[PHOTOS] What Our Parents Used To Wear When They Hung Out With Their Friends
Bellbottoms and big hair, whoa!
Have you ever wondered how your parents were like when they were young and carefree, way before any of us came into this world?
In a nostalgic trip down memory lane with our parents, we flipped through some old photo albums to see how our folks were living it up back in the day:
1. "My mum doesn't just dress up for birthday parties and discos... she and her best friend actually dressed up just to take a photo at home hahahaaaa!"
"According to her, in the '70s or '80s, people celebrate their birthday at home (above, 6th from right). But I found one where she was celebrating a birthday at a disco with her new friends, when she'd just come to KK (below, 3rd from left)!"
- Maxine
"Not a birthday party, but here's one of my mum (left) and her best friend, all dressed up to take this one photo at home."
2. "In the '80s, most guys like to dress like HK actors or the late George Michael."
"My mum also told me that the men take a lot of pride in their cars. They'd wash and polish their cars on Sunday, then pose next to it to take a picture before driving it into town in their Sunday casual wear.
This is my dad with his car."
- Maxine
3. "This is how my mum and her friends spend their weekends as students."
"My mum used to study in an international boarding school in Sussex, UK, with classmates came from different countries like Japan, Yemen, Iran etc.
In this picture, my mum and her friends were on their Sunday outing to Wimpy's Bar in town (Bexhill on Sea). There wasn't much to do there, 'coz if they wanted to go to a disco, they'd have to go all the way to London. So that's the only way they spend their weekends as students."
- Aqila
4. "My dad looks like an OG hipster!"
"These photos were taken during my dad's uni days in Coburg, Germany during the early '70s.
The one with the three hipster-looking dudes (above, Julie's dad in the middle), the guys were posing and taking photos while the girls were busy preparing food when he was out at a picnic in the woods with his classmates. Same with the one with the awesome filter even Insta can't replicate (below)."
- Julie
5. "My mum and her friends had this tradition during festive seasons, where they would walk around the neighbourhood to drop by their friends' open houses."
"In her late teens and early 20s, my mum and her friends - especially the girls - are the most dressed up when they go on their 'old school food trail'. They would meet up somewhere, then walk around the neighbourhood to drop by their friends' houses for Raya, Deepavali, and CNY."
- Gowri
6. "I think my dad likes to take photos by the roadside. Or squatting next to something."
"My dad said 'where got so manyyyyy?' when I asked him about the squatting thing, but after I pointed them out, he said, 'Aiya, the focus is on the flower hedge or whatever I was squatting next to. So I should be near it.'
Then I asked him why they like to pose by the roadside, he said those are test shots only."
- Esther
7. "I didn't know my mum had so many friends."
"Back when my mum was studying in Canada, she and her classmates would frequently hang out at a park nearby campus in between classes or during the weekends. Most of them are Malaysian, because apparently there weren't a lot of mat sallehs in her batch.
The first thing I said to her when I saw the photo (above) was, 'I didn't know you have friends.' Okay, that sounds mean, but that's because she's very reserved and every time her friends have reunions or gatherings, she never wants to join. So when I found this picture, it's like seeing a very different side of my mum that I never knew."
- Anis
8. "Wow, my mum and dad had matching jeans!"
"Also, the high-waisted denims, why do they look so good in these photos? They're all Instagram-worthy, it's as hip as you can get back then... even now!"
-Justin
"Bonus - this is my dad's 'love rival'. This guy was trying to go after my mum but obviously, he failed. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here."
9. "Apparently, my mum was somewhat of a fashionista back in the day - changing her hairstyle every month, short skirts, ready to strike a pose anytime and anywhere..."
"She still keeps a lot of her clothes from back then, hoping that me and my sisters would wear them some time, but they're so TINY."
- Samantha
10. "So, I think my dad really likes plunging necklines."
"'What, I'm not the only one lah! You see all of them also do the same. In those times, we do not button up 'til the top!'
Okay, dad. :)"
- Samantha
11. "This is what my mom wears to work."
“My mum used to wear a lot of short skirts, sundresses, platform shoes and large-rimmed glasses. Coincidentally, the pair of glasses I’m wearing now looks just like the one she had in her 20s!
I used to question her collection of elastic belts too, until they came back in fashion a few years ago..”
- Judith
"This pic was taken in November 1985, a couple of months after the official opening of the Penang Bridge. My dad and his cousin’s family wanted to have a look, so they drove over the bridge and stopped at the middle-span for a few customary pics!"
Have you seen any photos of your parents from back in the day? Share them with us in the comments section below! :)
You can also send them to [email protected] if you have stories to share behind the photos. :)