Eighties Greaties

If you were born in the '80s like we were, you no doubt grew up with the likes of Thunder Cats, Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony and other such psychedelic, progressive toon friends. The '80s have been experiencing something of a revival lately -- beyond the acid-trip neons and padded shoulders showing up across the runways, Hollywood has embraced the era too with a whole slew of 80s relics getting the remake treatment, from Transformers to G.I. Joe and more.

If blowing your budget on Balmain plus a ticket to the Imax showing of Transformers isn't feasible, show your support for your animated childhood icons with a T-shirt from 80s Tees, a website that has collected a line-up of great tees, many of which come in distressed cotton that adds to the vintage feel of the image. Besides straight-up homages to the characters, there are also more costume-like takes on the genre (save the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character shirts for Halloween -- gotta love Crang!), as well as a few other nods to '80s phenomena that are still relevant today -- think Top Gun tees, Super Mario Bros designs and even the imprint of Lloyd Dobbler, vainly holding his Peter Framption-blasting stereo up to Diane Court's window in the pouring rain. (PS, LOVE John Cusack.)





A few others:

God, remember Saved by the Bell? The best thing about this T-shirt is the fact that Mario Lopez is still out there trying to ride the SBTB fame train to a comeback career. And people are still hating on him. With good reason.


I had a Rainbow Brite pillow. And the VHS of the movie Rainbow Brite and the Star Stealer. Man, I want to re-watch that. Look closely at the image, and the green little fairy is captioned "Got Green?" Heh.


I always thought She-Ra and He-Man would get married. But I suppose onscreen romances never work offscreen. Still, girlfriend was one of the early feminists, huh? Princess Power!


Funnily enough, I recently bought the Gremlins movie from the VCD store down the street from my place. I thought it would be the perfect accompaniment to a Friday night snackfest. And now, once I own this T-shirt, I can wear it while I watch it and be the ultimate coolest person ever.


This image looks exactly like the one on my Strawberry Shortcake duvet and sheet set. Cartoons were so wholesome in the old days. Not to mention tasty. Nobody wants to eat Pokemon or Samurai Jack, but that fluffy hat makes me think of  muffin tops (of the baked variety, not the fat overhang).


Thunder-thunder-thunder-thunder-CATS!


Anyone know where this image is from? Or how it was reclaimed for modern usage? If not, check here. Or ask my friend Chris.