@MIZZOU ASKS YOU

Coolest Fads

@Mizzou readers share memorable fads that were all the rage while they were on campus…

I was a student during the late ’70s and early ’80s. This was when the preppy look was really popular. The one look that I remember was wearing a polo-style shirt underneath a button-down oxford shirt, with the collar of the polo flipped up. We also wore polo shirts alone with flipped-up collars. That’s something I’ll always remember.

– Cynthia Cox Talley, BA ’81

I can remember when it was a fad to wear only pants, shirt and shoes. You did not wear underpants or socks. The shirt or sweatshirt was to be worn for two weeks without cleaning. We used to have contests to see who could go the longest without washing their clothes.

– Ken Donohew, BS IE ’67

During the mid to late 1950s, it was fashionable to wear lightweight, cardigan-style sweaters backwards. The row of buttons ran down the spine instead of in front. Not too outrageous, but then we were the beat generation.

– Jan Thomas, BJ ’59

Charcoal suits and pink shirts and ties – the’re coming back! Egads.

– Jim Cottrell, BS BA ’57

One fad was writing all over the sidewalks in chalk as a way to communicate almost anything, especially locations of parties.

–Karen Bangert, BS ’84, DVM ’87

I attended graduate school from 1997- 99. What I thought was the most ridiculous fad was undergrad students going to the cafeteria (and possibly classes?) in their pajama bottoms. I think that there are a few present day students still doing this, but I am glad that the majority don’t.

– Kyle Winward, MA ’99

We would all dress up like Rocky Horror Picture Show characters, go to the theater and act out the movie with props, dances and singing! It was a blast!

– Debra Kelly, BS ’81, M Ed ’89

We used to roll up our jeans at the cuff, fold over the edge, then roll again until they were so tight that they cut off our circulation!

– Robin Plotkin, BA ’ 91

While I was at Mizzou from1999-2003, one of the biggest fads on campus was Greek T-shirts. Everyone in the Greek system had tons of them, and they were all anyone wore. The funniest thing was when you and your roommate saw each other for the first time that day, and you both were wearing the same Homecoming skit T-shirt, philanthropy shorts and tennis shoes that you had bought together over the weekend. This happened a lot.

– Jill Faires, BS HES ’04

When I was in graduate school, streaking was the fad. I particularly remember being in the Arts and Science building in an English class when a nude male wearing only sneakers and a motorcycle helmet raced down the sidewalk just west of the building, totally capturing the interest of everyone in my class, including the professor. We all raced to the west window to “see it all,” so to speak! There really wasn’t that much to see, which was quite a disappointment! AAH – the good old days.

– Maryellen H. McVicker, BA ’73, MA ’75, PhD ’89

I attended MU from 1972-76, and at that time, streaking and panty raids were very fashionable. I remember after one panty raid on Gillett Hall (we were told not to look out the windows or interact with the male students — it didn’t happen, but that was what we were instructed to do), a group of girls decided to go over to the Pershing Group and have a jock raid. Of course the whole thing backfired when the guys came running out of their dorms instead of acting like the girls and being shy about the event. So much for jock raids. (At that time Gillett was an all-female dorm and Hudson was all-male.)

We also had a student streak across Middlebush auditorium during Professor Kuhlman’s Econ 51 lecture. Never a dull moment. In fact, if you weren’t an econ major, this was probably the highlight of the course for you! You just never knew when you would look out your window and see someone running naked down the street.

– Vickie R. Stewart, BS HE ’76

Favorite college course memories submitted after the July issue of @Mizzou was published …

Joseph Casey called Econ 51 his most memorable course and said he thought the professor’s name was Kaufman. It was Kuhlman, first name John, I believe. I too was at Mizzou in the late ’60s and remember the course. I still often think of some principle of economics I learned from Dr. Kuhlman.

– Joyce Lynch, BS HE ’69

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Last Update: March 12, 2007