Ladies of the Eighties

Posted on June 28, 2020

I don’t think it is a coincidence that we have been bringing back the 80s for……ok so longer than the 80s actually ran. For sure it’s been over a decade of 80s inspired movies, toys, fashion and remakes be it music, TV or film.

I grew up in the 80s and I am happy to relive it – it totally makes me feel younger and super cool because I think to myself how great must it have been, now that we are doing it all over again. Growing up I turned on the “radio” to hear Whitney Houston, Sting and Madonna for the first time. I watched the Breakfast Club on the big screen and ET on an even bigger screen at a drive in. It was pretty magical when I think back.

We cheated death many times because we didn’t wear helmets or sometimes even seat belts. We cried because we knew there would be no boys with moves like Patrick Swayze at our grade eight school dance. We had big shoulders and even bigger hair. Tame was an aerosol spray, fame was bunch of dancers who thought they would live forever and learn how to fly and game meant something you played with a board and dice.

But today, with 80s influences abound, at some point enough is enough and even I am getting tired of the time machine. It’s our turn now…all these years, tears, and careers later. Our turn to bypass nostalgia and the temptation to go back, in favour of passing on the lessons we have learned.

Let’s pick back to the future this time. Let’s give back to the future and leave something wonderful behind. This summer will shine the light on some of the women who owned the eighties and continue to shape our future.

Some of the greatest of these wonder women we celebrate are the ones who took it upon themselves to pay it forward. The ones who decided it wasn’t enough just to succeed. The ones who helped the girls and other women around them become wonder women too.

10 thoughts on “Ladies of the Eighties”

  1. Mama Fish
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    Such an exciting time when these women led the charge without as much scrutiny as today with everyone having tracking and recording devices in their pockets. They were free to let their craft unfold and flourish without so much interruption.

    Drive-ins….AHHHMAZING!!! Magical is an understatement, how I miss them.

    Salon Selctives apple- strawberry hairspray is a scent that is engrained in my soul, almost as a right of passage.

    Love the wonder women of the 80’s.

      Reply
    1. percivious
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      Thank you so much for your comments and memories.

        Reply
  2. Brenda Bjorndalen
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    Wonderfully put and so refreshing to read. Growing up in the 80’s I have fond memories too and pieces I would like to instill in my own children, specifically more face to face communication. I agree, we need to move forward and learn from the past but not live in the past.

      Reply
    1. percivious
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      Thank you so much for your kind words and perspective.

        Reply
  3. KKBalon
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    Well said! I loved the 80s….and some of the things that have resurfaced. The music was second to none, and the music videos, were epic!

    I can pass on some of the hairstyles though….I don’t think my hair could take the backcombing that it once did.

    Letting my kids have an ‘80s’ summer, exploring the great outdoors, will be my greatest gift to them. Hopefully other parents will unplug their kids from their devices so they can recharge with nature., just as we did when we were young.

      Reply
    1. percivious
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      Thanks so much! Totally agree on the hair and unplugging our kids!!!

        Reply
  4. Lisa
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    What a wonderful set of flashbacks to childhood, I love it. Whitney Houston on the radio? Waiting excitedly for anything on the radio? Waiting through tv ads for the show to come back on? Pure magic, a thrill that kids these days don’t get.

    You’re absolutely right, though. We may not be able to go back, nor should we necessarily want to do so. But, we can pluck lessons from way back, and pay them forward. Great balance, great plan.

    So eager to read your upcoming posts 🥰

      Reply
    1. percivious
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      So true!!! Love your comments! Thanks so much!

        Reply
  5. Chantale
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    The 80’s, the greatest decade to be a teen… when it was acceptable to wear neon spandex!! We did’t have it all, we had just enough!

    Were you “Team Cyndi” or “Team Madonna”?

    Thanks for bringing back such good memories 💕

      Reply

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