17 February 2010

list six: clothes I loved to wear as a kid



1. red and white striped tee-shirt, circa 1981. as pictured above.

2. maroon stretch velvet pantsuit with creamy lace trim and gold threading, circa 1982. normally reserved for holidays, natch. although I remember it most as the thing I wore to the emergency room on christmas eve, thanks to the worst ear infection ever.

3. hot pink dance costume crazy with fringe and sequins, circa 1975. my mom picked it up at a yard sale for 25 cents and thirty years later, it still manages to bring the house down.

4. little cotton red and white gingham romper with matching hat, circa 1975. witness.

5. esprit muscle tees, circa 1982-84. in grey and fuschia. witness.

6. calvin klein jeans, circa 1980-83. with chic jeans a close second and jordache a distant third.

7. shiny red lycra leotard with matching gold chain belt, circa 1980. worn only when rehearsing solid gold dance choreography or acting out imagined scenes from fame.

8. white jersey tee with a rainbow that stretched from sleeve to sleeve and across the chest. three quarter length sleeves, circa 1982. does anyone remember these? I want one for ava so bad I could cry.

9. cotton paisley print halter top, circa 1977. my childhood summers defined.

10. red satin jacket with baby blue corded stripes down the side of each sleeve, circa 1981. repeatedly worn to the local roller rink.

11. white esprit trousers covered in black splattered paint, circa 1983. very jackson pollock. in the small southern illinois town I lived in, nobody had ever seen anything like them. my friends? so jealous they wanted to spit.

12. red tee-shirt with john travolta on the front, circa 1978. I refused to put posters of any boy on my bedroom wall (because what's the point if he can't really love you back?) but I wore john travolta around til he was spotty and faded.

13. I Dream of Jeanie pajamas with sheer, billowy pink pants that gathered at the ankle and reddish-pink satin top (billowy sleeves to match), circa 1976. my absolute favorite thing to wear, maybe ever. I wore them until there was practically nothing left, til they nearly evaporated into thin air.

(six down and forty-six to go)

32 comments:

  1. #8- oh yes, i so had one of those shirts! i also had rainbow sheets with pillows forming the arch. did you have those too? must find a picture.

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  2. I love this list!

    I had the I Dream of Jeannie pajamas too. I never wanted to let anyone else wear them at slumber parties.

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  3. OMG I had the I Dream of Jeanie pajamas, too, except I didn't know they were pajamas until the neighbor called my mom to ask if she knew what I was wearing.

    I wore them to pieces, too, and I love that we have this in common.

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  4. ANYTHING esprit. anything. love.

    a friend and i spent some quality time drawing our most favorite outfits from our youth on napkins in a bar. bliss.

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  5. I really loved this list. What a great idea. I totally remember those esprit pants.

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  6. i adored jeannie...oh if i had even known about the pajamas

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  7. wonder woman "pajamas" for me. really, they were polyester undies with a matching tank top. wore them all. of. the. time. around the house.

    in my early teens, i was all about used brand jeans. they folded down at the waist and up at the ankle to reveal a plaid pattern. so awesome.

    this list makes me happy.

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  8. oh you slayed me with those jeans ads! The Jordache Jeans jingle is burned in my brain forever. My childhood was defined by those easy breezy halter tops too.

    I DO TOTALLY remember the rainbow shirts. That was jr. hi for me. I think I had the sweatshirt version. Alas, I was no fashion plate. Which would explain why one of my favorite things to wear was the series of turtlenecks covered in miniature whales. Or watermelons, or four-leafed clovers, or pigs...

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  9. totally remember the rainbow shirt -would love to find one myself. have to say I just think you are the rad-ist person I know :)

    xo

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  10. this is a great list...very thought provoking...hmm...esprit was fantastic, as was benetton. love it :)

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  11. i had the rainbow shirt, too. i was in high school. and i thought i was red hot when i wore it with my jordache jeans (i only had one pair).
    i also had the rainbow suspenders (i was a mork and mindy fan).
    and john travolta? i had tube socks with a picture of him on them. and around the top? it said, "up your nose with a rubber hose."

    classy. i know.

    even better...i had starsky and hutch knee socks. aaaaaand purple, glitter socks like donnie osmond.

    i was a nerd. hee...

    thank you for this list, mama. totally brought back some good memories.

