Hey Parco! Ep. 3: Best of Gen-X – ‘Did We Really Wear That?’ Transcript
(Phone rings)
Hey Parco!
Hey Parco!
(Opening theme music plays)
Samantha: Hello friends! Welcome to Hey Parco! The mostly true adventures of two recovering Gen-X Valley Girls. I’m Samantha.
Ann: And I’m Ann, and we’re the Parcos! Today’s discussion in our continuing Best of Gen-X series is: “Did We Really Wear That?”
Samantha: Did we?
Ann: We did.
Samantha: Yeah, I have to confess. I have to confess. I did, in fact, wear Camp Beverly Hills sweatshirts with the necks cut out. Yes, with the necks completely cut out.
Ann: Okay. So number one, I do remember this and they were pink. They were pink Camp Beverly Hills t-shirts—sweatshirts. Right?
Samantha: Well, they came in pastel colors, including pink.
Ann: Pink. And mint green?
Samantha: Yes, yes. And yellow.
Ann: Uh-huh.
Samantha: Yup, yup, yup. I’m pretty sure, white, as well.
Ann: Yeah.
Samantha: Um, now you might ask: Samantha, how did you, of all people, buy Camp Beverly Hills sweatshirts? Well, I did not. I did not. I inherited them. They were hand-me-downs from my high school buddy. Um, of course she handed down things in very good condition, because she was constantly buying new clothes. So she always had to get rid of clothes and lucky for me, we could share clothes. We were the same size basically. And so, um, I would wear her hand-me-down Camp Beverly Hills sweatshirts, not only with the neck cut out because of Flashdance, right? Flashdance…
Ann: I have never seen that movie, by the way, I’ve never seen.
Samantha: What???
Ann: No.
Samantha: Are you sure you’re a member of my generation?
Ann: So, I mean, I do remember seeing her running in place really fast, and then the water hitting her, and her little Flashdance outfit. I mean, cause that’s what was always shown on the commercials.
Samantha: Yeah, and it was like featured a lot in the music videos.
Ann: Exactly. And I too cut out the necks of my shirts.
Samantha: Well, look at that. Didn’t even have to see Flashdance to do it. I mean for a very long time, I’m thinking like, well into the 90s, at least—I probably wasn’t still doing it, but I was still wearing the ones that had the necks cut-out.
Ann: Right, right.
Samantha: Because it was really comfortable. My understanding though, is that Camp Beverly Hills, because of this whole, like 1980s nostalgia thing that’s going on, um, in 2020, they relaunched.
Ann: What?
Samantha: Yeah.
Ann: Oh, god.
Samantha: So if only I still had all those sweatshirts. They’d probably be like vintage wear worth a bundle now or something.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Ann: I don’t know. Did you ever wear Topsiders with no socks?
Samantha: Absolutely not. No. That’s like preppy central. Not me. Absolutely not.
Ann: So I went to a Catholic girls school. We had, we had uniforms, right?
Samantha: Mm-hmm.
Ann: And when you were freshmen to junior, you had a choice of wearing saddle shoes.
Samantha: Yeah, that’s what I would expect with a Catholic girl outfit.
Ann: So that was your choice: saddle shoes. And I didn’t mind saddle shoes, because they were so vintage. You know what I mean? They weren’t, they were cool, because they were saddle shoes. So my senior year, the girls lobbied hard to be able to wear Topsiders with their uniform. Yes.
Samantha: What? I don’t even see how that goes.
Ann: Dark blue, Topsiders. You couldn’t have any of the, anything else, but blue Topsiders. You had the choice that you could have Penny Loafers. Do remember Penny loafers?
Samantha: Of course!
Ann: Okay. Yeah, but at that time I was kind of like Allie Sheedy in The Breakfast Club.
(Laughter)
Samantha: And, um, there was a lot of black eyeliner involved, I just want to say.
Ann: There was a lot of black eyeliner involved. And, and I really disliked the whole preppy thing.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: I told my mom. I said: “I am absolutely not wearing Topsiders. There is no way you’re going to get me into those Topsiders. I refuse to do it.”
And she’s like: “Well, how are you going to work around it?”
I said: “You’re going to take me to the doctor. Because I’ve broken my ankle so many times, we can use this, and get a doctor’s note, so I do not have to wear Topsiders.”
