This is your mother's Rush! What we wore 1960-1990

[LionTamer]

So, not rush, but 15 PSU ASAs from the early 80's were at a get-together in Ocean City, NJ last weekend, and we were looking at the 1982 composite.

A lot of the other photos showed girls wearing high-necked blouses with goofy-looking ruffles - kind of a Gunne Sax/Little House on the Prairie look.

Someone commented that she didn't realize so many of the girls were Sister Wives.

None of us could look at the composite after that without laughing.

(A little OT: I felt kind of bad for the girls who had traveled from outside the East Coast, where any mention of heading to the Jersey Shore for the weekend conjured in the minds of their coworkers and friends images of fist-pumping and bar fights for those unfamiliar with the SOUTH Jersey shore, which is actually not quite as....Jerseylicious.....)

[33girl]

Originally Posted by LionTamer

So, not rush, but 15 PSU ASAs from the early 80's were at a get-together in Ocean City, NJ last weekend, and we were looking at the 1982 composite.

A lot of the other photos showed girls wearing high-necked blouses with goofy-looking ruffles - kind of a Gunne Sax/Little House on the Prairie look.

Someone commented that she didn't realize so many of the girls were Sister Wives.

None of us could look at the composite after that without laughing.

I have some of our composites from 1980-81-82, and MANY MANY sisters are wearing the hideous ruffled Peter Pan collar blouses with string ties. Even the prettiest girls didn't look good in those. I know it was the "women in the working world" thing trickling down, but bleeeeccccch.

[gee_ess]

Originally Posted by 33girl

I have some of our composites from 1980-81-82, and MANY MANY sisters are wearing the hideous ruffled Peter Pan collar blouses with string ties. Even the prettiest girls didn't look good in those. I know it was the "women in the working world" thing trickling down, but bleeeeccccch.

I remember having a tie collection - you just never knew when a coordinating tie could set off your outfit! And I agree, it was definitley the working woman influence.

[dukemama]

Originally Posted by LionTamer

So, not rush, but 15 PSU ASAs from the early 80's were at a get-together in Ocean City, NJ last weekend, and we were looking at the 1982 composite.

A lot of the other photos showed girls wearing high-necked blouses with goofy-looking ruffles - kind of a Gunne Sax/Little House on the Prairie look.

Someone commented that she didn't realize so many of the girls were Sister Wives.

None of us could look at the composite after that without laughing.

(A little OT: I felt kind of bad for the girls who had traveled from outside the East Coast, where any mention of heading to the Jersey Shore for the weekend conjured in the minds of their coworkers and friends images of fist-pumping and bar fights for those unfamiliar with the SOUTH Jersey shore, which is actually not quite as....Jerseylicious.....)

I was in high school in the early 80s but also had one of those awful Seinfeld-esque puffy shirts - in fact, I'm wearing one in my HS graduation picture. What were we thinking?

[AnchorAlumna]

Hey - it was the style at the time.
In the early 1970s, I loved bell bottom pants. 10, 15 years later, everybody laughed at them. High waists, pleats and cinched ankles were haut couture.
Then the 2000s - helloooo bell bottoms again!
Now we're getting into the 20-teens...farewell, bell bottoms, see ya next time around!

[carnation]

Haha, I can remember all the sorority girls at Auburn wearing bell bottoms whose bells were so big that they slapped against each other as we walked. And when they got wet in the rain--yechh! What an awful sound and feeling.

[AnchorAlumna]

Elephant bells!
I made a pair (yes! I sew!) out of a kelly green cotton with tiny white dots. Loved 'em. Made my waist look tiny.
I kept a couple of big safety pins to pin the bells up to ride my 10-speed to class! Good times.

[33girl]

Oh my gosh, I remember this one Winston ad from my childhood - the girl was wearing an orange tube top and lace up jeans and I just thought that was the HEIGHT of glamour and grown up-ness. You couldn't see the bottom of her jeans but you just KNEW they were the most gigantic bells you had ever seen in your life.

It took me a LONG time as an adult to buy anything flared in the least, and I really only did so because I couldn't find anything else. I still prefer just plain, straight leg Levi's to anything else. The ones I have seem to have shrunk while sitting in my closet though.

