Friday, August 17, 2012

11. where were you in 97

So, I'm having this walk down nostalgia lane all over again because of this new drama called "Answer Me 1997." While this drama revolves around 18-year-olds in Korea and their lives in 1997 (Tamagotchis, Guess t-shirts, and the H.O.T./Sechskiss rivalry), it was a crucial year for me, too.

That was the year I discovered the Backstreet Boys. By Christmas, I could recite all of Brian Littrell's parts on their self-titled album. It was also the year I cemented the ties of my middle school clique. The six of us were inseparable until the last day of 8th grade. It was also the year "Titanic" was released. I sat in a broken chair in a packed theater for over 3 hours. My butt cramp barely let me walk out of the theater.

I bought my first pair of heels in 1997. They were a pair of square loafers with stacked heels from Old Navy.  I also rocked my flair Levis so hard that year - I credit them for helping me get my first "boyfriend" whose ability to wear JNCOs and clumsily skate across the school lot made the greatest single impression on me.

Ahhhh, 1997. I didn't know it then, but you were one of the best years of my life.

Share your '97 memories in the comments!

gucci-doctor-bag-tibi-chloe-laser-wedge-sandals
gucci-doctor-bag-tibi-butterlondon-jaffa

Madewell lace tank
Tibi 'Horatio' striped skort
Chloe red laser cut wedge sandals
Gucci vintage doctor bag

10 comments:

  1. In 1997 I was in my last year of primary school. By chance, I made friends with the coolest girl in my year (if my school were the setting for Jawbreaker, she would be Elizabeth Purr), but her friends would pointedly insist that I wasn’t near cool enough. I had a crush on the cutest boy in our year (of course) MAINLY because he had hair like Aaron Carter, and of course he didn’t know I existed until years later when he would copy my math’s homework. I think it was also the year my friends (and one girl I hated) and I danced to a Spice Girls song for a school assembly. I still cringe at that last memory.

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  2. In 97 I was 11 so tamagotchis sounds just about right! I was obsessed with my original one, and I also had an updated "kitten" one with cooler graphic than the original. I think there was also a fad for electronic yo-yos in the UK then. My other obsession was watching Friends on a Friday night at primetime TV time (does that even exist anymore??) and pretending to fancy Rachel when I really like Ross...

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  3. I was a sophomore in high school. I had chin-length hair and I wore hand-me-down bass loafers, at least until they gave up the ghost and tore open one afternoon. My best friend and I fought over a stupid magazine and we each took a friend in the "divorce." I was into Jewel and The Corrs, and felt superior because I wasn't into Backstreet Boys at all. (But I was into Spice Girls. My favorite was Posh.) Yes to Titanic. I also loved Men in Black. And Meredith Brooks' "Bitch" was always on the radio. This was the year I tried contact lens and always came to school with red eyes. I learned to smoke and drink for the first time. (I was 13; such laws are lax in our country...)

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  4. In 1997 I was a loner trying to fit into middle school in Hong Kong. I had a British accent that I was in strong denial of which I eventually lost when I moved back to Toronto. Valentine's Day of 1997 I also sent a pack of Hershey Kisses to myself not thinking it was weird but that I just wanted candy. I sent it with the title 'Your Secret Admirer'. I was listening to S Club 7 and Christina Aguilera and crushing on a dude because he played piano well.

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  5. What a cute bag! You look great, love your hair :)

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  6. Oh, gosh...in 1997 I was still in Kindergarten. The eighth graders were petrifying and a lot of us were thankful that our classroom was on the other side of the building. It was the year of a lot of firsts– I rode the bus for the first time, lost my first tooth, went trick-or-treating for the first time, etc. It was a time when my biggest concerns were what games to play at recess and what snacks to bring to school and I think there's something to be said about the non-pressure of it all...there was hardly anyone to impress and thoughts were kept on the present and not worrying about the future.

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    Replies
    1. OMG, when I was in kindergarten, the coolest snack you could bring were Teddy Grahams. Everyone wanted to be your friend that day.

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  7. In 1997 I was barely 3 years old so I don't remember that much ;-)
    Though I have to say I adore your bag!

    yunes

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  8. my comment was eaten, so , i hope i'm not publishing it twice:)
    so, in 97, i was 13 and saw a first ever french kiss live. it was a boy i had a crush on for years and his (super gorgeous) girlfriend. i was standing across the hall from them but felt like i was right next. it was appalling to me and i still have a very vivid memory of it. after that my bff (who had a crush on the same guy) got us some imaginary boyfriends and were in relationships with them for a year. the tactic didn't work on the guy but we earned the respect of the girls in class though no one ever so our hot dates (they were from another town):D
    haha, thank you for making me remember this :)

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