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Ororo Munroe's avatar

I loved reading this. This felt like it should've been a scene from "Sixteen Candles." Or "Pretty in Pink." Or some other 80's film. LOL. I was reading this at work and nearly spat out my water when I read Esprit. And Benetton. Wow. Talk about blast from the past. LOL Fortunately, my mom didn't have to deal with that when I was that age. LOL. I hated buying clothes... for school or whatever (unlike my older sister). Still do. I only wanted books. And teen magazines (Hello Tiger Beat). I could've given two shits about fashion. Still do. LOL Fashionista I am not. I CAN tell you that I've been more conscious about where I buy them from and no longer buy clothes from the mall.

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Sandra Ann Miller's avatar

Ugh! Those years! My mother did everything in her power to keep me from having any labels -- not on moral or political grounds, just to be unhelpful in my social and fashion development. I never had Guess, but did squeak out a pair of Jordache. And I think Chemin de Fer. (That might've been elementary, though. The rainbow-seam-over-the-butt era). Of course she generously got me Gloria Vanderbilt jeans (which were then on sale at our Alpha Beta grocery store). Oh, the humanity. Thanks for the painful chuckles, Anna. xo

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Ororo Munroe's avatar

Alpha Beta! Holy shit! I remember hearing that name. Where did/do you live where you had one of those?

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Sandra Ann Miller's avatar

LOL. I grew up in Newhall, California (also known as "Santa Clarita") near Magic Mountain (it will never be Six Flags). One of my classmate's father was the manager there, so we even got a "field trip" and a tour. xo

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Ororo Munroe's avatar

Ok, just curious. LOL I was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ but spent 5.5 years in Reno, NV. I feel like that store was AZ.

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Sandra Ann Miller's avatar

I'm sure it peppered the Southwest. And maybe the Northwest. xo

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John G's avatar

Someone pointed out that your label was crooked? Holy christ we could be cruel back then. That age group... there's not much room for error. If there's a spectrum, I was on the other end (for fashion and comparable intelligence, mine being pretty low). As a third child and one of thirteen grandchildren, all clothes up until about age 10 were hand-me-downs (and the abuse those things took!) and then after that my mom bought me whatever was on sale at Marshall's. It was a perfect arrangement. I absolutely hate shopping. Around 15 or so I switched to pants and shorts bought at the army/navy store (I was particular about that... had to have those pockets) and my shirts were all the same black t-shirt with the name 'CABOT' on them. My dad worked there and brought home a box full of them from some corporate event. Even though I did actually change my shirt, no one knew because it looked like the exact same shirt every day. I didn't even have a hair style... just grab the clippers and be done with it. As you can probably imagine, I was a huge hit with the ladies. Who wouldn't want to date someone with a complete lack of style? I wish I could go back and actually appreciate the effort that people made.

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Kelly's avatar

Oh I feel this!!

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