Back in 1984, when war was peace, freedom was slavery and hair was huge, teens strutted through the hallowed halls of Siam Square much as they do today, only with more panache, no damn smartphones, and more than a few single white gloves.
It was the height of the Cold War and strongman Gen. Prem Tinsulanonda seemed like he’d never give up power. Yet then as ever, Bangkok’s cool kids gathered to chill out at Siam Square, possibly dining on Jutharos‘ famous mussel pancake.
As much as now the whorls of international media influenced the fashion. All the girls looked like Molly Ringwald in “Sixteen Candles” while the dudes were miming the Japanese Yakuza and Hong Kong action flicks they obsessed over.
Yep, good times.
These photos of Siam Square teens published in the March, 1984, edition of then-popular teen magazine Ter Kab Chan give some idea of how awesome it would have been to go out and about in 1980s Thailand. Not that we’d have any idea how to call people, find places, remember dates or read news without brainphones.
Siam Square was already a popular street known for its trendy fashions back then. One doesn’t have to look to closely to see some of the same hats and accessories currently en vogue again in today’s new arrival section at the hipster store.
Fashion: Once be born, never gone.
This was obviously before Triumph Kingdom transformed Thailand into the land of skimpy tube tops and tiny shorts
Can you hear the Depeche Mode?
Kung Fu pants, flat bags, unbuttoned shirts, leather shoes, with one leg one pointed away while opposite hand rested in pocket. That’s how you stood. Whoo!
Instead of sporting H&M and Zara, we had our own clothing brands like Domon, Punch, Pacchino, Do! Family, Layout, Slot Machine and Mangmoom.
These ancestors of today’s hipsters would be in their fifties now. If your mom is here, please tell her she was fine.
Photos: Stubborn Devil
Related:
Then and Now: 16 vintage photos of Bangkok
Fly back to the 1960s with these vintage Thai air hostesses (PHOTOS)
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