Were You a Child Fashion Victim? 11 Things I Thought Were Stylish in the '80s and '90s

My grandma helped me make this Santa sweatshirt with glitter puffy paint and an iron on kit. Breathtaking, isn't it? I considered it a signature piece in my wardrobe and wore it for the entire month of December.

Here I am in my fake fur jacket (left). I also had a very classy matching muff. I was the only little girl in my pre-school class to own faux fur outerwear which, as you can imagine, was quite an achievement at the age of three.

My mom kept our home stocked with Aquanet hairspray and used it freely. Not only did my sister and I have the tallest bangs in elementary school, but they were also the strongest. Those things wouldn't budge in hurricane strength winds. It was sort of like wearing a permanent helmet.

To make up for the fact that giant hair fell out of fashion around the time my perm relaxed, I began wearing enormous bows. The bigger the hair bow the better. I wanted them to be visible from the front or, even better, outer space.

The great thing about a growth spurt was the opportunity to turn all those high-water jeans into cut-off shorts without the risk of angering my mother by ruining a perfectly good pair of pants. I never could pass up an opportunity,especially one involving acid wash.

I wore them before you, Madonna, but I had the good sense to match them with my socks.

Ever have to stop yourself from going ensemble match crazy? (I'm looking at you, guy in the jean jacket paired with jeans.) As a kid, my siblings and I pulled this look off effortlessly. Just check out the way my sister matches her pants to her shirt and ties it all together with a matching headband. It was a thing of beauty.

I've noticed these eye-assaulting colors are making a fashion comeback. While there is no chance they will find their way into my adult wardrobe, I had an entire dresser drawer dedicated to them as a kid. Side note, check out the miniature fanny pack I'm wearing on my ankle (center). I love when fashion meets function. Brilliant.

Rompers are a pet peeve of mine. Dress, shirt, pants -- we've got our wardrobe basics. No one asked for a hybrid, Romper! If you don't agree that they are ridiculous wear one to work, drink the recommended eight glasses of water a day and see how practical they are when you have to completely disrobe to use the public restroom. You can imagine my disappointment when I learned I wore one to my second birthday. I blame my mother.

If I could carry forward only one aspect of my childhood fashion sense to my "grown up" wardrobe it would most definitely be the ability to pull off t-shirts with animals on them. Pink and purple bear? Horse running with a windblown mane? That would pair perfectly with leggings as pants. Suddenly I'm having second thoughts.

Speaking of leggings, I really miss owning outfits where the skirt was sewn onto them. There's an idea I could get behind. I'm looking at you, people in charge of trendsetting. Let's make this easy on everyone.