All my friends have one ….. (lighthearted)

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

Inspired by another thread, and being laid up on day 10 of a chesty virus which has put me on my arse, but feeling marginally better so…..

I’m in my 50s so completely out of the parenting / teen trend loop, but the thread about North Face coats took me right back to when I was about 14 and my Holy Grail was a pair of flat black patent ballet pumps with a bow…..

Oh how I begged and pleaded. My DM (rest her soul) was a stickler for rules and sensible footwear, and when we couldn’t get the right sort of sensible shoes one term she even took me to an “old lady” shoe shop for the most hideous pair of clunky T bar shoes I had ever seen…. Obviously very character building….. 🤣🙄

I remember my Step Dad came to pick me up from school when I was pursuing the patent pumps, and he gleefully reported he hadn’t seen anyone else wearing them so I was denied again…..

If memory serves my Nana saved the day in the end, causing minor friction, but I wore those shoes until they fell apart…..

So, back in the day, what was the thing that you absolutely had to have to win street cred among your peers?

I remember when "Eastern" was in fashion too and everything had Chinese or Japanese writing on or was "Eastern" styled so lots of satin brocade, high collars, cord buttons, sashes. I really wanted a red dress like this and I wasn't allowed.

I did get a paper jacket though during the brief period that paper clothes were a 'thing'. It was from Top Shop and was a similar material to those disposable waxed paper tablecloths with the very thin brushed fabric on the underside.

I wanted an fcuk top and wasn't allowed one. I was allowed some low rise hipster jeans but I wasn't allowed a whale-tail thong to wear with them.

I remember one winter the magazines decided brown was the new black so everything in the shops was varying shades of brown.

The 90s and early 00s were a weird time. I would go out clubbing in a slash-necked baby tee-shirt, a-line skirt with lace trim from Morgan, chunky black sandals, DNKY mini backpack, hair in bunches, body glitter, frosted eyeshadow, and glittery devil horns. If we were going to somewhere less bubblegum then we wore fishnet stockings, knee high boots, a pleather mini skirt, and a red vest with a black mesh tshirt over it. We thought we looked great

For me it was the colour changing t shirt, Doc Martins, and a tie dye shirt with bells on. I had all 3 of these. What I never had was jelly shoes (with a slight heal not the toddler ones) because for some reason I found it very difficult to get shoes as a child/teenager due to a high instep (so my mother said) but I never have that problem now. Patrick Cox loafers. Low rise jeans (I've always had a belly) any thing from Morgan, FCUK jeans, I also remember really really wanting a blue pinafore dress from my sisters catalogue, it unfortunately was a maternity one, so rightfully mum said no, but I'm sure if she had looked she would've found one for me. I was so sad.

Jelly shoes, my mum said no because they'd rub my feet. She eventually gave in and bought me some and much to my chagrin she was right, they were bloody torture 😂

Kickers shoes.

Benn sweatshirt with denim shirt under it.

Benetton!!!

A perm.

It was the 80's.

I rest my case, m'Lud.

Stuff I did get - puffball skirt, pixie boots, ra-ra skirt, doc Martin shoes, reversible Disney padded jumper. These were mainly courtesy of my uncle although my mum wasn't totally unpersuadable.

Hard Parental No - a perm - god how I longed for one with my poker straight, fine hair (basically I was born 2 decades too early), actual air Jordans (first time round) rather than the knock-offs from Dolci's, although no-one really had the real ones as not that sort of money in my school, Benetton bag, Benetton anything as mum said it was a rip off, grolsch bottle top shoes as apparently unsuitable for school due to alcohol associations.

Yes yes that way my mum too. Oh the shame of having square toed shoes from Clarks I lusted after a pair of kitten heeled, pointed toe, red with crinkled type material, my nana also bought those for me I wore them until they fell apart

Oh god I had a yellow one of those - my parents knicked it though and use it for their recycling

A CAT record bag. Well, a record bag but the CAT one was the pinnacle of cool.

Khaki bomber coats with a fur hood
Trainers with a flat, chunky sole
Jane Norman bags
School trousers that were tighter around your bum and flared out at the ankles
Converse
Love this kind of thread 😅

A Pepe jeans keyring was a crazy trend at my school in the 80's. I didn't even know where to buy such a trendy thing.

Belly button piercing. 🙄 When I was in year 7/8 half the girls in my year suddenly had them.
I’m glad my mum said no, it seems so young and I didn’t even want it once I was old enough!

Others included Patrick Cox shoes, Kookai bags (I had the pink one) and the Moschino jeans with the peace sign on the pocket (which I did get one Christmas, to be fair!).

Simon shirt
Green flash trainers
Denim platform mules
Full length cheesecloth dress like Mum's
1976

Girls fitted Ted Baker hoodie

For some reason I queued on Oxford Street for a pair of these. Maybe they were new in the Uk or the only place you could buy authentic ones. But I was thrilled with them. They were green and somehow had a purple tag instead of green. Whether this was trendy or just me being me, I've no idea. I did like to do things slightly differently whilst following a trend.

Arizona jacket. 2 people had it in reality.

In my mind, the whole universe had one

Kickers (I did get a pair) and a Kangol jacket (I did not get one)

It all comes back around though. My 12yr old wears tartan mini-skirts with a dress shirt and v-necked jumper in that preppy, Clueless style I remember wearing first time around. My teen has chunky platform boots. They both want Docs for Christmas. In the summer it was all strappy, nightie style dresses with little white t-shirts underneath. 12yr olds latest must-have outfit is a pair of super baggy combat pants and a cropped t-shirt, very All Saints/Gwen Stefani.

They laugh when I tell them that I used to dress like that.

I wanted Kickers but was forced to wear Polyvelts.. the most horrendous thing I'd ever seen in my life
Can admit now they were comfy but I really wanted the Kickers

Kickers school shoes.

Those who didn't have them were teased mercilessly! 😢

Luckily my mum was happy to get me them in the summer holidays before September. To be fair, it was the only thing I ever asked for and shoes always last me absolutely ages.

Lol. I've just googled Polyvelts. They are hideous. 😂

@MistyRock 100% my parents clearly hated me !!!! 🤣

Yes!!! Ugly as hell but everyone had them!

Oversized shirt, pencil skirt, oversized belt and stilettos. Then school banned stilettos because they ruined the cork floor in the library and then the ensemble no longer worked. Mum frowned upon high heels and the brief trend passed me by.

Pepsi and Shirley were my style icons.