Teenage You

[NorthernLiner]

What were you like as a teenager?
Did you embrace any of the numerous fashion trends of the time?
I was a teenager in the 80s and a bit of a nerdy swot but of course I thought I was the dog’s danglies.
I had jelly shoes AND bag, which was lined with a carrier bag 🤣
I remember wearing colours like turquoise, lemon, fuchsia and aqua, the likes of which have never been seen since.
My sister and I spent hours poring over clothes from catalogues (Kays, Freemans, Grattan) which were the weightier than a small child. These catalogues were part of a club, ran by my friend’s Grandad across the road.
We wore plastic earrings which resembled shower curtain rings, and turned our ears septic but we were cool, dammit!

Tell me about your fond (or otherwise) memories of your teenage years!

Hi OP - I was also an 80s teenager and embraced quite a few of the fashions of the time.

I had the Lady Di frilly blouse and knickerbockers, a ra-ra skirt (white background with blue, pink and yellow stripes). Later on I had the perm, back-combed to death and held in place with mousse and tons of lacquer 😂- all this while still at school. I had the glittery eyeshadow, blue eyeliner and the mix of pink/blue eyeshadow.

Weirdly I hated shoulder pads so would try to avoid the massive bricks that got put into everything as I'm broad shouldered.

Left school mid-80s and started buying my own clothes. Next was a game-changer and the Next Directory was my bible. We also had the Littlewoods catalogue at home.

I was really skinny and flat chested and I was a late bloomer. Nobody really fancied me at school but I started blossoming into my looks at around 18. I'd moved into the bodycon styles and had great legs so lots of shorter dresses. Elle and Vogue were my bibles back then, as was watching the Clothes Show.

I have very fond memories of 80s/early 90s fashions. It seemed more fun and experimental, so thanks for bringing back some mainly happy memories😃

I was an 80's child too.
White jelly bag with matching shoes with a Kwik Save carrier bag or a Leo's bag inside.
Red rara skirt which I wore with a white woolly tshirt. Had stone washed jeans with white piping down the side.

Laughing at knicker bockers mine were velvet with a matching waistcoat and the frilly blouse. Used to wear that outside skating in a local club

I loved fashion as a child. But by the time I got to secondary school age I just wore whatever made me invisible. My school cardigan was a size 20, the biggest the shop sold. My body was probably a size 10. I was swamped, but at least it hid my body shape, and reduced the bullying by making me totally asexual.

Also it seems shocking now to think of a child who only has one school cardigan to wear every day… that never really occurred to me until just now.

@Rockandrollfangirl Mine were black cord and also had the little waistcoat 😊

@Sugarcoatt sending you 💐. I’m sorry you had a tough time of it. I hope things are better for you now x

@Sagittariusrising
@Rockandrollfangirl

I feel robbed I somehow bypassed the knickerbocker rage!
I do remember the Princess Di obsession, my elder sister had the haircut and she wore similar maternity dresses - turquoise chiffon with massive white pussycat bows.
Oh, she was actually pregnant too, not just wearing them to emulate Princess Di 😂

I wore my roller boots (not blades) everywhere I could, and I remember getting the wheels caught in one of those white coated wire racks, filled with newspapers that hung on the doors of our newsagents.

A lot of hand knitted cardigans featured too.

I was a teenager in the 80s and remember wearing leg warmers to school held up with elastic bands. Also spent hours flicking my fringe and setting it with Harmony hairspray. I had a Milletts army bag for school which was covered in graffitti and on weekends I would sew my own rah rah dresses and acessorise with a hat and a wicker case from Habitat as a handbag. Last night I went to the vets in my gardening crocs so fashion has fallen down my list of priorities 😆

I think I needed some help as a teenager and never really got it but it's fine.

Odd years for me because I had to go to school and was dragged by circumstances. I remember waiting for the train to arrive in a small village and it makes me sick to the core.

I was a teenager in the 1970s, so for much of the time wore wide flares and massive platform shoes. My mother didn't want to spend money on fashionable clothes for us. She used to go to sales at M&S and find things that she tried to convince us were "all the rage". I didn't know much about fashion, but I knew they weren't!

I only had one pair of jeans which I wore every time I went out. One year (perhaps around 1974 or 1975) everything was either bottle green or dark brown. I hated both.

In 1976 I had a part time job so things looked up a bit as I had more mo et to spend on clothes. I often wore a tartan scarf round my wrist because I was a Bay City Rollers fan. A couple of years later my favourite outfit was a 3-tiered skirt with a slightly longer petticoat underneath.

In either 1977 or 1978, I had a big shaggy perm. It looked awful at the beginning but was great when it had grown out a bit.

@Fifthtimelucky I also loved the Rollers and had a tartan scarf. I think Les McKeown was my first crush 😬when I was about 7-8 years old.

80s teen here. I loved the pastel Indian cotton blouses and skirts. Tops with bands across the shoulders. Frankie Say T-shirts. Long black body con skirts with a fuchsia pink or electric blue blouse and a big wide belt. Batwing sleeves. Ripped jeans. Denim jackets. Army surplus bags for school that we bleached, then drew all over. And being about a size 6-8 and looking fab in all of them.

My favourites were Woody and Eric!

I watched a documentary on them a few months ago. It was extremely depressing. I had no idea there had been so much abuse and exploitation.