My inspiration for this post comes from my friend, Ron who did a similar post earlier this year. He and I tend to bond over a lot of different topics, sunbathing being one of them. When I was in high school and college, it was a very big deal to have a sun tan. There were no smartphones to compare with your friends; we compared arms! A typical conversation would go like this: "What are you doing on Saturday?" "I'm going to lay out all afternoon and then watch The Love Boat."
Living in the northeast, it was not uncommon to brag about how early in the year you 'laid out.' My personal record was February 12, 1984, when it was a balmy 65 degrees. I have no idea why I remember this, but I'm full of insignificant dates. Yeah, I know: skin cancer. That wasn't on the radar too much in those days. It was also eons before it was discovered that we need sunshine for vitamin D, so there's that.
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| The tanning oil of choice for me and my friends. Personally, I preferred the brown tub of white coconut butter that was a Hawaiian Tropic staple back then, but I could not find a photo of it online. To this day, the smell of coconut oil takes me right back. |
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| Another method of our madness was baby oil mixed with iodine. That really soaked up the sun, but also stained everything, so I didn't use it very often. |
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I had a similar lounging chair to this for sunbathing. I'd set it up in the backyard or the driveway.
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I was not a fan of reading in the sun, so you could usually find me with a set of earphones plugged into a cassette tape recorder . . .
. . . listening to these gems from the '80s. |
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Black may be the popular color now, but back in the day, it was important to wear white to show off your tan. My kids do not recognize this version of me. It shocks them, because I'm fair skinned.
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It was crucial for me to have a tan for the college ID that I'd be carrying for four years. Nailed it!
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| White tennis shoes were also a must to show off tanned legs. Sadly, these were my waning days of laying out because I had just started my first job after college. |
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| My boyfriend at the time was also into tanning. Later on, he married me. While we don't officially lay out any longer, you can still find us poolside in March if we take a spring break trip. As he likes to say, we need to build a Maui base! |
Were you also a sun worshipper?
OMG you perfectly described not only my youth but most of my adult life as well. We must be really close in age because we even had the same hair and white tennis shoes only I love reading outside and still do. And the Blonde tape...it was the BEST.
ReplyDeleteFrom 18 to 39 I lived in SW Florida and had summers off work so that's where I was most early afternoons...out in the sun, on the beach or on the river. I still use that same sun tan oil when I go to the pool and I still sit in the sun to read every chance I get.
Thank you, this post really brought back the memories.
We probably are close in age. I love to read, but have trouble with sun glare, even with sunglasses on. Wasn’t Blondie fabulous? I rarely hear their songs anymore. I bet your Florida tans were phenomenal. It was hard work to get a tan in northeast Ohio! I’m glad you enjoyed this post. People seem to love my Monday Memories posts, so I’ll try to do more of them next year.
Delete" "What are you doing on Saturday?" "I'm going to lay out all afternoon and then watch The Love Boat."
ReplyDeleteLOL! OMG, that cracked me the hell up because it's SO true! LOL!
Okay, so before my family moved to Florida in 1973, I used Coppertone, Sea & Ski,
Bain de Soleil, and last but not least....baby oil and iodine. Once in Florida, on the beaches of Boca Raton, I began using Hawaiian Tropic. And like you said, I LOVED the smell! And btw, there is a fragrance I wear in the summer from the company Replica that smells just like Hawaiian Tropic called, Beach Walk.
And "Yup" to the lawn chair, I had one of those too. I used to keep it in the trunk of my beige Chevy Nova, so that whenever my friends and I would go to the beach, I'd have it with me.
I used to have a transistor radio I'd take to the beach for music, but then switched to a tape cassette player (like the one pictured). And if you can believe this, I had an 8-track player too! I love the picture you shared of the tapes. I used to listen to Blondie, U2, and Adam Ant too. So 80s!!!!
Those photos of you are STELLAR!!! And you're so right, wearing white was crucial because it showed off our tans!!!
LOVE the last one of you and your boyfriend/husband too! It so made me smile!
Faaaaaaaaaaaaaabulous post, my friend! Thoroughly enjoyed it!!! X
Lol, yeah, I didn’t have a lot going on in high school. I remember lamenting with my best friend about how all we did was watch Love Boat on Saturday nights. You used every product!!! I’m going to have to look for Beach Walk because I just love that coconut scent. Someone needs to make a Hawaiian Tropic candle!
