General Pop Culture Archives : Page 6 of 8 : The Retro Network

General Pop Culture

Unforgettable Fashion: Joe Boxer

Boring boxer shorts got a personality when Joe Boxer turned underwear into funderwear. Like Underoos for adults, Joe Boxer made dressing fun, as smiley faces, chili peppers, dollar signs, fish, jack-o-lanterns, Christmas trees and more

Unforgettable Fashion: Members Only Jackets

Mickey Yarber

Groucho Marx once said, “I don’t care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members.” Maybe he would have changed his mind if he could’ve been a part of the cool

Unforgettable Fashion: Underoos

Mickey Yarber

“Underwear that’s fun to wear, It’s you in your Underoos!” Up, up and away…Underoos made make-believe even better when fun came to underwear, transforming you into your favorite superhero or cartoon character. Wonder Woman, Batman,

Unforgettable Fashion: Swatch Watch

Mickey Yarber

Always new, always different. With Swatch, your watch was never plain, boring or dull. How many Swatch watches can fit on the average person’s wrist? Three was common, two was a must, and four was

Unforgettable Fashion: Brut Cologne

Mickey Yarber

Mickey Mantle wore it. Wilt Chamberlain and Joe Namath, too. Billed as the only choice for a masculine scent, Brut ‘defined masculinity for the American man.’ Created by Fabergé in 1964, Brut was so named

Unforgettable Fashion: Body Glove

Mickey Yarber

It fits on the body, like a glove. It’s a Body Glove. Body Glove was the creation of twin brothers Bob and Bill Meistrell, both dive and surf fanatics. California transplants from Missouri, the two

Unforgettable Fashion: Alligator Shirts

Mickey Yarber

To those in the know, it’s actually a crocodile. But in the early ’80s, only a select few were in the know, and even fewer cared. In a case of mistaken identity, the Lacoste crocodile

Favorite Elves (and References to Elves) in Pop Culture

Karen Flieger

1. Herself the Elf Herself the Elf and her friends were characters created by American Greetings. Yes, this is the same company that brought us Strawberry Shortcake, the Care Bears, Madballs, and My Pet Monster.

When Toys ‘R’ Us Came To Spartanburg, SC for Christmas 1985

Jason Gross

If you were a kid in 1985 and lived near Spartanburg, SC, the excitement of the holiday season had to be intense! While flipping through Google’s Newspaper Archive recently, I happened to notice that “The

Favorite Stocking Stuffers: Bonne Bell Lipsmackers

Karen Flieger

The first thing my brother and I did every year when we got up on Christmas morning was head right for our stockings. The rule was that we could play with (or eat) anything we

Retro Commercials: Polaroid Instant Camera for Christmas

OldSchool80s

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials

Video Rental Store History Through Early 1980s Newspapers

Jason Gross

Season 2 of the Rental Return podcast recently launched with a Preview Episode hosted by Adam, Chad, and myself. In case you haven’t listened, Rental Return’s tagline is “Tales From the Video Store” which alludes

Dancing at the End of Summer Sock Hop

Karen Flieger

One of my favorite youth group events at our church was the annual family sock hop. The sock hop was in our recreational building, which we affectionately referred to as “The Tin Tent”. It had

Toys R’ Us Retail Stores Coming To Macy’s

Jason Gross

Toys R’ Us is attempting another comeback as a brick-and-mortar retailer by partnering with Macy’s. According to a recent tweet from their official account, the toy store which went bankrupt in 2017 will now emerge

How Chris O’Donnell Stole My Heart (and My Wallet) in 1995

Jen

In the Spring of 1995, a few important things happened. Michael Jordan came out of basketball retirement and rejoined the Chicago Bulls. The longest sausage ever made (over 28 miles) was created in Ontario, Canada!

Celebrity Endorsement Ads in 1980s Newspapers

Jason Gross

Extra! Extra! Here’s another dive into the newspaper rabbit hole I’ve been digging as of late! So far, I’ve put together pictorials of newspaper ads for Hills Department Store and random Video Rental Stores. In

Retro Commercials: The Crest Team vs. the Cavity Creeps

OldSchool80s

I don’t know about you, but commercials can often take me back to my formative years as quickly as any song or movie can. That is why we will continue this semi-regular feature on ’80s commercials