The Clothes That Make the Man

As you know I’ve been looking through some old pictures lately. My mom found a bunch of pictures while going through some of my grandmother’s old stuff. I’ve posted a few here and several on Facebook over the last couple of days.

These old photographs brought back many memories. Almost all of which are directly related to some of the awesome clothes I used to wear. Many articles of said clothing are represented in the photos. Many are not. I’ll start with the featured items. I think I’ll work backward chronologically.

I love, love, love the Cure t-shirt in this picture. I’m pretty sure I did not buy it at the one and only Cure concert I ever attended. When I was a senior (1992) a group of friends and I drove to Atlanta to see the Cure. We got a room at the Hilton (one of my friends was 25 at the time) so we could stick around after the show. We sat on the absolute back row of the Omni. Robert Smith was little more than a spec of darkness centered on the brightly lit stage. It still ranks as one of the best concerts I ever attended.

I’m pretty sure the t-shirt, though, came from a store in the Madison Square Mall in Huntsville. Regardless, it was awesome.

This Paul Stanley t-shirt is completely awesome in a completely different way. Starting in 7^th grade I became a huge Kiss fan. Over the next 4-5 years I saw them live 3 times and bought countless t-shirts. I completely forgot about this one until I saw the picture.

My favorite Kiss t-shirt featured Gene Simmons. The front showed Gene on a throne surrounded by several very busty, scantily clad women. The back had the phrase “It’s dirty job, but somebody’s gotta do it” accompanied by Gene’s screen-printed signature.

My parents once went on a weekend trip and left my brother, my sister, and I to stay with my grandmother. That Sunday she took us to church (a place I’d not been in a few years) for both the morning and evening services. On Sunday evening I wore my Gene Simmons shirt. It was my own little 8^th grade, passive-aggressive form of rebellion.

I expected my grandmother to forbid me to wear the shirt. She did not say a word. I expected the blue hairs to have a fit. They did not say a word. I expected someone to tell me I couldn’t come in wearing that shirt. No one said a word. I was impressed, and a little disappointed.

Like so many others in the 80s I loved my Member’s Only jacket. Not only was it comfortable and quite handsome, it was also versatile. In this photo it resides comfortably along side sweat pants and cowboy boots. It was equally at home along side more dressy attire. It once even served as a Civil War era jacket for a Confederate Soldier Zombie on Halloween. Member’s Only = versatility!

I really miss my Superman belt buckle. I wish I could find this thing. I’d still wear it. I wore this belt as much as possible and for many, many years. I grew slowly. My waist stayed basically the same size from about age 5 to age 9. That granted me many years of Superman belt glory.

I have no idea what is on this shirt. I vaguely remember owning it. I know that it showed scenes of some superhero (probably Spiderman or Superman) comic book style. I want it back.

This photo especially brought clothing related memories flooding back. My green overalls. I would’ve worn them everyday if allowed. They were by far my favorite article of clothing at the time. It was almost exclusively because of one man: Mr. Green Jeans.

Mr. Green Jeans was a character on the children’s TV program Captain Kangaroo. He was my favorite character. He wore green overalls. I, too, wore green overalls. If only I’d owned a straw hat.

Seeing these old items of clothing brought back memories of other garments I miss. The most missed are my Spiderman shoes. I remember in vivid detail the red and blue web-patterned sneakers. Each shoe had a picture of Spiderman’s masked face on the outside.

Others I miss include my grey and maroon Pumas (they were just as ugly as they sound) and my Roos. Anyone else remember Roos? Tennis shoes with a zippered pouch on the side. I loved those things. I loved my Hypercolor shirt. Remember those? The fabric changed color by body heat. Interesting. And my yellow Coca-Cola Shirt. I don’t remember where we bought it, but I know it was a discount clothing store. A place that sold returns and seconds. I loved that thing, though. Of course, I have to mention my black “Beat It” jacket. Black pleather. Covered with zippers. Removable sleeves. Awesome!

My parents are moving soon. I think I’ll go over and rummage through their closets to see what of my old clothing they still have.

Wow, I didn’t even get into my caps. My Ole Miss hats. My Auburn cap that was re-sewn, glued, and band-aided together. Not to mention, it was tan instead of its original white (even after washing it). Good times.

Who knows, next time you see me I may be wearing a Hypercolor shirt, acid washed Guess jeans, and Roos. Now that would be awesome!