The 1980's in Stranger Things: All 80's References and What It's Gotten Right

[libgirl2]

36 minutes ago, Cowgirl said:

Bummer, I don't think we had any Units stores in Wyoming.  It figures.  We never had the cool stuff! 

Don't forget about Jellies shoes for girls. 

Yes! I had several pair. They were not comfortable either! 

[Cowgirl]

1 hour ago, libgirl2 said:

Yes! I had several pair. They were not comfortable either! 

You're so right!  They were comfy when you'd first put them on.  Then, when you tried to walk, they were a trip hazard! They would go flying off your feet at inopportune moments. 

[kieyra]

As an aside, GLOW is another Netflix show set in the 1980s with a lot of fun fashion and other 80s shenanigans. And a great soundtrack. Season 3 starting soon. (Other than 1980s and Netflix it has just about nothing in common with Stranger Things, but if you like Alison Brie or any of Jenji Kohan’s shows, you should check it out.)

It’s set in LA, so the hair is much, much bigger, and things like AIDS are addressed. (That said, it’s a 30 minute dramedy. Leaning more comedy.)

Edited July 23, 2019 by kieyra

[bunnyblue]

On 7/22/2019 at 8:37 AM, Cowgirl said:

Don't forget about Jellies shoes for girls

I LOVED jelly shoes despite the fact that they weren't as comfortable as the name leads you to believe. My favorite style was the ballet flats. By the late 80's I must have owned every conceivable color. In S4, I would like to see one of the girls wearing jelly shoes, though I don't think they are quite Max's or El's style. 

[Taryn74]

15 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

I LOVED jelly shoes despite the fact that they weren't as comfortable as the name leads you to believe. 

Ha ha ha, they really were not.

16 minutes ago, bunnyblue said:

By the late 80's I must have owned every conceivable color.

Man, I remember when I got my first ones that were more than just the basic glossy black.  I think they were kind of an iridescent turquoise?  I thought I was STYLING.

[Robert Lynch]

On 7/23/2019 at 7:25 PM, Taryn74 said:

Ha ha ha, they really were not.

Man, I remember when I got my first ones that were more than just the basic glossy black.  I think they were kind of an iridescent turquoise?  I thought I was STYLING.

The 80s were an interesting time period. I know from 1980-1982, people were still wearing late 70s fashion. I think there is a lot of misconceptions about the era itself. People who are born in the 90s probably thought the era was all colors. However, films like Caddyshack or Fame could say it was not that colorful. I personally think 1983 or 1984 was the transitional period when artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson did something incrediblely new with the fashion trends. And many 70s artists were following that trend as well. I think 1985 was the year it found its 80s style that we know now. Big hair, jelly shoes, feathered hair, colorful fashion, etc. It just seem an interesting decade to me.

Edited July 25, 2019 by Robert Lynch

[LBS]

Does anyone know what the "Toddfather" license plate is in reference to?  I swear it is on the tip of my brain but I can't complete the memory of what movie/TV show.  For some reason, I keep on thinking "Goonies" and the rich kids/dads but when I google I can't find it. 

[kieyra]

9 hours ago, Robert Lynch said:

However, films like Caddyshack or Fame could say it was not that colorful. I personally think 1983 or 1984 was the transitional period when artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson did something incredible new with the fashion trends.

My brain pinged Fame as the late 70s. IMDB says 1980, so yeah, right there on the edge. 

The “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” video is linked for me with the advent of the neon look. Wikipedia says that’s summer 1984, which jibes with my memory. Of course, I was a kid on the US east coast, so it probably hit Europe first. 

Edited July 25, 2019 by kieyra

[Night Cheese]

4 hours ago, LBS said:

Does anyone know what the "Toddfather" license plate is in reference to?

I thought it was a play on the Godfather movies. 

[strippedhalo]

14 hours ago, LBS said:

For some reason, I keep on thinking "Goonies" and the rich kids/dads but when I google I can't find it. 

The rich kid in Goonies is named Troy, and his father is Mr. Perkins. I don't remember Troy having a vanity license plate. (I thought it was SO COOL, but I was getting Troy confused with the rich kid in Adventures in Babysitting.) I think Night Cheese is right and it's simply a play on the Godfather.