DeleteI never knew you have a Nova! My first car was a forest green Nova (actually, it was my parents’, but the first car I drove). We still have all our old cassette tapes, which I suppose we need to get rid of, but hard to because of the good memories. I had to include photos of myself, since you did in your post. It’s so funny how important tans were to us back then. I do still like a little color in the summer on my arms and legs, so I use the Jergen’s self tanner lotion. It does NOT give off the orange hue that I see so many people with.
I’m glad I finally wrote this post, after enjoying yours so much! Have a fab week!
Yup, I had a Chey Nova that was given to me by my parents, which was previously an extra car that we had that my older siblings used. It was a hand-me-down. LOL! But that Nova lasted me FIVE years before I had to get a new car. They don't make cars like that anymore.
DeleteMe too! I have also used the Jergens "Natural Glow" self-tanner. It's awesome! And inexpensive.
If you decide to get Beach Walk, try the travel size spray before you purchase the full size. I think the travel size is $32.00. And it's a fairly large travel spray. It's such a wonderful scent!
Too funny that we were both tooling around town in our Nova’s. Mine was a 1972 and I drove it from 1979-1984. I think my dad sold it after that, when I moved away from home into off campus housing in college. I had my one and only accident in that car in 1982. You’re right, they don’t make them like that anymore. I will look for Beach Walk!
DeleteLovely photos of you! I was never into sunbathing but I do like to get a bit of colour to my skin nowadays and sat outside in AZ last month and it was a great temperature. I do worry a little about skin cancer and wrinkly skin, but as I'm old anyway what's a few more wrinkles really?
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks Joey. Arizona is such a great place to catch some rays. I don’t really worry about skin cancer. I go to dermatologist every year and the only issue I’ve had is a mole that was on the side of my 4th toe and had never seen the sun. Go figure!
DeleteFirst and foremost, I adore these pictures. It's like a time capsule from another era. My childhood best friend died this year, and we used to spend every day of summer vacation on her patio. This post feels like she's hugging me. THOSE DAMN CHAIRS. I was always slipping off of them (due to Hawaiian Tropic), getting stuck in them, or getting my fingers sliced while adjusting them. Thank you so much. I really needed this today.❤️
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kari. That era is just special. I’m sorry about your childhood bff. I have listened to your podcast and remember you mentioning that. Those chairs really were the worst. I think I fell out of mine numerous times.
DeleteI like the photos. I especially like your college id one. I was in the sun often as a teenager, but usually swimming or cycling. I never really tanned, but I wanted to. I just turned bright red, which wasn't a good look on me then-- or now even.
ReplyDeleteI had just turned 18 a few weeks before that ID. Hard to believe that was me. Sigh…..
DeleteMy two daughters both had trouble with burning, but they are redheads.
I wasn't a sun worshipper by choice, but my dad was stationed on Oahu for three separate tours of duty and he loved to drag us to the beach every single weekend. Today, he's paying the price for that. Fortunately, the skin cancer is treatable.
ReplyDeleteI love that you had that Adam & The Ants cassette. I still have that exact album in my record collection!
My husband spent every day in the summer with his siblings at a pool/lake and he has had to have multiple cancer treatments. I think it’s a combination of genetics and being in or near water while sunning. I had a boyfriend in college who was obsessed with Adam and the Ants, Devo, and the Clash, so he got me interested in them back then.
DeleteSun worshiper, yes, but not for tanning as it happens naturally in India. Surprisingly you have all the required pictures of yesteryear. Oh yes, those cassettes were a blessing in those days (even though it was in mono and not stereo.)
ReplyDeleteThe cassettes were great because they were so portable. Thanks for visiting.
DeleteWhat a fun retro post, Bijoux, but unlike yourself and friends, I was never a sun worshipper. My parents never made summer trips to the “Jersey shore” even though it’s my home state. I never sat in the sun anywhere in my youth so can’t recall if I ever had a tan other then from being outside. My husband is the opposite and grew up going “to the shore” and spending extended periods with family. Maybe it’s because of my Italian heritage, but I tend to get tan arms and legs from just being outdoors in summer months even though I don’t “work” at it and I still have a bit of summer tan now.
