My Checkered Past
Before there was Vel, before the uber long bleach blonde hair, before the shocking pink streaks, before the pink bedroom, the purple living room, before Sock Dreams (gasp!!) ….. There was the 80’s and there were the funky checkerboards.
A little shaved area of my head (that later became a whole shaved side) made a cool canvas for bleaching on a taxicab checkerboard design. Getting it done was an event, and my good friend (with a steady hand and a six pack of beer) was always willing to oblige turning funky ideas into reality (below you can see how she used to draw it on with eyeliner before painting on the bleach). My room even had checkerboards (the row surrounding the room was made by cutting electrical tape into 1″ squares). I can’t believe I still have these pictures… And I can’t believe how I just tore my living room apart to find them ;OP
When I first saw these Checkered arm warmers I was transported back to the days of my checkerboard head and my little room… I absolutely would have worn these to death back then. They are so totally truly 80’s it just floors me. These days you see so many 80’s “retro” items, but with most of them, well… Fact is… If they had been for sale back then they just wouldn’t have sold. These would have sold out.
These make me wanna put on big black and white dangly geometric earrings (next to three pairs of vintage rhinestones of course) and tease my hair into spikes with a can of aquanet… I wanna put on two dozen O ring bracelets, black lipstick and listen to echo and the bunnymen while I’m getting ready for a night out at Danceteria.
They feel great on, and have good stretch for larger arms making it just beyond my elbow in length (yet they will roll down to the elbow joint just a bit). I do wish that they had just a tad more hand coverage, and that the little thumb area matched the rest of the warmer a bit better (most won’t even notice that, I’m just being picky). My favorite thing about these is that the checkerboard is made with rows of black and white stripes sewn together lengthwise… So much nicer than the whole thing just being printed on.
The Checkerboard arm warmers are just so much fun… And if you’re not old enough to share my trip down memory lane here, just put these cuties on and make some new ones. You can’t help but have fun with them on your arms :O)
February 23rd, 2006 at 12:59 am
ditto that taubynn~ thanks for the trip down memory lane. i loved the accessories durning the 80’s. i had this big stud earring in one ear with a fabulously long lace dangly in the other, worn with my checkered shoes, denim jacket, crinolin skirt and partially shaved head! who i thougth i looked hot….of course i still wear most of it…except the partially shaved head :-)
February 19th, 2006 at 9:20 pm
fun times!
…have you guys listened to radio nigel? it’s all we’ve been listening to at work lately. It’s funny how we’ll hear a song for the first time in like 20 years (or more) and yet still remember the words and the beat so well, and then I think, wow, these guys are really old now ~;)
February 24th, 2006 at 7:16 am
Over the knee socks are NEVER going out of style here ~:)
February 24th, 2006 at 9:41 am
And this is one of the very many reasons why I love you :o)
February 23rd, 2006 at 11:59 am
I had the partially shaved head back then and went ahead and did both sides several years back when I quit working for Trader Joe’s, it was a little 30-somehthing rebellion period for me, but I really liked it, a nice long dark blue mohawk that i usually wore back in a sleek ponytail ~:)
February 21st, 2006 at 11:35 pm
I love you EG forever and always….and you are so absolutely beautiful…this is the best post!!!!!
February 20th, 2006 at 6:20 pm
Nigel can be slow sometimes, but I use winamp and have little trouble most times.
Ooooh, I had some of those scrunch ankle boots! well, mine were white, and there was boot jewelry…
and I had forgotten about the belts! damn, didn’t boy george & annie lenox screw with our perspective on sexuality? ..wait, do I like boys who look like girls or girls who look like boys? and if I like them both am I really as evil as my gramma says “those people” are ~;)
February 20th, 2006 at 4:48 am
lol, my fave piece was this huge american flag shirt, it was like a sweatshirt, but the edges were raw and it was cropped with no hem at the waist or the arms. the ENTIRE thing was a flag, not just a pic on the front…it fell off of one shoulder all the time and i LOVED that. my mom hated it, and one day she made it disappear. ;)
February 20th, 2006 at 3:47 am
my favourite clothing item from the 80s was my electric blue and white bathing suit, I never took it off! … mind you I was probably about 4 years old lol
February 19th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
wow EG I have a whole nother level of love for you & your style! :) I started college in the 80s *cough cough* so, yea, I had a GREAT time then. ;) My age? I am 28 in rock n’ roll years. Boo-yah!
February 19th, 2006 at 3:57 pm
oh and… just to give you the whole effect… there were black lights in the wall sconces. So when I was entertaining, the room glowed blue checkers in the black light… ahhhh the parties I had in that apartment. sigh. Funny to note though… even then I was always searching for OTK socks in desparation (ones that were long enough were so hard to come by). Wish I had sock dreams then.
February 19th, 2006 at 11:02 am
I have the checkered thigh highs (more like slightly otk on me) and they remind me more of going to the races when I was little with my cousins and our dads. I was born in the 80’s but was too young for the style except for some fuky stretch pants I wore into the mid 90’s.