fashion circa 1986

i've been shopping for new clothes and i've come back empty handed.  what is up with fashion these days?  i was quite dissappointed in the clothing styles i found in some of my old favorite stores.  like, for instance, the gap.

stirrup pants?  really?  i remember the year my sister was born, for my birthday (or christmas, that detail i cant' remember exactly) i got a sweatshirt with a cat on it and a pair of stirrup pants to match, and outfit i picked out from kmart (which kmart was not cool and at that point in my life i already didn't want anyone to know where my clothes came from!)  i remember we had a field trip to the zoo or to the museum of art or something and not being able to sit with the cool kids on the bus because of what i was (not) wearing (literally, one of the girls said "you can't sit with us because you don't have any stirrup pants" - what horrible things kids do!  really, can i homeschool my kids just to keep them safe from other-kid-torture?)  so, anyway, that is why i can still remember that!!!  so in the fall of 1986, stirrup pants were in full force for elementary school kids!  :)

so as i continued to shop yesterday (and a little bit today), i saw so many other horrible clothes.  i mean, they may be great if you are 5'1" and 90 pounds.  or, 5'10" and 99 pounds.  really, who are these clothes for?  not me.  (i realize the above shirt is on a plus size model, but the regular sized version wasn't at a good angle for you to see the weirdness.  this was the strangest shirt yesterday... though it was actually flattering because of the stripes and gathers, unlike the one pictured below:  speaking of, i actually saw some shoulder pad shirts yesterday too!)

there were tons of non-symmetrical shirts and horizontal stripes, lots of black and white and chain-metal pockets... and skinny jeans?  they are still around?  (they were just coming into fashion when i started having babies). come ON!  that has the most unflattering piece of fabric you (i) can put on your (my) body.  leggings look better than skinny jeans.  geez! 

so anyway, practically 2 days of shopping for nothing.  well, technically i did buy one thing:  a necklace.  but, that isn't what i went for so it doesn't really count. 

out of despiration, i even went to coldwater creek ($$$) today to see what they had new.  i found about 3 things i liked [on the rack, i didn't try on anything], which isn't really a lot.  of coarse, it'd cost a lot, but it isn't a wardrobe maker.  SO dissappointed.

(incidentally, the funniest thing i saw was the new fall JJill line.  their new collection is called "he said she said, his look your way" and it is basically men's clothes in women's sizes.  T-A-C-K-Y gross.  yuck.  i usually like their clothes because of the gentle feminine colors and fabrics.  but, i won't be going in there until that ugliness is out of there.  i bet their sales will be down this fall!)