The Wonder Years: Part One.
While many would look at the trends and fashions of the nineteen eighties with a sneer, dismissing it as the decade that taste forgot, I would say that such derogatory terms are unfounded. That is, if you happen to have discovered surfing and skateboarding at this time, as I did. The prevailing cultural references from the decade are those that which reflect the mainstream popular culture of the time. Yes they existed, but they do not define the era for me. I began surfing in the Summer of 1986, and I would say that this coincided nicely with the emergence of the modern surf and skate industries. A time when many of the brands that I know and love today really came into their own. Yes, it is true that the very same industries can be regarded as being responsible for selling out both of these cultures to the masses, this was the beginning of that. But to an impressionable 14 year old, the fact that the brands that were held in such high regard were so...