Tuesday 25 August 2009

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Back to the 80's...

Oh... My... God... I am bidding on a Frankie Say Relax T Shirt on ebay!

I can't quite believe that I am doing this... if I win the auction, will I actually wear it?

What is so shocking about it, I hear you ask? Let me tell you. This will not be the first 'Relax' T shirt that I have ever owned. Oh no, my friend, I owned one first time around. I am old enough for that. Oh yes, I used to trip on down to my disco dancing lessons at the dancing school on Victoria Street in an electric blue catsuit, with my Frankie T shirt loosely slung over the top (casually hanging off one shoulder, as was 'de rigeur' back then), accessorized beautifully with luminous legwarmers and fingerless gloves - one yellow, one pink. Oh -ho-ho! The height of style!

Yes, I am a child of the 80's. I was a teenager in the 90's, and now I am a mother in the noughties (don't you just hate that term - I guess now I am old and cynical enough to hate those zeitgeist-y words, whereas before, when I was younger and more innocent, I used to think I was one of the innovaters of them)

The question is; If/When I ever wear this Tee, will it be as an 'ironic' statement? Will it be as a modern fashion statement? Will it be as a loving tribute to an iconic 80's Hamnet Rip-Off, that encapsulated the ethos of punk so perfectly in a post-punk recesssion bitten landscape? Shit, where did that explosion of verbal diarrhea come from?

Am I wanting a return to childhood, with this T shirt? Is that why I love it so much when I look at it? Yes, the 80's fashions are back again, it is true - indeed it is slightly more acceptable now to wear these things. But is it acceptable for a grown woman to? Isn't it more a 'Peaches Geldof' type 'clubby teenager' type item. How appropriate is this going to look in the checkout queue at Morrisons?

Hmmmm..... do I care if its acceptable or not? Isn't that the point of 'Relax'? Don't care attitude, 'when you wanna come, do it?' Since when have other people's opinions on the clothes I wear been an issue for me? Let's face it - my best friend wouldn't be seen with me in my Star Wars T Shirt, but it never stopped me wearing it. My daughter regularly borrows my clothes - she is 11, its not right that she should want to borrow them, I know that. It is fair to say that I am in denial about my age...

AND THERE WE HAVE THE CRUX OF THE MATTER.... it is my birthday in 3 days time. I will be 35. John Hughes recently died. As did Michael Jackson.

Give me my little piece of childhood. Let me wear it. With pride, if I want.

And please don't laugh at me too hard...

2 comments:

Bo-Beena said...

P.S I did win it! :)

Anonymous said...

i say wear it plus legwarmers and rollerskate round morrisons ha!

Post a Comment

 
A gift shop is for life, not just for christmas! © 2008. Design by Pocket