[festivus]

I had a pair of jellies in black. Not very comfortable. Those dresses that Nancy wore were spot on for something you would wear to work. The high waisted pants the girls were wearing seemed weird to me though. They felt later 80s to me. In 1985 we were still wearing the Jordache jeans so tight you had to lay down to zip them. The higher waisted stuff came later but I think we probably were a bit behind here in the south. From about 1987 on it was all about L.A. Gear and Bongo.

[Cowgirl]

One trend that never got to my rural western state was designer jeans.  All the other 80s trends made it here, but not that one.  Probably nowhere to buy them, first of all, and too much money to spend. 

I thought Nancy's wardrobe was spot-on too, but the hair was wrong. It wasn't feathered -- it just had old lady curls. I thought it looked weird. I know Nancy was probably trying to look older for her job, but no girl that age (which I was!) would have been caught dead with what we called "poop curls."  Those were curls that weren't combed out into feathering, and which were kind of just left to hang, or sit there, looking like tubes.  

[jojo3couleurs]

37 minutes ago, Cowgirl said:

One trend that never got to my rural western state was designer jeans.  All the other 80s trends made it here, but not that one.  Probably nowhere to buy them, first of all, and too much money to spend. 

I thought Nancy's wardrobe was spot-on too, but the hair was wrong. It wasn't feathered -- it just had old lady curls. I thought it looked weird. I know Nancy was probably trying to look older for her job, but no girl that age (which I was!) would have been caught dead with what we called "poop curls."  Those were curls that weren't combed out into feathering, and which were kind of just left to hang, or sit there, looking like tubes.  

well, I just LOVED her banana-clip!!!

[Taryn74]

2 hours ago, jojo3couleurs said:

well, I just LOVED her banana-clip!!!

Banana clips!  Another really uncomfortable product of the 80's (unless you had the perfect sized/shaped head so that it didn't pinch or dig into your skull on each end) which, regardless, EVERYone wore.

Sometimes I really wonder what were we thinking?  😕

[jojo3couleurs]

I had too much hair to fit in a banana clip, could never hold it in place!

[Robert Lynch]

9 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

One trend that never got to my rural western state was designer jeans.  All the other 80s trends made it here, but not that one.  Probably nowhere to buy them, first of all, and too much money to spend. 

I thought Nancy's wardrobe was spot-on too, but the hair was wrong. It wasn't feathered -- it just had old lady curls. I thought it looked weird. I know Nancy was probably trying to look older for her job, but no girl that age (which I was!) would have been caught dead with what we called "poop curls."  Those were curls that weren't combed out into feathering, and which were kind of just left to hang, or sit there, looking like tubes.  

I did not like Natalie Dyer's hairdo this season. It looked too limp and damp looking. They should have given her the Jennifer Grey treatment. That hairstyle aged her horribly.

Edited August 1, 2019 by Robert Lynch

[Cowgirl]

I still have my banana clip from the 80's!  (I don't wear it, just for the record!)  I have my hair crimper too, which I bought just as the trend was going out and I didn't get to use very much. 

I somehow missed the fact Nancy wore one.  Was it in a specific scene, or all throughout?  

Remember the side combs too?  That was more from the early 80's.  I still have a pair of those too. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by Cowgirl

[Taryn74]

45 minutes ago, Cowgirl said:

I have my hair crimper too, which I bought just as the trend was going out and I didn't get to use very much. 

Remember the side combs too?  That was more from the early 80's.  I still have a pair of those too. 

Crimped hair....oh boy LOL....the first time I ever saw crimped hair was when a girl moved to my small town and she had her hair crimped.  I honest to goodness thought she had somehow accordion-folded all of her hair in these teeny tiny folds to make it look like that.  (Have I mentioned I was a dork in the 80's?  LOL)

Side combs - yep!  I was too young in the late 70's/early 80's to use them much but I definitely remember them.  And the barrettes with ribbons!  And beads on the end!  Oh my geez I loved them.

This show is such a fabulous walk down memory lane.

