Gen X remembers a lot of things that were inconvenient and ugly, but they were still somehow more fun than they’re ready to admit right now.
The belt wasn’t finished yet
It would’ve been so easy to just thread a belt through the buckle and leave it there, but no. That was too easy. Gen X remembers a time when they’d tuck the extra length behind the belt and leave it hanging down.Â
Gen X will openly admit that it looks like a silly fashion trend, especially when they see old family photos. Still, the loose tail made an ordinary belt feel less stiff.
The curls took over
A spiral perm wasn’t the kind of haircut you’d get if you were shy. No, it announced your presence from across the room, and it was even worse when you used hairspray on it. That kind of loud hairstyle fit perfectly into the 1980s obsession with huge hair.
Gen X is allowed to laugh at the photos today, and most of them do. But they also sort of miss it. You don’t get the same kind of ridiculous confidence from modern hairstyles, and that’s part of the problem.
The bathroom break built into the show
There’s no denying that commercial breaks were annoying, but there was also a positive side to them. They gave everyone permission to disappear for a few minutes without missing anything. You could grab chips and run to the bathroom without an issue.
You can always pause a film, of course, but it’s not the same, because those breaks were built into the show. There was always a natural moment to pause. Nobody’s asking for 14 toothpaste ads an hour again, sure, although we would like to have that pre-built rest moment.
Sunday meant you were done shopping
Sunday used to ruin your plan to buy something. Many states and local areas had Sunday closing laws, usually called blue laws, and these restricted which stores could open. There were even restrictions on what they could sell. It was pretty frustrating at the time.
But still, there was something kind of nice about it all because once the stores were closed, that was it. You couldn’t do that errand, and you had to find something else to do instead. Gen X loves to talk about how inconvenient it was. Really, though, there was something nice about having a day when you weren’t expected to keep shopping.
Fine, we’ll watch this
Not everything on TV was good. You’d watch bad stuff sometimes, anyway, because you didn’t have many other choices. You didn’t spend 40 minutes scrolling through thumbnails and simply turned something on.
Or, at least, you picked the least terrible option, and that could actually be kind of relaxing. You watched what was on. You learned to just accept and laugh along with whatever it was, since there weren’t many other choices.
Breakfast could wait
Gen X knows all too well what it was like waiting for sales. They’d get out of bed before sunrise, just to stand outside a department store, and some of them would line up even earlier for limited deals. It was a lot of work.
It was pretty excessive, too, but there was something about the whole thing that made it special. Online shopping at 2 p.m. from a sofa doesn’t give you any of that same feeling. The reality is, Gen X sometimes wishes they could go back and experience that same thrill again.
Friday finally looked different
There were days when casual Friday felt like a genuine reward. Yes, in the offices where suits and formal clothes were normal all week, Friday was a chance to let off some steam. You could come in wearing khakis and maybe a polo shirt. How fun.
Such an idea doesn’t really work today because most offices barely notice sneakers. Casual Friday is every day, basically. That’s why Gen X misses it so much, and they feel nostalgic for the time when changing your pants somehow changed the whole day’s feeling.
Pants with absolutely no volume control
Zubaz. They were one of the weirdest fashion trends, since they were a mix of zebra stripes and neon paint turned into pants. They began as workout pants for bodybuilders. But soon enough, football players and wrestlers got involved, so people everywhere wore them in public.
You’ll find a lot of Gen Xers insisting they were hideous, because, well, they were. Yet they were also soft and baggy. They required absolutely no restraint and had a lot more personality than modern sweatpants.
Everything matched the French fries
Fast-food restaurants today tend to look very uniform. They’re usually black or gray, with nothing that really makes them look special or individual. It wasn’t always that way, however. Gen Xers remember a time when these places had brown tile and orange seats, as well as fake wood.
There was plenty of plastic, too. These places weren’t trying to look calm or even tasteful back then, and that was part of the charm. Modern stuff does look clean, yet it also looks kinda lacking. Gen X misses the days when the restaurant buildings had some personality to them.
Missing one episode was risky
You had to be careful with watching TV. Not because of anything dangerous. No, it was because daytime soaps could swallow an entire afternoon if you weren’t careful. Shows like General Hospital and All My Children were way more addictive than they seemed.
Storylines dragged on for months, and people came back from the dead. Let’s not forget all the storylines with secret twins. Gen X tends to mock all that now, but still, they miss the days when daytime TV was something you couldn’t stop watching.
Everybody heard the announcement
Oh, Kmart. There were so many things Gen X misses about that chain, but nothing compared to the Blue Light Special. This generation has fond memories of when the announcement came over the speaker and the whole store felt like it moved.
The flashing blue light made the whole thing even more exciting. Running after a bargain under a blinking lamp is deeply uncool now, and Gen X is the first to admit that. But they also remember the thrill of finding a good deal.
Denim wasn’t allowed to be quiet either
Part of the appeal with acid-washed jeans was how weird they looked. The pale streaks and cloudy patches came from bleaching. The look had spread to practically every item of clothing during the 1980s, including jeans and jackets.Â
Acid-washed skirts were a thing, too. Gen X acts horrified by the old photos now while also thinking about how boring regular blue jeans feel. They weren’t trying to look subtle, not in the slightest. There’s a lot to be said about that kind of confidence.
Sources: Please see here for a complete listing of all sources that were consulted in the preparation of this article.
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