I had a pair of black suede shoes that I wore to school, because I got a doctor’s note, that had a zipper that started at the inner ankle and went all the way around the toes. They were very punk rock or poseur punk rock, whatever.
Samantha: For Catholic school girl, they were very punk rock.
Ann: They were very punk rock. And my principal was so angry that I had a doctor’s note that said: She must wear these shoes.
(laughter)
(lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: Did you never wear VANS?
Ann: I didn’t wear VANS, because VANS were so flat-footed, they hurt my feet. I did not wear VANS.
Samantha: Interesting, because they were like the most comfortable shoes ever for me. And I mean, I loved my VANS. I’m so not a trend follower, in general. And I had checkered VANS—
Ann: Did you have—I was going to say, did you have the checkered VANS?
Samantha: I did, I did. And, um, and, and then later I think it was, I got the white VANS, and then my buddy and I both made them into union jacks with like felt pens or whatever. And so those were kind of like my two pairs of shoes that I wore more than anything else in high school.
I mean, not everybody knows VANS, I guess. They are international, but like the canvas top and the thick rubber sole. And they were actually, I don’t know if you know this, but they were designed as skateboarder shoes.
Ann: Right.
Samantha: And I know you were a skateboarder in the day.
Ann: Uh-huh.
Samantha: Um, and did you know this though? Did you know that originally you could buy one shoe at a time? If one side wore out, because you were skateboarding.
Ann: Right. And did you know that you could get your own custom VANS? Like you could bring in the fabric and they would make the VANS for you?
Samantha: Oh, that’s so cool.
Ann: I knew someone who took in AstroTurf and made VANS out of AstroTurf.
(Laughter)
Samantha: Oh my god! And of course I remember Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli, in
“Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”
Jeff Spicoli from movie: I know that dude.
Samantha: Just want to mention: That was filmed at my high school the year before I started there. So, yeah. And so the checkered vans were like, you just had to have them, basically.
Ann: Exactly.
Samantha: Not that I was the kind of person who had to have what everybody had to have, but I had to have those, because I just loved them.
Ann: Can we flash forward to 2021?
Samantha: Oh no, what?
Ann: I was at a store, and I saw this young couple come in. I kid you not, the guy was wearing corduroy OP shorts, Hang 10 shirt…
Samantha: What’s the—?
Ann: Yes. And checkered VANS!
Samantha: Wow.
Ann: Yeah. Remember those Velcro wallets that all the boys had?
Samantha: Yes. (Laughing)
Ann: He had one of those!
Samantha: What’s going on with this guy?
Ann: It’s big! I mean, that is the vintage style!
Samantha: They can get their hands on all of these things?
Ann: Of course, on these vintage websites. You can buy a Hang 10 shirt for $75 vintage, 1981.
Samantha: That just makes me want to slap somebody, come on.
Ann: Right. Exactly. Exactly. And I really wanted to go up to him and say: “You’re missing the baby blue, unbreakable-handled comb that goes in the back pocket—
Samantha: The back pocket! And the feathered hair. I bet he didn’t have feathered hair.
Ann: He did not have feathered hair.
Samantha: It’s just completely unconvincing without feathered hair.
Ann: But the thing is, his hair texture would not have allowed it.
Samantha: Well, okay, that’s fair. Not everybody can feather. How about feathered hair with hydrogen peroxide tips?
Ann: Wasn’t that called frosting?
Samantha: Well, I mean, it was, you know, a very unofficial way of frosting. It was something you could just do at home in your bathroom, you know, when your mom’s not looking—
Ann: Well then, what was frosting?
Samantha: Well, frosting was something you would get done at the hairdressers.
Ann: Right, I know. But isn’t it just like bleaching?
Samantha: As far as I know.
Ann: And they were just calling it frosting?
Samantha: I don’t know.
Ann: It was it just like the term?
Samantha: I never got frosted, so I don’t really know.
Ann: I never got frosted either.
Samantha: I do remember a lot of people being frosted, but yeah, that was not a part of my life.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: Shall we talk about the fact that you were a Mod? You were—
Ann: You’re labeling me!
Samantha: You were a Mod in the 1980s! You were a Neo Mod.
