that’s me second from the left
I just came across a photo album with pictures from one of the high school dances I attended my junior or senior year. We were suburban teenagers and in many ways just like the characters from John Hughes’ 1985 film The Breakfast Club. We were in Deerfield after all, just a few suburbs away from Northbrook where the 34 year old Hughes resided. We grew up with his films and identified with his characters. We were the jock, the nerd, the burnout, the super popular and the outcast. But maybe because of his films, we also were a very accepting group of teenagers, not just of those who were “like” us but of all the “others” as well. We attended that dance not as “couples” but as one solid united front, all of us wearing our best thrift store vintage dresses and the guys in their skinny ties. It was 1989. Life was good.
The 2017 high school dances might not have much in common with those of the 80’s, but the fashion seems to be making its way back along with some of the music. I am digging into my vinyl collection from the 1980’s for December 28 (the final BYOV of the season) and we are hoping to go back a few decades with music from the era of John Hughes that night. Find that vintage 80’s sweatshirt, acid-washed jeans, your Culture Club, Howard Jones, and Simple Minds records and come dancing one last time for 2017!
Here’s some music to get you in the mood…
https://open.spotify.com/user/kmcguane/playlist/4et86KVQw6FcWfLjDzN6sA