[libgirl2]

9 minutes ago, Taryn74 said:

Crimped hair....oh boy LOL....the first time I ever saw crimped hair was when a girl moved to my small town and she had her hair crimped.  I honest to goodness thought she had somehow accordion-folded all of her hair in these teeny tiny folds to make it look like that.  (Have I mentioned I was a dork in the 80's?  LOL)

Side combs - yep!  I was too young in the late 70's/early 80's to use them much but I definitely remember them.  And the barrettes with ribbons!  And beads on the end!  Oh my geez I loved them.

This show is such a fabulous walk down memory lane.

I had a curling iron for crimped hair. As for side combs or barrettes with ribbons, my mom used to make them and had a friend sell them at a local RenFaire! I had several, in purple! 

1 hour ago, Cowgirl said:

I still have my banana clip from the 80's!  (I don't wear it, just for the record!)  I have my hair crimper too, which I bought just as the trend was going out and I didn't get to use very much. 

I somehow missed the fact Nancy wore one.  Was it in a specific scene, or all throughout?  

Remember the side combs too?  That was more from the early 80's.  I still have a pair of those too. 

I have naturally curly hair so the banana clip actually looked good on me! 

[libgirl2]

On 7/24/2019 at 10:17 AM, Robert Lynch said:

The 80s were an interesting time period. I know from 1980-1982, people were still wearing late 70s fashion. I think there is a lot of misconceptions about the era itself. People who are born in the 90s probably thought the era was all colors. However, films like Caddyshack or Fame could say it was not that colorful. I personally think 1983 or 1984 was the transitional period when artists like Madonna and Michael Jackson did something incrediblely new with the fashion trends. And many 70s artists were following that trend as well. I think 1985 was the year it found its 80s style that we know now. Big hair, jelly shoes, feathered hair, colorful fashion, etc. It just seem an interesting decade to me.

I agree that for the first couple of years things were still very 70s. I graduated in 83 and we were just starting to go "punk". I think MTV had a lot to do with fashions changing. Suddenly, we wanted pink hair or to dress up like Adam Ant....... even metal went 80s. 

And if I remember correctly jelly shoes made a slight comeback about 10+ years ago and yes I bought a pair. Oddly they were much better than the ones I used to wear. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by libgirl2

[Taryn74]

17 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

even metal went 80s. 

To this day a long-time friend and I fight over whether Metallica "castrated themselves" when they moved out of the long hair phase in the 90s.  LMAO.

[libgirl2]

14 minutes ago, Taryn74 said:

To this day a long-time friend and I fight over whether Metallica "castrated themselves" when they moved out of the long hair phase in the 90s.  LMAO.

I was never a big fan but have heard that argument a lot! My husband was a fan and said that was the turning point when they turned too commercial and lost him. 

[jojo3couleurs]

1 hour ago, Cowgirl said:

I still have my banana clip from the 80's!  (I don't wear it, just for the record!)  I have my hair crimper too, which I bought just as the trend was going out and I didn't get to use very much. 

I somehow missed the fact Nancy wore one.  Was it in a specific scene, or all throughout?  

If I can remember,  Nancy puts the banana clip on just before going back to the hospital with Jonathan and the kids... she eventually lost it throughout the fight with the flayed at the same hospital.

I still have a pink hair crimper somewhere in the house, I just don't use it anymore, except for specific 80's themed parties!

[Last Time Lord]

On 7/31/2019 at 8:32 PM, Robert Lynch said:

I did not like Natalie Dyer's hairdo this season. It looked too limp and damp looking. They should have given her the Jennifer Grey treatment. That hairstyle aged her horribly.

Maybe it’s because I’m follicly challenged, but I thought both Nancy and Jonathan had very nice looking hair. 

[Robert Lynch]

On 8/1/2019 at 1:22 PM, libgirl2 said:

I agree that for the first couple of years things were still very 70s. I graduated in 83 and we were just starting to go "punk". I think MTV had a lot to do with fashions changing. Suddenly, we wanted pink hair or to dress up like Adam Ant....... even metal went 80s. 