Oh, and while we did have the super duper skinny, zip at the leg jeans in the 80s - at least the zipper was more than an inch long!! I'm long waisted and low riders are hell for me. I can't wait till they're completely gone.

[honeychile]

I had a pair of elephant bells that were red and white checked. *blush* When they went out of style, I was able to make EIGHT dinner napkins out of them, for casual napkins! Worse, I can remember wearing them during the Bicentennial Year!

Everytime I see flared pants now, I think of how stupid we must have looked.

[ellebud]

Originally Posted by honeychile

I had a pair of elephant bells that were red and white checked. *blush* When they went out of style, I was able to make EIGHT dinner napkins out of them, for casual napkins! Worse, I can remember wearing them during the Bicentennial Year!

Everytime I see flared pants now, I think of how stupid we must have looked.

And this is why I try, though not always successfully, to keep my mouth shut when my kids show up in the latest fashion that I think looks perhaps not so great.

My other fashion rule: If I wore it before...like in the 70s...I won't wear it again. Nothing says old woman like a woman in her ....whatever wearing a miniskirt with varicose veins.

[DubaiSis]

I can tell you for sure that whatever I was wearing in 1984, it was with moisturizer, foundation, powder, eye liner, 2 or 3 shades of eye shadow, mascara, eye brow pencil and lip stick. For some reason I didn't know the wonder of a good lip liner yet, but I sure knew about the rest of it! I would also have been sporting heels (this is BEFORE the bunions killed that for the rest of my life), shoulder pads in everything including t-shirts, and a big ass black cinch belt. I've never been thin but in the 80's I had a teensy waist, and that style was MADE for me. Collars would definitely have been up, and walking shorts and knee socks were probably worn on one of the middle days of rush. And long dangly earrings. Oh, and the thick flat gold serpentine necklaces. We all had to have them, the wider they were the cooler you were. I am SOOOO opposed to ostentatious displays of wealth these days I can't believe I got sucked into this.

Perfume: Ralph Lauren Tuxedo, which I still wish they'd bring back.

The cinch belts are on their way back in, and I think that's good for most of us, as are shoulder pads if done with a certain amount of restraint. Little lift of the shoulder line=good. Line backer=bad.

I tried to re-post my pledge day picture, but I haven't been able to get the link thing to play nice for a couple days. It's on gc somewhere.

[dukemama]

Originally Posted by ellebud

Nothing says old woman like a woman in her ....whatever wearing a miniskirt with varicose veins.

Is it any wonder they show a "No miniskirts over 35" sign on What Not To Wear? I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those things!

[33girl]

Originally Posted by dukemama

Is it any wonder they show a "No miniskirts over 35" sign on What Not To Wear? I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those things!

I hate "rules" like that. If you're 50 and you have great legs and a firm butt, by all means ROCK THE MINISKIRT. No, not the same miniskirt you wore when you were 15, mainly because it's probably WAY out of style, but a short skirt that shows off your assets. And cover up on top.

And for the love of all that's holy, if you're ANY age and you're veiny, PUT ON A DAMN PAIR OF HOSE. I saw a woman the other day when I went for my interview, not more than 30, and she had on a full business suit and no hose. Her foot veins were sticking up like Tibet does on my globe. It was disgusting.

[DaffyKD]

Originally Posted by carnation

Haha, I can remember all the sorority girls at Auburn wearing bell bottoms whose bells were so big that they slapped against each other as we walked. And when they got wet in the rain--yechh! What an awful sound and feeling.

I am only 5' tall. I remember having some bell bottoms that were so wide that they appeared to be bigger than me. My kids are 24 and 21 and they love to laugh at the clothes I wore until I pull out some of the pictures of them when they wanted to wear "in styles" and realize how silly they look once they go out of style.

DaffyKD

[KillarneyRose]

I am not sure how I stumbled upon this thread, but I'm glad I did! It's provided many laughs and many more nods in agreement. Glad to know I'm not the only girl who rocked the high necked blouse in the mid eighties!

I'm trying to remember what my pref dress looked like but I'm coming up blank. I vaguely recall a floral print and shoulder pads. Probably best that I DON'T remember! lol

PS I'm glad that we wore those black velvet drape things for our composite pictures. That way, the sisters who come after us have only our hair and makeup to laugh at instead of our hair, makeup AND clothes!