Time Travel: 1991
How many writer blogs have used an image exactly like this before?
When I was 12, the coolest thing in the world to have was a Starter jacket — and of course, my parents didn’t want to buy me one. I thank them for that now, because, seriously, look at these fucking things:
Puff Daddy wouldn't have even worn this crap.
But back in 1991, in Germany, these things were the shit. And like anyone who’s 12 and nerdy, I wanted desperately to fit in, and for that, I needed a Starter jacket. Never mind that I didn’t care about sports and knew nothing about any sports team, ever — I needed one of these things. Any one. So I saved up my allowance for a while (enough to get up to around $40) and made a deal with one of the richer kids in school to buy one he didn’t wear often — a Tennessee Volunteers jacket. Think the Celtics jacket above, but bright fucking orange. It was awful.
And, at the last minute, I backed out — no idea why. When we next went to Patch Barracks (an Army base where my dad was stationed at the time), I killed some time in the Thrift Store and ended up buying an old, old typewriter and about 20 Star Trek novels. I think I made the right choice there.
So what’s the moral? Be yourself? Go to what you know you want to do rather than what society says you should do? Possibly.
I think the moral is “Starter jackets from the early 90s were awful. I hope they never come back.”
I’m not sure I’ve ever owned a cool clothing article that others thought was the shit. Or, if I had, the braces, glasses, and incredible degree of geekiness ensured I couldn’t wear it well.
Years of Dungeons and Dragons ensured I never accidentally impregnated a girl ’cause…well, the braces and glasses (and geekiness) all but ensured I stood no chance even before discovering D&D in 5th grade. And somewhere along the way, all those role playing games showed me that I could make up stories on the fly. That, combined with reading the books my mom and sister read…I stayed true to my geeky self and eventually started writing.
I was never in danger of being mistaken for cool, either… Except for high school, when I stopped caring about how I looked and grew my hair long. Then plenty of people assumed I either had or knew where to get weed. (I didn’t.)
I remember in High School (back in the mid 80s) the big thing was “Member’s Only Jackets”. Never had one (I had a knock off one though – 20 bucks vs. 50+)
And scary thing is they’re coming BACK into vogue now.
What’s next ? Hammer Pants ?
Stop! Hammertime!
Perhaps Hammer pants and Starter jackets will come back at the same time. That would be pretty great, actually — you could see the people you want to avoid from almost a mile away.
I actually HAVE a Member’s Only jacket…..somewhere. Of course, we got it in the PX in the 90s, so….probably doesn’t count LOL
Dude, I’m sorry to say, that in Nebraska, Starter jackets never left. You can still find people wearing 90’s Husker Starter jackets at pretty much any home football game from October through November. My guess is that it’s probably because NU hasn’t been particularly good since the 90’s, and they’re hoping to somehow recapture the mojo. *sigh*
What I can’t explain is why the Starter jackets are usually accompanied by a pair of jorts.
*double sigh*
*shudder*
When I was looking for images online, people wearing Nebraska Starter jackets came up. I just assumed they were old pictures, but apparently not.