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  12. Oh Esprit...I had this god-awful 1985 off-the-shoulder sweatshirt that I used to wear ALL THE TIME. Except, by the time I was wearing it, it was 1995. I was retro before retro was cool!

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  13. Hula, were you EVER not adorable? NO fair!

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  14. hahaha... corduroy figured prominently in my early 80s attire...and it still does. However, the outfit that stands out most vividly in my mind was my disco rollerskating outfit -- red cords, with black leotard and rainbow "Mork from Ork" suspenders. I was sooooo hot!

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  15. Love it! When I was five I had a brown and cream-coloured sweatshirt with a picture of a hamburger on it with the word HAMBURGER written underneath. There was a zipper on the burger that could be opened to reveal the patty, tomatoes, lettuce and pickles. It is the single greatest piece of clothing I've ever owned.

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  16. EEEP! I had those esprit pants too. I lived in the middle of nowhere Colorado and felt pretty damn hip in those pants.

    I am wearing the red and white striped t-shirt today. :)

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  17. so remember the rainbow shirts that I dIdN't have...now am sad and coveting (grin)...where is that 9 year old body that would rock the rainbow shirt? xo

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  18. andrea,
    i totally remember so many of those looks! i was all about "Fame", and "Flashdance" looks myself.

    and Esprit was the shit. i had this neon argyle sweater vest that was haut!

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  19. i had a pink t-shirt with Rick Springfield on it...i was too embaressed to wear it to school but i wore it everywhere else...

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  20. In 5th grade I had a yellow wrap dress with applique flowers on it. And in a freak accident I ran into a neighbor's door with glass windows and end up busting a window with my arm. As I walked into the Emergency Room with my bleeding arm that was soon to get 42 stitches in it I turned to my mother and said, "Can you get the blood out this is my favorite dress!" She did - way to go Mom!

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  21. you are my clothing soul sister. this post made me so happy and nostalgic! i wish for one of my old rainbow shirts for ellie, too!

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  22. Pastel coloured ra-ra skirt... t-shirt covered in fairies... hot pink puffball skirt... my dungarees... hideous orange suede trainers. Oh & an "I'm Too Sexy" t-shirt when I was 14. Thank goodness I grew up!

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  23. This list = instant smile! I so had the white pants with paint spatters. Mine had a rainbow of colors splattered everywhere!

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  24. Oh, I wasn't a dancer, but loved wearing the costumes from my friend's recitals and making up moves. This amazing list is making me miss my Swatch watch with turqoise face protector sooooo bad!

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  25. I REMEMBER those Esprit trousers, right up there with Cyndi Lauper and Culture Club. Wow.
    molly
    http://www.remedialeating.com

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  26. oh how i would covet my esprit catalog. it was like a world i dreamed of living in with the fancy people. i was only lucky enough for white tag levis and i felt fortunate at that.

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  27. I remember coveting your jean jacket with white fringe on the arms....ahhhh junior high. You let me borrow it...what a doll you were/ARE!!!

    I found some pix of us wayyyy back in the "your dad/my dad room mates in Oceano in the mobile home park" days....to post or not to post. Now those were some AWESOME clothing choices!!

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  28. hahaha! Great list.
    I love the little red stripe t-shirt! And totally relevant today. Funny how that works. :)

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  29. my friend rainy has that rainbow shirt and i wanted oen sooo bad!

    my satin jacket was blue, with white piping but thanks to grease 2 i really wanted a pink & black reversible jacket. still do as i secretly wish to be a pink lady.

    no john travolta onn me but i did move my mr. bill t-shirt. wore it to pieces!

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  30. this post totally reminds me of a favorite stripped peach and green shirt I had around 4 years old. I loved it. And then one day my mom had to cut it off me since I sprained my arm in it :( bummer

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  31. I also had the I Dream of Jeannie pj's! I love your lists, and just HAD to copy the idea of this one and blogged my own favorite clothes list. I'm going to have to raid my parent's photo albums for pictures!

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  32. #8 - Had one, as did many of my friends, and LOVED it. Would LOVE to find one for my daughter, but have not tracked one down yet. :(

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