1980s Swatch Phones & AT&T Cordless Phones

Stephanie from Full House on her bulky cordless phone

It's difficult to remember a time when we didn't have cell phones, let alone cordless phones. Around age 12, I became a real phone addict. Saturday nights my parents would find me chatting with crushes and girlfriends into the wee hours while sprawled out on our kitchen booth bench. I'd dial up a gal pal and we'd recap what happened on that evening's episode of Silver Spoons or Growing Pains.

My dad wasn't a fan of my lengthy phone chats. By age 13, he invested in a second phone line. I felt very spoiled having my own personal phone number in my bedroom. I would snuggle up with my Swatch phone and chat with friends comfortably under the covers.

Totally 80s Swatch phone

By about 1985 or 1986 cordless phones became all the rage. They were bulky white or gray plastic with metal antennas. I would often attempt to walk around our yard while chatting in the summer, but the connection was so incredibly fuzzy.

I won't bore you with the details and history of the cordless phone, however one cool thing about the early cordless phones from the 1980s was that you could often pick up other people's conversations. Eavesdropping on other people's phone calls. Other than COPS, there wasn't reality television back then.


Check out this old school 1980s AT&T cordless phone commercial for an $88 deal at Kmart.