Ann: Yeah, I was a Neo Mod.
Samantha: You didn’t have a Vespa, but you—
Ann: No, I wasn’t allowed to have a Vespa, but I rode on a lot of the back of Vespas.
Samantha: Right. But wait a minute here, okay?
Ann: What?
Samantha: How long exactly did your Mod period last? Because that was when we were going to different high schools. So I didn’t get to see like the beginning to the end kind of thing. It was just like something I would see in like snapshots. So how long, how long were you Modding? And also explain what a Mod is, please.
Ann: I don’t even know what a Mod is, anymore.
Samantha: What your best understanding was at the time.
Ann: Uh, so for me, it was all about the music. It was, you know, kind of British Invasion music. There was, um, there were some Neo Mod bands that came out in the late 70s, early 80s. One of which I absolutely loved and was fanatical about. And that band was The Jam.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: So The Jam was doing an in-store and I got to go. And I was wearing my little plaid, I guess you would call them, pedal pushers with a little bowling shirt. And I had all my pins on. I had Who pins and target pins and Union Jack pins and Jam pins and Cords pins. And you know, but you know, it’s interesting. I never wore a Beatle pin at that time.
Samantha: I did.
Ann: Oh, I know. I used to, believe me. I used to wear a Beatle pins, but when I would get into my…
Samantha: Mod mode?
Ann: I would not put on the Beatles. Isn’t that weird. That is weird!.
Samantha: Well, not really. When you think about like the king—like who do you think of as the king group of the Mods? That would be like The Who, right?
Ann: Absolutely.
Samantha: The Who were not really Beatles fans. So there was kind of a breakdown between the Beatle people and the Mods, I think to some degree.
Ann: Yes. Yes. I would say we were all secretly listening to the Beatles.
Samantha: Of course, you were, because you were all into British Invasion. So of course, you were but, but when you were in your gear, you couldn’t admit it.
Ann: No, and that’s what I hated about—this is what I hate about, like these sub genres…
Samantha: Right. Youth subculture.
Ann: Yeah. Oh, the amount of rules that you have to obey—
Samantha: Or you’re a poseur, you don’t want to be a poseur,
Ann: Or you’re a poseur, right! Same thing with the whole punk rock thing.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: So I would say that from 1981 to 1983…
Samantha: Okay.
Ann: Was when I was in that like whole Mod thing.
Samantha: So most of high school.
Ann: Most of high school. But by the time senior year came, I was so disgusted, because I have an arch nemesis and she was just so incredibly caustic. You know, constantly calling out the rules.
Samantha: Right, right, right.
Ann: You know what I mean?
Samantha: Yeah, I know
Ann: That I thought—I looked at it all and I said, this is absolutely—
Samantha: Right.
Ann: This is absolutely stupid. And, you know, and then I got more into like, you know, psychedelic stuff and definitely more darker, you know, Bauhaus and things like that.
So, I was in a Mod band, but we only played once, and we opened for The Question and The Untouchables. And we played two songs. My band mate walks off stage. We’re still, I’m still playing bass, the drummer is still going on. Then the drummer realizes this person isn’t coming back. And the next thing I know, I’m there—it’s like Spinal Tap—
Samantha: Oh no!
Ann: —where the pod, where the pod doesn’t open? And then it finally opens, and then he goes back into the pod?
(Laughter)
So I’m, I’m there. I’m still playing bass, and I look around. And there’s at least 50 to 100 people. And I finally go: (through PA system) “Well, this was great! Thanks everybody. Goodnight!” (Crickets chirp)
I get off. I put my bass in, and I look at a mutual friend. I said: “Where is so and so?” (Thunderclap)
(Bed of energetic rock music)
“Oh, he’s outside.”
I’m like: “Let me at him!”
So I go out there and there are two members of The Untouchables outside and they had seen what had happened. I see my, my buddy and I start charging him like:
“What the f-ing hell, you know, bloody blah, blah, blah!”
And the next thing, I’m running. But I realize I’m not going anywhere, because the two largest dudes of The Untouchables have grabbed me. And I’m just like, my feet are a foot off the ground and I’m just, I’m just running.
“Hey, little sister. Don’t do this! Don’t do this!”
