Welcome to the ‘80s, where your wealth was measured in antenna length, Perrier bottles, and shoulder pad width.
It was the era of big deals, bigger hair, and an even bigger gap between the folks drinking sparkling water in convertibles and the ones sharing a landline in a wood-paneled station wagon.
From mirrored living rooms to plastic-covered couches that doubled as leg wax, this was a time when rich and broke lived on totally different planets, but both rocked Walkmans.
Get ready to laugh, cringe, and point as we take a trip through the wild divide of 1980s life.
1
Mercedes-Benz 560SL Convertible
our car told people two things: “I have money” and “I won’t drive you to the airport.”
2
A Brick-Sized Cell Phone
Wealth was measured in antenna length.
3
Owning a VCR
$500 just to record commercials in grainy standard definition? Only the wealthy could rewind luxury.
4
A Home With a Sunken Living Room and a Mirror Wall
Because nothing says “I’ve made it” like accidentally tripping into your own opulence. Mirrored walls reflected your wealth. And your cocaine habit.
5
Wearing Shoulder Pads the Size of Helicopter Blades
If your silhouette didn’t resemble a linebacker in drag, were you even rich?
6
A Fridge Full of Perrier
Because rich people in the '80s drank their water sparkling, foreign, and with an attitude.
7
Having a Huge Home Sound System
Do I need 12 speakers in my living room? No. Do I want my neighbors to hear my REO Speedwagon cassette? Absolutely. Wealthy people style.
8
Owning a Boat Named After Your Ex-Wife or Favorite Tax Loophole
Because land was for poor people.
9
Taking Aerobics Classes at an Exclusive Gym Club
Spandex, leg warmers, and a membership that cost more than rent. “Let’s get physical” was less about fitness and more about flaunting.
10
Doing Business Deals Over Lunch at a Steakhouse That Smelled Like Cigars and Greed
Bonus points for power ties and talking loudly about mergers.
11
That Giant Wood-Grain Console TV That Weighed 400 Pounds
If the picture went fuzzy, you banged the side like you meant it. Instant fix.
12
Plastic-Covered Couch That Glued to Your Legs in Summer
Luxury? No. Iconic? Absolutely. You either stuck to it or slid off it like a Slip ’N Slide of shame.
13
The Family Car Was a Station Wagon With Fake Wood Panels
No A/C. Bench seats. And you laid in the back with no seatbelt like a highway pancake.
14
Shopping the Kmart Blue Light Specials Like It Was the Met Gala
“Attention Kmart shoppers…” You sprinted across the store like it was Black Friday, only to buy off-brand jeans called “Dungaree Express.”
15
That One Fan in the Window That “Cooled” the Entire House
Air conditioning? What are we, the Rockefellers? You slept like a rotisserie chicken, slowly turning for that one second of breeze.
16
Putting Foil on the Rabbit Ears for Better Reception
You’d twist, tilt, and squint until the picture was “good enough”, which meant only slightly possessed.
17
Family Vacations Meant a Motel 6 and a Cooler Full of Bologna Sandwiches
You swam in a motel pool the size of a bathtub and thought it was paradise.
18
Boiled Hot Dogs for Dinner... Again
Served with a side of white bread because who has money for buns? Gourmet was just a word rich people used for macaroni.
19
Hand-Me-Downs That Had Lived Through Three Siblings and a Tornado
If it didn’t have grass stains or mystery holes, it was “Sunday best.”
20
The Whole Family Shared One Phone… On the Wall… With a Cord
You stretched that curly cord down the hall, into a closet, and whispered like it was a CIA operation.
