1980s hair. The final frontier.
Being a failure at most everything in the 70s, especially the Farrah Fawcett look, I was more than happy to usher in the next decade with some hair styles that were a bit more "cutting edge". Of course, looking back on it now, it's completely dated and faintly ridiculous, but it was an awful lot of fun at the moment. Here are few, er, highlights.
With Jim, photo booth at the Jersey Shore, circa 1983. (I miss my Wayfarers!)
When we went to London in 1985, I blew a big chunk of my spending money on a haircut at Vidal Sassoon. Behold, The Porcupine!
Somewhere around 1982, I guess. I was cutting my own hair then.
Pretending to be tough. Hit me with your best shot!
That's my sister, Karen on the left, me in the middle, and my friend, Kathy, on the right. Is it a mushroom, or is it my hair?
This is probably as big as my hair ever got, circa 1984.
This next picture needs a little explanation.
Standing on the corner of Clifton and W. 117th one afternoon, waiting for a bus, I saw a short, pudgy, middle-aged man walk by. He did a double-take and made his way over to me. "Oh no! Freak!" I thought. "Have you ever done any modeling?", he asked. "Oh no! Serial killer!" I thought. But it turned out that he was the owner and head stylist of the salon right around the corner, and he invited me to come in and have a seat in his chair. His wife worked there too, so it was all on the up-and-up.
I ended up getting some amazing free haircuts. One of the ensuing photo sessions resulted in some shots that were used for newspapers ads, and they also hung in the window of the salon for awhile. Obviously, I never reached supermodel status, but I think I'm going to have this picture put on my tombstone, with the words, "Glory days. Yeah they'll pass you by, glory days. In the wink of a young girl's eye." These were definitely my glory days. It was all downhill from there.
The decade ended with a wedding and yet another "do". After that, my days of wild coiffures were over and the rest, as they say, is hairstory.
Bonus 80s Jim shot! Plus, a video we made just last weekend of the band he was in when we met - The Somatics!
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Comments
not suitable for headstone. consult the new pumped up Bruce.
Thanks Jeanette, glad you went down memory lane with us!
The first Nick Lowe of the OS 80's experience..
As to your 80s hair, well........ I've got 90s hair myself. I counted every one of them and there's 91 or 92 of them left, so definitely 90s.
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Kat, yes that's my wedding outfit, hat and all. I still have the dress. It would probably fit you. I know I'll never get into it again.
trig, the lips have held up pretty well after 30 years. Better than some of my other parts.
Julie, that haircut was really incredible. One of the best I've ever had.
Scarlett, I'm game if you are. I'll take some of these pics to my next appointment! (And you know, the hair products are so much better these days. We were using stuff like Dippity Doo and KY Jelly to try and make it stand up. It didn't work too well.)
Joan, thanks, that's very kind. I'd love to see some photos of you from back in the day.
Midwest, I lived for haircuts. It was all about the hair. And there's just something about photobooth pictures. So nostalgic.
Candace, maybe it was because I avoided the most extreme hairstyles of the day. No mohawks, no mullets, so maybe it's not quite as dated looking. I wish I could wear my hair that short again.
Sheila, I still have the hat somewhere. I really wish I could have worn a beret, but that probably wouldn't have gone with the dress. I just wasn't the veil type.
:-) / r
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bikepsychobabble, probably more Pat Benatar at that point. (I wasn't really very tough though!)
Wren, thanks! It was fun going through some old photos today. That's a lot of time that has gone by.
rita, thanks. I wish you could find your Wayfarers picture. Did we all have them?
Abrawang, I guess I was a little warm back then. But my, how time flies.
daisy jane, this has been fun. Thanks for the compliment. Like I said, a new haircut was always an opportunity for reinvention. I wish I could still be that daring. After all, it's only hair!
skypixie0, I'm glad you still have 90s hair! (And by the way, we haven't had enough guys participate in this open call.)
Margaret, never ever. But keep in mind, these photos were 30 years and (mumble mumble) pounds ago. No one would ever mistake me for Angelina these days!
toritto, hit me with your best shot!
fernsy, we are a good-looking bunch, aren't we? Better than average, I think. Thanks for stopping by.
Sheepy, I haven't shared the bad ones! (I loved my wedding dress. I had a friend who danced with the Cleveland Ballet, and she hooked me up with a couple of women who made their costumes, and I had them make my dress. The dress was knee length, and it had an overskirt that was mid-calf length. It was so pretty!)
lschmoopie, thanks! Why don't you post some pics too. I bet you were pretty cool back in the day.
scanner, you didn't miss a whole lot. I think the 50s and the 60s were probably a lot more interesting.
Fusun, thanks! It's a lot easier to look good when you're young and thin. (Was I ever that thin? Good lord.)
Songbird, there was certainly a lot of posing going on back then. But it was fun. We got to try on a lot of identities. And why didn't I think of egg whites! Genius!
greenheron, ouch, I feel your pain! And I have a feeling you were quite a bit of fun in the 80s as well.
bobbot, Stewie cannot have a mullet!
I Love Life, thank you. While I am still fortunate to have a thick head of hair, the ratio of salt in my "salt and pepper" is increasing by the minute, it seems. But, such is life. I guess I've earned them in the last 30 years.
Trudge, thank you dahling! As far as who is the lucky one, I know that it's really me!
Erica, I appreciate that. My sister is two years older than me, and my mom always kept her hair long and mine short. I guess I just always see myself as a short-haired person. It's never been past my shoulders. I just wouldn't even consider it.
Alysa, it's funny, when I see 80s movies or music videos, I think to myself, "I didn't look like that, did I?" And I think, for the most part, I didn't. I managed to avoid some of the craziest excesses. I'm just not a flamboyant person. Wore mostly black, few prints, if ever. I did go through a period where I wore a big bow tied in my hair, a la Madonna, but that was about as crazy as it got. So, thank you very much for noticing!
"Man, it's frightening from this altitude."
"What?" his partner asks.
"MPB."
"What?"
"Male Pattern Baldness."
And in conclusion, I want to thank everyone who came by and looked, laughed, rolled their eyes, rated and commented on this appallingly self-indulgent post.
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And thanks for thinking I look like Marlo Thomas. Quite a nice surprise to see designanator's post.