So, yes, I was a Mod, but I hate labeling and putting myself in a little corner. Nobody puts baby in the corner.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: I remember seeing you during the high school years, one of our, you know, get togethers—we’d see each other periodically, not regularly, too regularly. Um, and you, my friend, were full-on Madonna. You had the lingerie, you had the conch belts, you were all lacy, you had a band in your hair. You were totally doing the Madonna.
Ann: I was doing the Madonna. And I wasn’t a big fan of Madonna.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: But, you know—and I also loved the Cindy Lauper look. So, you know, that whole—
Samantha: Like the tattered kind of look.
Ann: The tattered, the tattered vintage clothes with the ratted hair. I definitely, and that was when I was a senior in high school, was when that really started to take off. What I loved about that look was that anything goes. I could be as creative as I wanted. I didn’t have to follow the rules and labels of the whole Mod thing. Cause that was such, it was so oppressive. And I found being able to find my mom’s old 50s slips and put together this whole ensemble without rules was so refreshing.
I mean, I was definitely inspired by Madonna. I’m not, I’m not saying anything like that, but I was definitely inspired by Madonna and Cindy Lauper because I loved the fact that they were doing their own thing with their own rules. And I loved that.
Samantha: And you loved lingerie.
Ann: I did love lingerie!
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: Aside from Laura, Ashley, there was just generally a trend towards that kind of ultra feminine: poofy sleeves, lots of ruffles and flounces. And I remember having a blouse that I loved. It was like my fancy blouse, you know? In fact, I think I bought it to go to one of our friends’ Dad’s weddings. Does that make sense? Friends’ Dad’s wedding.
Ann: Was it the 6th wedding?
Samantha: It was one of those. It was a multi-marriage situation. I needed something to wear, so I bought this blouse. And I, I loved it for years. I loved this blouse. Um, like I had to wear a camisole underneath and it was like very sheer ivory. And it had the poofy sleeves and it had tiny little buttons that would button all the way up to my chin, basically —it would go all the way up.
Ann: Yeah! Yes. I love that.
Samantha: And that was just part, definitely part of that trend of that sort of ultra feminine, lots of light fabrics, lots of, you know, need for camisoles, that sort of stuff.
Ann: Yes, exactly! So I have to tell you, I worked at a small feminine boutique. My boss at the time, she was the buyer of most of the merchandise and she got these cotton, not quite stretchy, but sort of stretchy, what looked like thermal underwear.
Samantha: Oh my god!
Ann: And it was in every color. I had a pair of artichoke—artichoke and black.
Samantha: I do remember that!
Ann: Because basically, what those were, were the beginning of leggings. By the next year, they had become Lycra. So they were, they were like the leggings we know now.
Samantha. Okay. Who knew!
Ann: Do you-do you have leggings now?
Samantha: Of course I do. Are you kidding?
Ann: Yeah, I got like five pairs of leggings.
Samantha: Oh yeah.
Ann: It’s just now an important piece of the wardrobe.
Samantha: A foundational piece, a foundational garment. Shall we call it?
Ann: Yes. Yes.
Samantha: Which I think may be used to mean a corset, but today it means leggings.
Ann: It means leggings.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Ann: We used to buy really large sweaters, knitted sweaters.
Samantha: Yep.
Ann: And we would get them slightly wet—
Samantha: Or, actually, no, we wouldn’t put it in the dryer. That’s what it was. And we take it out of the washing machine and then yes—
Ann: And then stretch them out so that you had these gigantic sweaters things. So I always wore my sweater backwards because it had an opening and I wanted my back to be open and not my front.
Samantha: Right. Yes.
Ann: And it was a brown, dark brown sweater, and I would wear the avocado/artichoke-colored leggings.
Samantha: Yeah, I mean…you and I had, a collection of these sweaters and we shared them.
Ann: Yes, we did.
Samantha: And that just goes to show you how much we were stretching them out, because we don’t remotely wear the same size.
Ann: Right.
Samantha: These are just big for everybody. And so you could just wear them kind of almost like a dress, like a mini dress, kind of.
Ann: Exactly. And I can remember so many times where I’d say: “Hey Parco can you please pull this down a little bit more?” And I’d bend over and you’d be pulling.
Samantha: Oh yeah.
Ann: Oh my god.
