Talk about totally random. I’m going to write about this ancient-history shirt that is probably one of my favorite items of clothing (and that’s saying a lot, because I have kind of a rota of faves that get more or less play depending on season, mood, and occasion).
Anyway, this top…well, it wasn’t mine to start with. It’s an awesome bias-cut stripey pullover top from my Mom that had probably been new circa 1974 that I nabbed in about 1993 and still use, because it’s indestructible, cute, and becoming.
I think this picture may have been from my first birthday. That looks like a one-year-old kid, doesn’t it? And the curly ribbon in the hair makes me think that presents were being unwrapped. If it is from then, it would have been in June of ’78.
When I was in highschool, I did a bunch of “closet-shopping” in my mom’s suitcase of old clothing she’d held on to because she liked it. Stuff from when she was in highschool or very early on in her married life. Stuff from the late 1960s and early 1970s that was my size and way more fun and interesting than what was in the shops in the early 1990s. That plus some other random vintage stuff from one of my aunts and one of my mom’s friends made the bulk of my heavy-rotation wardrobe when I was in highschool. It freaked out my classmates, because nobody was doing vintage in Hemingford at that time, and freaking out the squares was a pretty big hobby of mine back then. Plus, I just like old clothes – it’s a longtime addiction, obviously. Anyway, I liked the older styles, and I felt like it was pretty cool to wear stuff that my mom had worn at the same age. I think she was kind of glad to see it being used once again, too.
This one is definitely from May of 1995. I think this was the night of my highschool graduation and one of the unofficial after-parties. I know for sure that this was taken in Levi Bradis’s apartment, where there was a lot of band equipment and even more cockroaches. We used to catch them and put them in the freezer (god only knows why!)
The boy upon whose lap I was sitting was a buddy of mine, Justin. We weren’t dating nor had we any intentions of doing so AFAIK. That probably accounts for the vast, palpable awkwardness of this photo. That and the fact that we were 17, which is a world of awkward in and of itself. Anyway, we’d just graduated, we’d been being very hyper and stupid, and a couple of our friends convinced us to pose as you see us. I look sheepish, Jutt (as he was known) looks bershon.
2009 – still going strong!
This shirt is made of some sort of indestructible synthetic that doesn’t stain, wrinkle, or fade. I think the fashion industry stopped using fabrics like this because they’d go out of business – people would never need to replace their clothes, and shopaholics would end up creating the most godawful glut on the thrift/consignment market. Fashion thrives on quite a lot of planned obsolescence, so cheap, shoddy, flimsy fabrics and styles that will get super-dated, super-fast are of the essence. A top that can be worn in public as easily in 1978 as in 2009 is just Not Good For Business if your business is selling new clothes.
That is an awesome shirt!
I love me the vintage, and have for years. Great top!
Cute shirt.
Thanks for stopping by to see me.
Thanks!
I’m always happy to check out some new-to-me blogs. Yours is a total hoot.
Ducky, Planet, thanks! That top…good grief it is like the Energizer Bunny.
Love the palpable awkwardness in the picture—and I rocked about 13 of these fabulous synthetic shirts in the 90s. Love them. I used to steal them—I had a massive collection. I’m not embarassed.
And you’re so right, it’s great!
I still wear a few of those type of tops (as evidenced in this entry). I like to think that I keep my style up-to-date-ish by mixing newer pieces with my vintage.
And no longer wearing those hideous Union Bays!
Man, that picture just cracks me up. I was so embarrased when my friend Vanessa gave me that copy. She thought it was really awesome because back then she thought Justin was totally hot. I was still cringing from being peer-pressured into that dorkful pose. Heh. I think I still kind of am.