Camp Beverly Hills Clothing

What girl didn't own a Camp Beverly Hills
shirt back in the 1980s? Me :(

As a young girl growing up in the 1980s, you had to own something from Camp Beverly Hills. Unfortunately, as you know, I was a bit of a chubster and their shirts were too small for me. However, I did own Camp Beverly Hills slouchy socks. 

Back in the 80s, Camp Beverly Hills was everywhere. Even teen stars like Drew Barrymore wore the brand! The cool California brand had been around since 1977, but became all the rage in the mid 1980s. Right now, there's an original Camp Beverly Hills t-shirt on eBay going for $107. Wow!

Camp Beverly Hills recently relaunched and came back from retirement. The stylish, fresh, young brand is satisfying the nostalgia crazed kids of today, for sure. Shirts, hoodies and more can be purchased from campbeverlyhills.com or in upscale department stores. 

Honestly, if I was a skinny girl, I just might order one of those cute t-shirts. Camp Beverly Hills designers, if you happen to stumble upon this blog post, perhaps you could hook us plus sized gals up one day, ya know? :-)

Remember?

Roseanne Roseannadanna - Gilda Radner

Roseanne Roseannadanna
from Saturday Night Live.

At around age nine, I discovered a TV show my fellow classmates knew nothing about. Every Saturday night, after my scheduled bedtime, I would tiptoe down to the den and watch Saturday Night Live. 

I first discovered the show at my friend Dawn's house. Dawn lived with her dad and he didn't care what we did. I'd sleep at her house on Friday or Saturday nights. We'd build blanket forts and stay up late watching Saturday Night Live every weekend. 

For some reason, I thought the late Gilda Radner was hysterical as Roseanne Roseannadanna. Her crazy-haired fictitious character was notoriously loud and obnoxious. Roseanne Roseannadanna would read hilarious "Dear Abby" style letters during SNL's Weekend Update skits. I'm quite sure I was watching this in the 1980s. Maybe NBC ran repeats of the late 1970 episodes. I can't recall. Feel free to enlighten me with a comment if you remember.

Here is a sample clip of Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna on Saturday Night Live back in the late 1970s. 

Living Room Blanket Forts

I miss blanket forts.

Tonight I came up with a great idea for a unique Saturday night date with my husband. I told him I'd like us to build a blanket fort in the living room. We could snuggle up and watch a movie inside. We could pretend we're having a sleepover. Nestled in our cozy blanket fort, we could drink icy cold Cokes and feast on Doritos and Hostess like we did when we were 9. Back then diets didn't exist.  

I asked if he remembered blanket forts. He did. I asked if he liked my idea, he replied, "What the heck do I want to do that for? The tile floor will hurt my knees." I'm bummed he didn't like my idea. I even suggested that we lay a thick comforter on the floor. No go. 

I miss blanket forts. As a kid, I loved using sheets, blankets, comforters and pillows to create an amazing fortress. I'd drag my favorite dolls and books inside. There was a time when I felt so safe under the roof of a homemade living room fort. It was heaven. It was all mine. One day, I will revisit the blanket fort. I simply refuse to abandon the idea.

Did you build forts out of blankets and sheets as a kid?

80s Ferarri Fold-up Sunglasses

Ferarri brand folded or fold-up sunglasses from the '80s

There were many popular styles of sunglasses back in the 1980s. The summer of Karate Kid, I was all about plastic, slotted sunglasses that resembled blinds or shutters. 

However, there was a time when everyone loved these cool fold-up or folding sunglasses. They may have come in brown, but I only recall black. These cute folding sunglasses came with a small leather or fake leather case.

The Aviator style sunglasses would easily fold up and fit into the case. Ferarri was the brand kids loved best. They were so cool. Once folded and zipped into the little case, the sunglasses fit into my purse or pocket with ease. 

Remember Ferarri folding sunglasses from the 80s? 

Eric Stoltz & Cher in Mask - 1985

In 1985, Mask stars Eric Stoltz and Cher
were nominated for Golden Globes.

In 1985, I was touched by the movie, Mask. Based on a true story, Mask focused around Rocky Dennis (Eric Stoltz), a teen living with a rare skull deformity. His life was far from easy. His mom, Rusty (Cher) was a wild biker babe who loved her son and only wanted the best for him.

Rocky dealt with teasing, but used his humor and intelligence to win friends. Rocky was the best son in the world. He was a top scholar. He tutored kids at school. He helped break his mom from her drug habit. He wrote award-winning poetry. He worked at a summer camp for blind children. He was a great friend and amazing boyfriend to Diana (Laura Dern).