Samantha: I remember it well. Because you couldn’t really do it by yourself. You couldn’t get it even all the way around, so you need some help. And when I say you, I mean us: we needed help.
Ann: Yes. I remember doing that for you too.
Samantha: Yeah, absolutely.
Ann: Ah, you’re the best Parco ever.
Samantha: No, no, you’re the best. We’re the best.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Ann: I have to say this before, before we go any further. I apologize to future generations for our use of AquaNet. For, I believe we put the hole in the ozone.
Samantha: Before we take that responsibility on, I just want to say that AquaNet was invented in the 1950s, okay?
Ann: Right, right.
Samantha: And it was introduced to me via my mother’s copious use of it on her big, blonde Bewitched helmet hair. She was not the only person who did the big, giant wall of hair for, you know, at least a couple of decades. So, I mean, there was ozone damage a-plenty before we came along. Just want to make that clear. We do not bear sole responsibility. We did, in fact, contribute to the problem.
Ann: Yes, we did.
Samantha: So we would, after we got out of the shower and had washed our hair or whatever, we take a blow dryer, turn your head upside down and just start blowing it and spray. Just spray the AquaNet when it’s wet, you spray it with AquaNet when it’s dry, and you tease it and you spray it with some more AquaNet and your hair becomes—
Ann: A complete and utter mess.
Samantha: Huge and impossible to run a brush through.
Ann: Right. And I would rat my hair out.
Samantha: Right. And then it was taking the front of the hair and pushing it back with a hairband and then pushing the hairband a little bit forward, so that it created a little wave of hair in the very front. That would then go under the hair band and then floof again behind the hair band.
Well, I did find some fun facts about AquaNet from Wikipedia. So…
Ann: Oh!
Samantha: Just in case you didn’t know this, I think it’s vitally important that you do.
Ann: Okay.
Samantha: Besides hairstyling, AquaNet has been put to many other uses. So as a fixative for charcoal or pastel artworks—
Ann: And also on dried floral things. I remember my mom’s friend using it on dry floral.
Samantha: Exactly, exactly..
Ann: It’s lacquer!
Samantha: It’s something not unlike lacquer, let’s put it that way. It was used by ballerinas to reduce the slipping of their point shoe ribbons. So to keep their point shoe ribbons in place.
Ann: Wow.
Samantha: They would like, so it’s basically like, yeah, gluing them on. And my favorite use of it would be as a propellant in potato cannons.
(Laughter)
That’s right. Propellant. In potato cannons.
Ann: Wow!
Samantha: Yeah. So this is what we used to breathe and ingest and absolutely encase our heads in, basically.
Ann: Yes, yes.
Samanthat: Yeah, the bigger, the crunchier, the crimpier, the better.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Ann: You know, what else I really remember from that time?
Samantha: Yes?
Ann: Um, and the usage of this started probably in 1980, when I first discovered it.
Samantha: Okay.
Ann: Which was…black eyeliner!
Samantha: Oh god, yes!
Ann: And lots of it.
Samantha: Oh yes.
Ann: And I can remember going to the beauty supply and you could buy black eyeliner for really cheap. But the only way it could be used was if you took a lighter to it.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: I can’t tell you how many times I slightly burnt my eyelids doing that. But by burning it, you really got a very thick, thick, thick, thick line—like a nice, wide line. And then I would go underneath and do really thick. And then I would do the tips. I do the tips of my, I don’t think I have worn eyeliner under my eye, or even in my eye— You know how you used to like pull your eye out?
Samantha: Yeah, we all used to put it in our waterline.
Ann: I haven’t, I haven’t done that in probably—oh, I don’t know—30 years, maybe.
Samantha: Right.
Ann: When I put on eyeliner—I do have black eyeliner—but I use it very sparingly.
Samantha: Yeah, but you have dark eyes and I think that works for you better than it works for me.
Ann: It works for me. It works for me. The one thing that I used to wear all the time, and I see pictures of myself now with this makeup trend and I’m like—
Samantha: Oh no!
Ann: —you look like a harsh floozy. Okay?
Samantha: Huh!
Ann: Iridescent blush and eye shadow.
Samantha: Iridescent blush?
Ann: So you would put the blush on and wherever you turned in the light, it would slightly change colors and was kind of glittery. And I thought that was so cool.
