end up with! As a teacher, you also need sensible shoes, and Pumas are it (plus they give you cool points with your students!) http://www.footlocker.com/images/products/zoom/30040603_z.jpg

Props to those female teachers who can run around all day long with heels on, but no thanks, that is not for me! Being in the education world, we would like to consider ourselves at school to be "business casual." But what is that, really?!?! I think some staff members have taken "business casual" to a whole new "very casual" level...but I'm not the boss, just the 5th grade teacher, so who am I to judge?! The one thing we as teacher keep fighting for in our school is "Jeans on Fridays." Our director has not jumped on board yet with this idea, and here is her reasoning...the kids will respect us less if we are wearing jeans.

I beg to differ! One day last year, actually the day before winter break, we were allowed to wear jeans. I can't tell you how many kids said, "there is something different about you today, Miss Riggs..." or "You look very nice today in your jeans." I think that is the opposite of getting less respect if you ask me! And we work at a charter school where we are trying to promote college and higher education to all of our K-5th grade students. What would be better than jeans and our college alma mater sweatshirts to get those conversations between students and teachers rolling??? I think that will be my next selling point to the director the next time this Jean topics comes up!

One thing I do know about fashion today, is that many very young kids are dressed WAY better than any clothes I have in my closet! I have seen 5 year old girls in full Juicy Couture leisure suits, with Ugg boots, manicures, and hair brushed and curled just right! OMG! I think some parents of today, use their children as a pawn to "show off" their financial status when out in public. I think this because kids grow so quickly, so who in their right mind would spend that kind of cash on a hip outfit that will last for a month or two??? (I wish I had that kind of money on a teacher's salary, and then I would let you know how I would "handle" the same "problem!")

I do think in today's culture, clothes are a sign of status and show a belonging to a certain clique. The students at my school are required to wear all navy blue uniforms for many reasons. First, many of these families do not have much and starter uniforms are provided by the school for free. Second, many do not own their own washer and dryer, so having a navy blue shirt and pant is an easy load to wash at the laundry mat. Third, we want to create an even playing field for all the students. But that may have backfired on us...instead of showing status by the shirts and pants they wear, they now fight over having higher status through what shoes they wear or if their hair was just freshly done. I have never heard so much on the price of shoes in my life...but that is their platform to stand on, you either can afford to be on top, or not! We have Family Nights once a month where we invite the families of our school in for a hot meal and school activity. This is the one time that students can be at school and not in their uniforms! OOOOOWWWEEEEEE! Do some of the kids show up dressed to impress! This is another avenue to show their financial status...if you show up in your clean street clothes, you have the means to take care of yourself...if you show up in the same uniform as you wore to school, well, then you just lose a couple of cool points in the popularity game we call life.

I close with this...Holiday parties are just around the corner, and I am sure your planners are starting to fill up with them now. Clothes do say a lot about us, and maybe some put too much pressure or take too much value into the clothes on our backs, but allow me to get your mind going...What are the dress codes for the parties that you will be attending??? Will you be seeing the same people...or can you "risk" buying one new outfit and wearing it to all the holiday parties you will be attending??? Regardless, if you can wear one or have to wear many...make sure you buy one with room to "grow" to be able to fill up on party drinks, food and yummy holiday cookies! Tis the season to be jolly, right?!