Jami,Fashion Victim

Now that Eddie's in preschool at our local high school, I often make use of the track while he's in class. It's so much easier than trying to find a reasonably flat route around my house and I love the springy-ness of the track. Anyway, because of that, when I dropped Eddie off the other day, I wore a jogging suit and a ponytail, no make-up. I pondered as I crossed the school campus how horrified I'd have been, looking 20 years into the future from the time I was starting 9th grade at that same school. I clearly remember the day I could not get over the fact that my mother planned to spend the whole day (in our own home) in a jogging suit. What if a BOY stopped by? What would he think when he saw her? (no, I never considered why a boy would be stopping by my very out of the way house on a Saturday morning, unannounced.) I remember moaning into the phone to a friend that even when I was old I wasn't going to dress like that. But there I strolled, dressed just like that. Of course, these days, even the cool kids dress like that. I'd've died a thousand deaths before leaving the house in my PJs, but now girls go to the store in the them, sometimes slippers, too. Track suits were for old people and the occasional mafia dude, now they are hip. Where's the effort? Sure, it's more comfortable and you can make a case that we looked a little ridiculous in the 80s, but we put work, thought, planning into looking that ridiculous. You didn't just throw your hair in a ponytail! You moussed it and teased it for 30 minutes, then coated it with a 1/4 inch shell of hairspray. You had to peg-roll your jeans, layer your socks and be sure all your collars were popped. You had to put on enough make-up to actually make your head heavier. You had to find earrings large enough for birds to perch on. It took time! It took effort! We looked totally awesome, and it showed. This goes double for rock stars. Take a look at Kanye West, Coldplay, the Jonas Brothers. These could be totally normal people you see walking down the street. Now, compare that to Poison, Motley Crue, and the Bangles. See the difference? There is no question these people are special. You can't always tell which are the men and which are the women,except when the men wear vests with no shirts underneath. And we're not even going to talk about Boy George or Flock of Seagulls. Conclusion? Fashion is silly, no matter what. But at least in the 80s, we worked at it.