And if I remember correctly jelly shoes made a slight comeback about 10+ years ago and yes I bought a pair. Oddly they were much better than the ones I used to wear. 

And it such a misconception of not that decade, but other decades as well. It is shows like The Goldbergs or Schooled that give that inacuracy in timeline stories. Hell, if it a show took place in 1990 or 1991 and they were showing the Clueless fashion, I would have pointed out the flaw there. Even the early 90s had late 80s fashion still. And it wasn't until late 1992 when Nirvana's Smell Like Teen Spirit video broke that mold and the rest is history. Some say it was death to hair metal and I believe it was. It was the rise of grunge, thanks to MTV. If there was a show that took place in the early 90s, it would have been nice to focus on the late 80s conformity of that period. I mean, the seams were starting to fall apart thanks to Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. I always wanted a look at the hair metal VS grunge music scene which was becoming very apparent as the years went by. 

[texassunflower]

I was a couple of years older than Nancy in 1985. I got my first teaching job in 1984. I dressed very similar to Nancy. I wore dresses, pantyhose, and pumps that matched my dress. My hair is extremely thick and long. I had poufy bangs, ratted the top, and pulled the sides back with combs. The back was layered like a Christmas tree with curls. If the sides were not pulled back, I used a curling iron and feathered the sides back. Aqua Net hairspray was my friend. My hair was sprayed to death. All blouses were tucked into skirts with a coordinating belt. I also had many pairs of high waist yoked jeans with pleats like Millie wore in Episode 3. I haven't seen any shirtwaist  dresses yet.  I wore  alot of those with matching pumps. I am currently watching Episode 4. In Texas, school always starts before Labor Day and ends before Memorial Day.

[Gothish520]

On 7/31/2019 at 1:27 PM, Taryn74 said:

Banana clips!  Another really uncomfortable product of the 80's (unless you had the perfect sized/shaped head so that it didn't pinch or dig into your skull on each end) which, regardless, EVERYone wore.

Sometimes I really wonder what were we thinking?  😕

I can say with pride that I never wore banana clips or scrunch socks. I did, however, wear those oversized wild print tops with hip belts and long plastic bead necklaces knotted about halfway down.  😋

[jhlipton]

On 8/1/2019 at 10:42 AM, Taryn74 said:

To this day a long-time friend and I fight over whether Metallica "castrated themselves" when they moved out of the long hair phase in the 90s.  LMAO.

I heard an interview with Lars Ulrich where he was asked if Metallica "sold out" and he said "every show, every seat, every arena", which I liked.

But then he became a huge hypocrite by attacking Napster and other early music-sharing apps, when Metallica got its start by encouraging fans to bootleg their concerts.

[Taryn74]

1 hour ago, Gothish520 said:

I can say with pride that I never wore banana clips or scrunch socks. 

Scrunch socks! Ahhhh more memories! I was so proud of myself for being able to perfectly layer and scrunch different colors to match my outfits. Booyah.

[Gothish520]

On 8/1/2019 at 1:42 PM, Taryn74 said:

To this day a long-time friend and I fight over whether Metallica "castrated themselves" when they moved out of the long hair phase in the 90s.  LMAO.

Metallica is my husband's all-time favorite band (mine is Duran Duran 😁) and we were just talking about the infamous haircuts the other day. I think they all looked much better - who knew they were all actually pretty good-looking guys? 

[Gothish520]

On 7/17/2019 at 4:37 PM, Cowgirl said:

Nancy's red shirt with the black stripes was spot on.  I had one similar back then. 

On 7/17/2019 at 4:40 PM, Cowgirl said:

The early (or mid) 80's here featured both tuxedo blouses and leg-o-mutten shirts for us girls. You're right on the shoes.  Don't forget the Izod shirts too.  What we called "ankle boots" were also popular.  They hit between ankle and calf-length and sometimes the tops were floppy and folded over. 

Oh yeah, Nancy's red and black shirt was perfect. And leg-o-mutton and puffy sleeves were everywhere - I had them and I loved them! In particular, I remember a long-sleeved mustard gold silk blouse with leg-o-mutton sleeves, and a purple polyester blouse with puffed short sleeves, mandarin collar and an asymmetrical ruffle across the front - it was gorgeous. I believe I bought it at a store called Merry-Go-Round, now who remembers them?

