Friday 22 July 2011

Where I am from - The Teens to early 20 Years

I'm from Anne French cleansing milk in the white and blue bottle and Boots Country Born bright green hair gel

I'm from wash in Harmony hair colours in the triangular boxes

I'm from Miss Selfridge Iron Lady fuschia pink lipstick

I'm from Saturday afternoons buying things in Chelsea Girl and then moving onto Flip and Deja Vu for vintage which my mother hated, she despaired of my "second haun claes"

I'm from Razzy denims and Adidas Kick trainers

I'm from Freemans catalogue and paying for things weekly

I'm most definitely from my first love, Alan Osprey, aka Ospur punk extraordinaire, who shaped me so much when I was 15

I'm from only getting 1 punk song played at school discos and doing my Siouxsie skip and him his pogo while the rest watched the weird punk ballet

I'm from being a student and drinking in Byres Rd, before moving onto Cleopatra's on Gt Western Rd, affectionately known as Clatty Pat's

I'm from thinking I was so sophisticated when we qualified and had money and moved onto to Maxwell Plums, the Devil's Advocate and Warehouse and Panama Jax, not forgetting Bennett's, what a Glasgow institution that was

I'm from drinking malibu and pineapple, then Southern comfort and lemonade, then white wine and soda

I'm from smelling of Estee Lauder Cinnabar, then Calvin Klein Obsession and then YSL Opium, never ever Poison

I'm from tight black dresses and sheer black stockings and very high stilettos ala Robert Palmer "Addicted to Love" video

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

That is lovely and resonates with so many of my own memories. I did an exercise like this on a writing course once. Brings out some emotional stuff.

AGuidingLife said...

The simple answer to this is 'yup'! Did your scalp change colour too?

My mum swore at me for the very first time the day I came home with a tub of that gel. She called me a 'git' ! I thought it was a bit of an overreaction. If she'd have known how far I was going to push boundaries later so would she lol

Nota Bene said...

Ha ha...this is brilliant...wish I'd been a punk!

Laura said...

Loved this post. I love the smell of cinnabar......and poison.

Gigi said...

Despite all the cultural differences (mainly the products) I know EXACTLY where you were from - the teens to the early 20's - because it sounds pretty much the same as where I'm from...on a whole different continent.

Elderberry-Rob said...

this is fun, I hadn't ever assessed myself like that before - might give it a try.

libby said...

I want to know about Mr Osprey.....whatever happened to him?

Looking for Blue Sky said...

Boots Country Born was the very first hair conditioner to reach our little town. I was so excited.. Needless to say it had no effect at all on my Kate Bush-style locks!

Sueann said...

What wonderful sights and sounds and smells!! They evoke memories of my own.
Hugs
SueAnn

auntiegwen said...

TS - thanks, I'd love to do a writing course. One day when I have money left over, when the kids don't need keeping in Jack Wills

S - ooh how could we forget, I had a gleaming mahogany scalp for more than a few years :)

NB - oh yep, everyone else was a mod or a new romantic, I was a bit slow, even then

Lolly - oh no not the dreaded Poison, it was so popular, everyone reeked of it

Gigi - now that I love, that teens the world over are all the same

Betty - it's great fun, I know my memory will completely go eventually so it's great to try and remember now

Libs - probably a fat balding middle aged bloke who works for the council, the antithesis of his teenage self

LFBS - so jealous of your Kate Bush locks, I had (still do) boring brown limp straight. I've stopped typing because my boring hair has bored me to death

SueAnn - it's funny how perfume and smells can take me straight back to a place in my past

Wylye Girl said...

Oh God, that Harmony hair colouring stuff said 'Golden Blonde' on the packet and turned me carrot orange and Poison, eeeuuww, people wouldn't stand downwind of me!

auntiegwen said...

WG - Poison was either a love it or hate it scent wasn't it? it smelled vile on me. I wore the heavy Cinnabar/opium types for a few years and then went onto Giorgio (remember the yellow and white striped box?) and the Beautiful, again which I wore for years

Curry Queen said...

Anne French Cleansing Milk! Gaaaaah! *drowns in waves of nostalgia*

Taz said...

We are sooooo cut from the same cloth but for the fact you lived in Scotland and I lived in Wales :D