Remember that time I was a top model? Well, at least within the walls of my bedroom, circa 1984.
This was a time when one of my favorite pastimes was taking dumb photos and waiting with crazy anticipation for the roll of film to get developed from my little Kodak camera. My friend Brandy was with me - and there are photos of her photo shoot as well - but I will spare her the embarrassment. I admire the creative fashion choices here: Lacoste long-sleeved polo, cheap plastic Wayfarer-style sunglasses, handmade cheerleading skirt, coordinating bandanas laid in my hair, docksider shoes (Sebago maybe?) I think my jeans were dark blue Zena’s. Oh, and let’s not forget extra bandanas for good measure around my waist and neck.
Yes, it’s ridiculous. And not sure what JCPenney catalog I had copied that pose from. However, I love this picture for other reasons, as it is a veritable treasure chest of 80’s memorabilia. The blue carpeting. The cutesy vanity table where I kept my Love’s Baby Soft perfume, Cover Girl nail polishes, a variety of Lipsmackers, and maybe a few rogue cosmetics that I hid from my mom. (I wasn’t quite allowed to wear make-up at this point). I had to zoom in to see that the sticker on the mirror said, “I Love Stickers”. Now THAT was very true. I was obsessed with stickers, especially the “name brand” kind like Sandy Lion and Lisa Frank. I even subscribed to a magazine called Stickers and Stuff, which introduced me to the concept of pen pals. I immediately got several pen pals, but two of them stuck for quite a while: Esme from Southern California, and Crystal from Virginia. I wonder where they are now …
But back to the stickers. The 80’s wasn’t just about stickers, but all the other fun stuff that came with them. Where there were stickers, there were smelly erasers and pens and pencils and stationery and all the fun things I found in a store called “The Schoolhouse” in my hometown. This was catered toward teachers, but pre-teen girls were probably their next best customers. Oh, to visit that store again and buy a cool rainbow eraser that twisted up and smelled like berries!
Upon further reflection, this photo is very indicative of everything sixth grade encapsulated: straddling childhood and adolescence, dipping a toe into each world. I was still enough of a kid to play dress-up and strike silly poses, but I was also crushing hard on Kevin Bacon in Footloose. (Oh, how I loved that poster!) Even the rest of the decor in my room seems to suggest that I hadn’t quite crossed over to pure adolescence yet; a Holly Hobby wall hanging, a little lamp that I had in my nursery, a doll on the bed.
You can feel the silliness dripping from this photo. No cell phones, no internet, no social media. Just pure fun, goofiness, and imagination.