There she is, my gorgeous girl. I’ve been waiting for weeks for her school pics to show up, so I was thrilled when they arrived this week. I can’t believe how old she looks in this picture! Gah! It’s all happening way too fast!

I decided to dig through my old photos this evening and I found my first grade picture as well. When I put them side by side, I noticed some interesting things…

1- I rocked that bowl cut in 1986. I’m pretty sure I had this exact haircut until fifth grade (also known as the year of the unfortunate perm.)

2- While bows were all the rage in the 80’s, cutesy flowers have definitely been the trend of the millennium.

3- Also the rule of thirds has strongly embedded itself in our culture… there’s no way that flower would ever have made it to the center of her dress.

4- Sailor collars weren’t just for boating in the 80’s. They were every day style. Pair it with some gingham and you were golden.

5- In the 80’s we never looked at the camera during school pictures. We much preferred gazing out into the future with an extra sparkle in our eyes.

6- Multiple backdrop options? That craze started in 1988. I remember because I went for one with a fence. No, back in ’86 you had one option… and you liked it. (BTW- I think they shoot the kids in front of a green screen now a days, because you can go online and order just about any background you want. For an exorbitant price, of course.)

7- Film was king in the 80’s. (And really every decade before 2000.) You got one shot at a good picture, and you prayed you weren’t the kid that blinked, or sneezed, or had a fly land on their nose. Today’s world is digital (so there is really no excuse for the fact that my daughter is mid-smile in this picture) but that aside, it opens up so many options for the final product. Seriously, check out the website… (mylifetouch.com) or don’t because it is a seriously ridiculous and clunky website. Better yet, go this website because you can never go wrong with bubblewrap. Try the manic mode. You won’t regret it. (Also a favorite toy from the 80’s)

So there you have it… A lot has changed in thirty years- from haircuts, to backdrops, to collars. Today’ s kids seriously don’t know what they are missing!  

PS- They enclosed this cute little teaser that wasn’t much larger than a postage stamp, and I went to the website to find it and got so spun around, I gave up and had a friend scan it for me. (Seriously horrible website.)