ReplyDeleteMy family didn't go to the beach, either. My dad hated the thought of it! Our vacations generally involved historical sites and caves. I did not know you were of Italian heritage, but yes, I suppose you have always tanned quite easily.
DeleteOh, those plastic chairs. I still remember sweating all over them, then having the stupid lines imprinted on my body for hours after laying out in them. I really didn't lay out in the sun often simply because I grew bored rather quickly. I did, however, have about a 2 year stint from 16-18 years old that had me going to the tanning salon 3 or 4 times a week. I'm glad I didn't worship the sun much more than that because I think staying out of the sun is what is keeping my wrinkles at bay in my 40's now. You really nailed your coloring down back then. Love the big 80's hair too!
ReplyDeleteThose chairs really were “the pits” as we used to say back then. LOL! Yeah, it was pretty boring. I think an hour was my limit if I was by myself. I never did the tanning beds, but I remember returning from Christmas break in college and my boyfriend (not my husband) was SO tan from the salon and boy was mad! Bahahaha! And jealous! My hair could be its own post. I was a fanatic about it and still sort of am! To this day, I can’t do flat hair. Must have volume!!!
DeleteThe pits! LOL That's a blast from the past! I'm not a fan of flat hair either, though I was just a wee one in the 80s and never learned the tricks to get my hair that big. I usually put waves or curls in mine to get a bit of volume though.
DeleteWell, the trick in the 80’s and 90’s was spiral perms. I’m going to do a post on the topic in January.
DeleteLooking forward to it!
DeleteNo, I was never a sun worshipper. I would get too bored just lying there waiting to be tanned. And tans weren't a thing when I was young. Because we get so little sun here, I take a vitamin D tablet every day.
ReplyDeleteI don't recognise you in any of those old photos, especially with the big hair! Your appearance has changed a lot.
We don’t get much sun here, either. It really made tanning a challenge. Everyone recognizes me at class reunions, so I guess I haven’t changed that much, but it was 40 years ago!
DeleteI used to use baby oil with iodine, too. I only got tan if/when I went to the beach though. I was never a fan of laying out in the sun. Then, I pretty much avoided the sun for the majority of my adult life. Bit hats and umbrellas on the beach! It's only in the last few years that I've gotten tan over the summer. Not from laying out, just from being outside walking and playing with the grandsons! I'm not one for sunscreen so I always end up tanned.
ReplyDeleteIt was very hard to tan in the northeast. I had been to the Caribbean my senior year of high school for spring break, so that’s why I was so dark in the first two pictures. I don’t wear sunscreen unless I’m near water.
DeleteWhat a fun flashback for me too! We did the iodine with oil; what were we thinking?
ReplyDelete(My Dad had a GF for a while and she took a tub of LARD out by the pool and rubbed it all over her. I'm wondering if she's still alive and if so, is she still BROWN?)
I grew up in FL and we'd spend the entire day at the beach IN the sun with no protection...I'm honestly lucky to have skin. My step mom had one of those silver boards that reflected the sun and laid on it for MORE sun.
I love that you and I had/have the same tastes in music. I love the photos of you and your honey!
The current Suz will not worship the sun. I've spent too much $$ on repairing my skin from my youth.
Lard? That’s just gross! Lol! I figured that you would be able to relate to both my music and my style. That was the best decade!
DeleteI did the same thing back when I was in high school. Except me and my friends used baby oil on our skin and laid out in the sun. Yeah, I do not recommend that. lol
ReplyDeleteGetting a tan was the thing to do back then. None of my kids cared about tanning at all.
DeleteA fun little trip down memory lane, Bijoux. Thank you. I wasn't a sun worshipper because I have a lot of moles so my mother was convinced I would get skin cancer so she imprinted on me at a young age to stay out of the sun so I did and I still do.
ReplyDeleteI totally get that. Both of my daughters are redheads, so we were always cautious about them being out in the sun.
DeleteAwwwwww such CUTE pictures! My you are tall! And so tanned, haaahaha! YES I did the tanning thing for many years. The smell of Hawaiian Tropic oil IS summer to me. It just is. So dreamy! I can almost feel the hot rays and see the blue pool water and hear the planes droning overhead and the cicadas singing. Ugh I like the winter break but I think I am ready for summer again! xoxo
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jenny! I’m a bit over 5’8”. I don’t wear heels because it makes me feel like a giraffe. Lol! Isn’t that coconut scent the best? Love it! I detest winter. We’ve had snow here since Saturday and I’m already over it. I’m living for two 50 degree days in the forecast for next week.