Samantha: No, that’s just like the, the like latent Bio-Queen in you. Who’s just, you know—wants to have glitter and fabulousness and, you know, that’s what it is.
Ann: I’d like to go back to Bio Queening.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: In, I would say, the late 80s, I started buying all my bras from Victoria’s Secret. And the truth is they were totally flimsy and cheap, and they needed frequent replacing, but I kept wearing that brand…probably until around 2000, when I was like: Okay, why am I, why do I keep buying these bras? I mean, they were very pretty and they were kind of sexy, and they had a nice front clasp that you could, you know, use strategically, shall we say?
Ann: With great aplomb.
Samantha: Yes. Theatrically, shall we say? So, um, yeah, I mean, I really liked them. But honestly, my favorite item from Victoria’s Secret was my Victorian nightdress. It was this super, super soft, thin cotton. It was ivory and it had ruffles and flounce. And I mean, I loved that thing. It had poofy sleeves and what was supposed to be, you know, like a Victoria nightdress, so you can imagine what looked like—it just wasn’t that long. It was just below the knee. And I know that over time—
Ann: I remember seeing that in the catalog!
Samantha: You should remember seeing it on me, because when I-I mean, I bought one, it lasted a long time and then I replaced it. And I still, yeah, probably like til 2000 or something is when that finally gave in. But I, I loved that nightdress. It was so comfortable. It was pretty, it was feminine without being too much. It was a good one.
Ann: Yeah.
Samantha: Did you buy from Victoria’s Secret?
Ann: Um, on occasions I bought for—I did not buy the bras from Victoria’s Secret—but I did buy office attire. I would buy like the sexy little suit.
Samantha: Oh, okay.
Ann: Yeah. Well, yeah. Got to keep your game on, right?
Samantha: Okay.
Ann: Um, but I found that it was, I found that it was like really cheaply constructed.
Samantha: This is what I’m saying. The truth is, it was really cheap stuff that they were making.
Ann: It was very cheap and very expensive.
Samantha: They put all their money into marketing and none of it into the product. That’s what it boils down to.
Ann: Right. Exactly. And it seems like lately all they are doing is putting the money into big, giant feathers for wings.
(Lively Jazz music)
Samantha: I would wear these princess-seamed dresses. That was probably my number one thing. I had a whole collection of these kind of cotton blend, princess-seamed, long dresses. And I would wear them with a blazer over them, if I wanted to dress it up a little bit more. Without a blazer, you know, when it was more casual. I could wear them with boots. I could wear them with flats. They were very, and I had a, a bunch of different colors. So black was my favorite. I had, you know, charcoal and forest green and I, you know, I had all the right ones too. So that was one of my favorite things. And I was just, I didn’t really wear trousers at all. I wore skirts and dresses all the time. Basically for the whole of the 90s.
Ann: There was only one moment where I wore a suit with, with matching pleated shorts.
Samantha: Oh! Did you?
Ann: One of the creative people gave me some of her suits, and one of the suits was this navy blue suit with shorts.
Samantha: Well, we all have our moments. I did once upon time have Palazzo pants; and not just Palazzo pants, but a Palazzo pant jumpsuit!
Ann: Oh, I did too! I loved mine. It was from Anne Taylor!
Samantha: I don’t even know where—I wouldn’t remember. This was during my New York years. All I know is I was dressed just like Elaine Benes from Seinfeld. She had the exact same jumpsuit. I did not buy it because she had it. I had it. And then I saw her wear it and I was: “Oh, my God. I totally have that Palazzo pants jumpsuit. I can’t believe it. I’m totally Elaine Benes. I have big curly hair and I wear blazers and Palazzo pants.”
Ann: Yeah, you were, you were wearing the apropos style in the 90s.
Samantha: I didn’t know, it just happened.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Ann: So one of, one of the things that I, I used to wear a lot was princess-seamed dresses—
Samantha: You too!
Ann: —in flowy materials. But there were these little clips that you put on your back.
Samantha: Yes!
Ann: Right? So you can tailor your dress. I loved them. As a matter of fact, I went to a thrift store a couple months ago and I found one of those. Nobody knew what they were. I knew exactly what it was.
Samantha: Nobody knew what it was. Oh!
