I was never concerned about what clothes I wore as a child. Back in the late 60s thru the early 80s, ones mother always bought their clothes. We had little to no control over the garish styles, and luckily, only the photographs remain. I grew up in a middle class family, with an older sister and a younger brother. And with numerous cousins, one always had "hand-me-downs" and style wasn’t a concern of my parents. Only having clothing, regardless of how one looked in them. My mother was a housewife most of the time we were growing up, and she often would make our clothing from patterns. Whatever we wanted, she would make it (if the pattern was available, of course); and even if we didn’t want it. I recall these suit jackets she made for our Confirmation (or junior high graduation). Red plaid monstrosities. But that was the time of the leisure suits, full polyester discomfort and the most hideous colors a boy could ever wrap himself in. My leisure suit was a powder blue, which only heightened the effect of my obesity. Dress shirts were of polyester, and usually dark patterns. Easily flammable and very uncomfortable in the summer heat. We often were forced into these outfits for holiday and special occasion our folks would drag us to.

School “fashion” was quite simple back then. We weren’t allowed to wear shorts to school, only pants/jeans. That was the rules of the day. Who could forget the bell bottom jeans and corduroys? I actually liked them, I recall. T-shirts and sports jerseys were just coming into vogue (the ones sporting Logos, mostly rock concert T’s in high school) in the early eighties. But I still preferred the long sleeved button downs, which were easier to wear for a fat kid. Jogging shoes were becoming popular, no doubt spawned by the hit TV show “Starsky & Hutch.” Most of the boys either wore these or regular “brown shoes.” Shorts were only allowed in gym class in school (unless your were on a sports team). These were short shorts, usually worn with over-the-calf white athletic socks (although it was an even toss up between the knee socks and crew socks), which is a reversal of what’s popular today. Every year, the shorts get longer and the socks get shorter (although it has become avant-garde to were either cut off (just below the knee, breeches style) pants of longer shorts with knee socks lately). And boxer shorts were strictly ‘old man underwear” back then, and 99% of the boys in the small Midwestern town I lived in wore briefs. Outside of school, jeans and shorts were interchangeable with the seasons, and the styles are well depicted in movies from the time.

I always wanted to attend a private school, back in my schooldays. For in the Catholic High schools, the uniform was basically dress pants and shirt and tie. I have always disliked jeans and T-shirts, and thought it I would look better “dressed-up” (as long as it wasn’t polyester, of course). This was permitted in public school, of course, but you’d always get a comment like: “Why are you so dressed up?” It’s not as bad as it is today, though. When jeans are primarily the norm (a few preppy holdouts, and the sudden resurgence in Khaki pants; which brings up a point that African-American boys seem to be the fashion trend-setters of the 90s. Black youth were the first to show-off their boxers, to sport those wide-legged jeans before jumping into khaki pants and polo shirts -- worn extra long, mostly) but every year the fashions change, and I could imagine how many parents, or the teens themselves, go bankrupt with having to have the latest styles and names this year. But since the brushed Preppy look has come back, and the pseudo-breeches, and the insistence of Americans adopting a school uniform, all fashion old seems to be making a resurgence. And the polyester of today is called “silk-like” and is slightly less flammable.

All I can say to the boys of today is: wait until you look back and see how awful you looked! It happens to us all. Even when you think you looked "cool."
Author: Jeff Stadt

Last updated: June 12, 1998