The movie takes a sad turn when Rocky suffers from extreme headaches one night and passes in his sleep. There was something about the movie Mask that most '80s kids will always remember. Maybe it was the shock of seeing a fellow teen suffering from such a freakish disease? Maybe it was the reality factor of knowing Mask was based upon a true story?

Do you remember Mask? View the Mask trailer here.

Dynamints Were Like Fruit Flavored Tic Tacs

Whatever happened to Dynamints?

Remember Dynamints back in the late 1970s? They were sorta like Tic Tacs, but were slightly larger in size and packaged in a horizontal-shaped plastic box. Dynamints were available in minty flavors, but my personal favorite were the sweet, fruity flavors such as orange and grape. I remember the red flavor having a hot kick to 'em. 

Ahhhh ... like the Burger Bubble hamburger gum, Dynamite is just another old school treat I wish I could taste just one more time. 

Watch this Dynamint commercial! 

AYDS - Appetite Suppressant Candy 80s Weight Loss

AYDS appetite suppressant candy

What better way to lose weight in the 1970s and early 1980s than with chocolate, caramel or peanut butter flavored candies? Ayds was just that. Each tasty candy-like bite contained a special appetite suppressant to keep dieters from cheating.

Throughout that time, Ayds was flying off of drugstore shelves. The fabulous TV and magazine ads were convincing chubbers that this delicious candy would slim them down in no time. Things were going smoothly for the product until ...

Enter the AIDs crisis. Admit it. When you hear the word "Ayds" (pronounced Aids), the immune disease is the first thing that comes to mind. This very thought helped sales drop 50 percent by 1988. Unfortunately, even changing the name to Diet Ayds didn't save this gimmicky diet product.

Do you remember Ayds? Here's a commercial for the appetite suppressant candy. 

Ice Castles - Please don't let this feeling end...

Ice Castles, 1978 

How much did you love Ice Castles in the early 1980s? The movie first opened in 1978, but I was too young to see it in theaters. I'm guessing I must have caught it on TV because I do remember it. 

What little girl in the late '70s/early '80s didn't enjoy Ice Castles? Everything about this movie was beautiful. The lead actors. The story line. The theme song, "Through The Eyes of Love" preformed by Melissa Manchester. I remember "Through the Eyes of Love" was popular at dance recitals, weddings and couples skates in the early 1980s.

It was impossible not to adore Robby Benson as Nick. Through his tough love style, he inspires Lexie (Lynn-Holly Johnson), a talented ice skating star blinded in a tragic accident, never to give up. He sticks by her side throughout her best and worst times.

View a clip of the original Ice Castles from 1978.

Mourning Davy Jones

So sad over Davy Jones. 

Upon hearing the news of Davy Jones' death, I just have not been able to blog. Yes, I was brokenhearted when we lost Corey Haim, but Corey was different. He lived a high risk lifestyle. Davy was healthy. He wasn't known as a wild party guy. You never saw Davy Jones on TMZ for boozing it up. You never saw Davy Jones beating up his wife. What I saw was Davy Jones as a sweet memory of my youth.

Growing up on Long Island in the 1980s, I was a huge Monkees fan. My parents would drive me all over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut to attend Monkees conventions and concerts. I had 100s of Monkees-loving pen pals all over the world. I would meet up with them at concerts and conventions. I even attempted to plan a huge Monkees get together picnic. That's a long story I won't get into right now...

From the ages of 13 to about 15, I had a quarterly zine called Hit Factory. This was before kids had computer graphics programs and scanners. Each issue featured awkwardly snipped and frayed black and white photos alongside Dot Matrix text. I dealt with the challenge of printing costs, ad rates (yes I had paid ads!), shipping costs and in the end I think I lost money on the deal. But I wasn't in it for the money. I loved writing about my favorite band!

Hit Factory grew to become a family effort. Dad would drive me to the local Minute Man copy center in Franklin Square, New York to print out dozens of Xerox copies. My little brother would help me collate the pages and staple. Mom would take me to the Valley Stream Post Office to load up on rolls of stamps and mail the issues. 

Having known firsthand what it's like to adore a teen idol, I credit The Monkees with inspiring me to pursue entertainment writing. I've since interviewed many teen bands and have published several books on teen idols. Not only did I write different articles for my zine, but my very first article ever published was about The Monkees. My very first celebrity interview was with Micky Dolenz. Although Davy wasn't my favorite Monkee, Davy Jones had such a beautiful voice. I loved his wit and his accent. He was the sweet Monkee. He was high energy and I could see why the girls loved him best.

Davy, we will miss you.