Edited August 15, 2019 by Gothish520

[kieyra]

Merry-Go-Round had commercials with the theme song based on “Cum on Feel the Noize”. But there were no stores in my area. I only had my Commander Salamander catalogs. 

Edited August 13, 2019 by kieyra

[methodwriter85]

On 7/12/2019 at 6:57 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm glad that even though she still isn't in school, she was being exposed to things like Sweet Valley High. No wonder she took to the mall so well. All those detailed descriptions of Jessica and Elizabeth's outfits must have inspired her!

Jessica stared into the mirror, in love with her new perfectly fitted size 6 outfit she got from La Petite Boutique. Her leather fuchsia skirt clung to the curve of her hips, falling to just below her knees. She wore a sexy lavender fringed leather bustier that exposed her perfectly toned torso. Over this, she wore a yellow bolero jacket, with yellow pumps to match. The final touch were Jessica's oversized plastic purple and yellow print neon hoop earrings. "How perfect," Jessica said outloud to her devastatingly perfect reflection. "Chad Walker is sure to notice me today."

LOL. God, I loved Sweet Valley High. The 90's t.v. series could have been more 90210 and less Saved by the Bell, but I even enjoyed that, too.

I can't wait for 1987.

Edited August 13, 2019 by methodwriter85

[Cowgirl]

I still have the whole set of Sweet Valley High books in a Rubbermaid container somewhere in my shed.  Loved 'em!  I never got to see the series.  (By the way, did anyone read the follow-up novel Francine Pascal wrote a couple of years ago?  It was awful!!)  I will have to do another re-watch and look for the Sweet Valley High book in that scene! I loved that they were crushing on Ralph Macchio.  Hell, I'm 51 and I STILL have a crush on Ralph.  That man must have made a deal with the devil, because he still looks GOOOOOOD!

Edited August 14, 2019 by Cowgirl

[Gothish520]

2 hours ago, Cowgirl said:

I still have the whole set of Sweet Valley High books in a Rubbermaid container somewhere in my shed.  Loved 'em!  I never got to see the series.  (By the way, did anyone read the follow-up novel Francine Pascal wrote a couple of years ago?  It was awful!!)  I will have to do another re-watch and look for the Sweet Valley High book in that scene! I loved that they were crushing on Ralph Macchio.  Hell, I'm 51 and I STILL have a crush on Ralph.  That man must have made a deal with the devil, because he still looks GOOOOOOD!

Ralph Macchio was one of my crushes back in the day, as well as Andrew McCarthy. RM has barely aged! Rob Lowe and John Stamos, though not former crushes, both still look damn good too.

[libgirl2]

On 8/13/2019 at 4:16 PM, jhlipton said:

But then he became a huge hypocrite by attacking Napster and other early music-sharing apps, when Metallica got its start by encouraging fans to bootleg their concerts.

I remember a lot of fans being very critical of them. It was so hypocritical as well as not very metal. 

On 8/13/2019 at 3:09 PM, Gothish520 said:

I can say with pride that I never wore banana clips or scrunch socks. I did, however, wear those oversized wild print tops with hip belts and long plastic bead necklaces knotted about halfway down.  😋

Over stirrup pants? 

Edited August 15, 2019 by libgirl2

[libgirl2]

On 8/13/2019 at 6:27 PM, Gothish520 said:

Oh yeah, Nancy's red and black shirt was perfect. And leg-o-mutton and puffy sleeves were everywhere - I had them and I loved them! In particular, I remember a long-sleeved mustard gold silk blouse with leg-o-mutton sleeves, and a purple polyester blouse with puffed short sleeves, mandarin collar and an asymmetrical ruffle across the front - it was gorgeous. I believe I bought it at a store called Merry-Go-Round, now who remembers them?

Oh wow, I hadn't thought of them in years! We had a store by us that had the best clothes, Le Chateau. They had very cool Euro looking clothes which was a big deal in the Midwest. When I decided to lose some weight, I promised myself I would buy a new outfit from there when I was done. I did. 