Ann: Nobody knew. They didn’t understand. They didn’t understand what the purpose of this thing was.
Samantha: Well, explain it then, because then that means a lot of people out there wouldn’t know about these clips either.
Ann: You would have maybe, let’s say an inch, an inch to two-inch—I’m trying to—a band! A band that was only about, only about five inches long. Okay? And on the, on either side where these little clips: there were three little pieces. You lifted up these decorative pieces, which would expose the alligator clip kind of thing. Then you would snap it down, so that it would secure to your dress. And the whole reason to wear this was to cinch up the back of your dress and accentuate your waist more and also create this like flowy, almost semi-bustle effect on your backside.
Samantha: Okay, I just want to point out, it didn’t have to be with dresses. Because I used them with my blazers, as well.
Ann: Oh god, yes!
Samantha: Like if I had my, I had my blazer buttoned up, then you could put it on the back of it, and now it would conform to the shape of your body, rather than just hang straight.
Ann: I would buy men’s blazers from the thrift stores and use those clips.
Samantha: Yeah.
Ann: And, you know, roll up the sleeves and then I’d roll up, you know, whatever under thing.
Samantha: Yeah. When I was at my thinnest, I would actually wear like catsuits, um, kind of thing—or unitards whatever you want to call them—with the blazer and that kind of a clip at the back. And it was a very sleek, streamlined look. Great with flats or boots or something like that.
Ann: Yeah, I would do the same.
Samantha: Yeah.
Ann: But I would wear my chunky-heeled kind of platform, loafer shoes. And it was a fabulous look. I am surprised—it’s only a matter of time. It’s only a matter of time that those little waists clips come back.
(Lively Jazz music)
Samantha: I’ve tried to move away from black over the years and insert more color into my wardrobe.
Ann: How’s that going for you?
Samantha: Well, that sweet siren just keeps luring me back. Nothing looks as good as it looks in black. It’s like, oh, that blouse is beautiful or that coat or those shoes; but when they’re in black, I just like them more. What can I say? I just like them more.
Ann: Trying so hard not to wear a black all the time. And it is very difficult. You know, I, I finally bought like a blue sleeveless top thing to go with this blue kind of skirt thing. And I’m wearing blue. I’m wearing blue.
Samantha: Right. It’s like, it’s like, that’s like your methadone to the heroin of black.
(Lively Jazz music plays)
Samantha: I wore jeans a little bit living in New England, but it was after I moved to Europe that they became more of a staple of stuff that I’ll wear—that I actually wear jeans on a regular basis. So I’ve lived in Germany and I’ve lived in England and I live in Germany again, and I’ve always walked so much living in these places. It’s just so much more a part of your lifestyle.
Ann: Right.
Samantha: So I need like good, proper walking shoes. I did so much damage with those stupid pointy shoes in the 80s.
Ann: Oh my god, I did too!
Samantha: My feet are screwed. And so I really have to try to take care of them now, if I want to keep walking. And so jeans just make more sense, because I can always wear like good walking shoes or tennis shoes or something with them. So, that’s become—is it my style? I don’t know, but it’s my practical choice.
Ann: Right. It’s funny how the older you get, you become a little more practical.
Samantha: Yeah.
Ann: I really do wish that I could wear high heels once in a while. I can’t. I have to wear wedges. Wedgies?
Samantha: Wedges. Exactly. I can wear wedges too.
Ann: Yeah. Do you remember the commercial with the nuns wearing the pumps: Easy Spirit?
Samantha: I remember Easy Spirit. I don’t remember that exact commercial, no.
Ann: So there’s all these nuns playing basketball in Easy Spirits. And the song was like: (singing) “Looks like a pump, feels like a sneaker.” And maybe it’s time for me to look at Easy Spirits.
Samantha: Is it time for Easy Spirit, already?
Ann: I think it might be.
Samantha: I love you, Parco.
Ann: I love you so much, Parco.
Samantha: I’m glad we get to age together.
(Lively end theme music plays)
Samantha: We’d love to hear about your favorite Gen-X fashion hits and misses. You can contact us on our website: heyparco.com. There you’ll find links to our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, along with images and info related to this and other episodes of Hey Parco.
Thanks for joining us! And we’ll see you next time.