DeleteGrowing up on the coast, laying out on the beach was a regular thing to do. Especially once I had a car and they had an open high school campus, 6 and 7 periods were often on the beach!
ReplyDeleteThat must have been a lot of fun! We could only leave early if we had a job :(
DeleteOh, gosh, I love this post--especially all those beautiful photos of you!
ReplyDeleteI was indeed--and still remain--a sun worshipper! I used to put up a beach chair in my backyard, and if my parents were using the beach chairs, I'd put a towel on the cellar shed and get my tan that way.
I'm heavily tanned in my college ID photo. I also have a massive amount of hair that has since departed, so now I rub the sun screen all over my scalp.
I go to a nearby park now and I try to be careful, but I can't help it--I gotta get my rays! One of the saddest things about the end of summer is watching that tan fade away...
Oh, and by the way...Adam Ant?!?
Thanks, Rob. Another fan of the sun! Yes, I also remember some pretty uncomfortable places I worked on a tan. The roof of an apartment complex, for one (no chair). Yeah for tanned college ID photos! LOL! I do still love the feel of the sun on my skin. Even if I'm bundled up and it's only on my face.
DeleteNot really a sunworshiper in that I didn't start early and never used the the reflective mirrors some folks did back in my day, also never used the baby oil and iodine, but did like to lay out and listen to music with a girl friend. Hubby is very fair so he always finds a shade spot poolside. I tend to now do a bit of both and use heavy duty sun screen. Times are surely different. We didn't know back in the day that it did harm. I'm a bit older than you, so we really didn't know. At some point I worked for a Dermatologist...boy that was an eye opener.
ReplyDeleteSandy's Space
No, we didn't really know how bad it was for us. My husband's uncle was a physician's assistant at a dermatology practice and would always give us warnings, but at that point, the damage was done. The crazy part is that the sun is actually so helpful with both Vitamin D intake and skin fungus issues. I guess all in moderation.
DeleteI attempted to tan, but wound up burning, always. Then that would peel and I would have the intsiest, tiniest little bit of a tan you could imagine. It was the stupidest thing, and I remember thinking, "I deserve to get skin cancer for this." And I did, at 21. :/ My mom is a redhead, incapable of tanning. I have brown hair, but her skin tone. It seemed so unfair. Older people, like aunts, would tell me I'd be grateful when I'm older because I'll have fewer wrinkles and look younger. They were actually right about that. :)
ReplyDeleteWhoops. This is Betsy! Gotta figure out how to get my name automatically in here again!
DeleteIt's totally not letting me currently, though. :/
Ugh, I’m sorry about the skin cancer. My husband is very Irish, but he does tan AND battles basal cell carcinoma on a yearly basis. Both my daughters are redheads and I fear for them. I don’t know your age, but you do look very young!
DeleteI'm tempted to ask how young, but I know I shouldn't. Vanity and all that. I have two redheaded daughters too! They burn, my blonde one tans. It's so unfair. Ah well. At least having red hair is fun. :)
DeleteI honestly thought you were in your early 30’s from your pictures. Being slim also helps! Both my granddaughters are red heads as well. The 3 year old also has curly hair and we shall see with the 15 month old, but it’s looking like a possibility. Too cute!
DeleteA curly redheaded granddaughter?! Oh my goodness. Does it get any better?
DeleteWell, my profile pic is a bit (ahem, cough) old, but hopefully you think 30s from pics I've posted more recently. In which case, thanks! Off by a decade. I'll take it! ;)
Forever Young, that’s what I say!
DeleteNow that song will be Forever In My Head. ;)
DeleteForever Young or Steal My Sunshine by LEN, which sadly, nobody probably got the reference! One of my faves from the 90’s.
DeleteI was never a sun worshipper. I am glad about it now. Only my arms and face show the signs of aging. The rest of me is still smooth and soft.
DeleteLiving far from the equator helps us, too!
DeleteOoooh, Steal My Sunshine--a great one. Sorry for not catching that. :/ BTW, this is Betsy again. It's not even remotely letting me log in this time. So weird.
DeleteI’m sorry :(
Delete