[Gothish520]

8 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

Over stirrup pants? 

YES! 😄

Edited August 16, 2019 by Gothish520

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Gothish520 said:

YES! 😄

My workplace doesn't allow "stirrup" pants. Its like, hello we aren't in the 80s anymore! 

[QuantumMechanic]

Looking at my 1985 high school yearbook and thinking that the girls in ST aren't using nearly enough Aquanet...

[Nashville]

On 6/12/2022 at 9:57 AM, QuantumMechanic said:

Looking at my 1985 high school yearbook and thinking that the girls in ST aren't using nearly enough Aquanet...

…neck-and-neck with Alberto VO5, and White Rain bringing up the rear….  ☔️ 

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Yeah, I do think that they have mostly gotten the hair wrong. None of the girls or women have really sported big hair and that's really not accurate for the period. (Winona Ryder's hair in the actual 80s was much bigger than it is in the fictional 80s).

Edited June 14, 2022 by eleanorofaquitaine

[DoctorAtomic]

The show probably couldn't use the sufficient level of aquanet due to ripping another hole in the ozone layer. 

We need to make an 80s consulting company; music division, shoe division, hair, department, jackets. 

[Nashville]

6 hours ago, DoctorAtomic said:

We need to make an 80s consulting company; music division, shoe division, hair, department, jackets. 

And drugs!  Don’t forget the drugs!

[DoctorAtomic]

Anyone who remembers and watched Nancy Reagan on Different Strokes is automatically qualified. 

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, DoctorAtomic said:

Anyone who remembers and watched Nancy Reagan on Different Strokes is automatically qualified. 

[Thalia]

On 8/1/2019 at 11:18 AM, Cowgirl said:

Remember the side combs too?  That was more from the early 80's.  I still have a pair of those too. 

During the first year of the pandemic I didn't go out to get hair cuts.  I ordered side combs to pull it back and I still wear them sometimes when I can't do anything with my hair.  

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast about The Hellfire Club.  The hosts went on and on about how no one had access to the internet and therefore Suzie couldn't have changed the grade.  I can't remember how often I yelled "Wargames" at my iPhone.  

[Dev F]

1 hour ago, Thalia said:

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast about The Hellfire Club.  The hosts went on and on about how no one had access to the internet and therefore Suzie couldn't have changed the grade.  I can't remember how often I yelled "Wargames" at my iPhone.  

Ha, my first exposure to remote computing as a little kid was in 1985, when the semi-educational cartoon Fat Albert did a very confusing episode about how it's bad to be a "hacker" that made it sound like connecting to anyone else's computer remotely would corrupt all their data and make you a criminal.

The next year, my third-grade teacher showed us some information about outer space that she said she'd downloaded from a public NASA server, and I remember initially being very freaked out that she had done something bad, until I asked my mom for books from the library about remote computing and learned that Fat Albert had led me astray.

Edited June 16, 2022 by Dev F

[Nashville]

10 hours ago, Thalia said:

A few weeks ago I was listening to a podcast about The Hellfire Club.  The hosts went on and on about how no one had access to the internet and therefore Suzie couldn't have changed the grade.  I can't remember how often I yelled "Wargames" at my iPhone.  

Tell your podcaster they’re a fucking idiot.  No, the internet as such did not yet exist - not outside the confines of DARPANet anyway - but the internet was not even close to being the birth mother of intercomputer communications.  In the mid-‘80s we had Compuserve, AOL, Prodigy, point-to-point dialup BBSes, etc. - a plethora of opportunities for communication, much of it realtime.  Heck, I took an Apple //e with a modem and programmed it to be a carrier-sensitive autodialer, just to identify potential active dialup sites within my local phone prefixes.*  So tell your podcaster to get their head outta their ass.

* I’d wired up an extra jack into the house phone line and would run it at night while my parents were asleep, so they wouldn’t notice it tying up the phone.  😆  

[Redrum]

Oh people were doing stuff in 1986 online, I agree. I was there, after all, on a BBS board, but the bullshit I call is Susie calling it the Internet in 1986.