Back to School Gear: 1980s Edition

It’s back-to-school week.  That time of year where acquiring just the right gear equates starting off on the right foot. Sure things have changed a bit in the last 30 or so years but one thing has remained constant – kids want to look cool.  With that in mind, here are five favorite back-to-school products from the 1980s.

 5. Trapper Keeper

Product: The Mead Trapper Keeper

The Trapper Keeper.  Back in the day this plastic and cardboard system was state of the art for staying organized.  A rainbow selection of pocketed  folders- excuse me- portfolios- kept all your classwork neatly sorted and color coded by subject. All the hopes and dreams of keeping you pulled together and on track could be found within its velcroed confines.

Noted Design: An internal clipboard spring that would lose the ability to hold even a single sheet of loose leaf paper within the first 3 weeks of ownership.

4. Swatch Watch

Product: The Swatch Watch

Now that clocks are attached to nearly every gadget we own, the wristwatch is pretty much obsolete.  But back in the go-go 80s, everyone wore one – and the coolest of the cool wore a Swatch. Sure the busy patterns and lack of numbers made it difficult to tell time, but the inherent hipness of the Swatch Watch could make James Spader pop a collar.

Noted Feature: The cheap delicate constitution of the watch necessitated the use of the Swatch Guard, a thin, rubber strip that stretched across the face to prevent it from getting scratched or cracked.

Vintage Swatch lovers can find many of the old school styles still available at SwatchandBeyond.com

3. Scientific Calculator

Product: The TI-30 Texas Instruments Scientific Calculator

The TI-30 was among the most popular of all LED calculators manufactured in the 1980s. The el cheapo workhorse of scientific calculators, the TI-30 got the job done albeit in a clunky, depressingly brown fashion.  Don’t forget a charged nine-volt on the day of the big test.

Noted Feature: The red LED added an Amityville Horror-like ambiance to your equations.

While Texas Instruments is still making scientific calculators today, fans of the retro models can find them on vintage resale sites.

2. Air Jordans

Product: The Air Jordan athletic shoe by Nike

New kicks. A back-to-school rite of passage. No pair was cooler than the Air Jordan by Nike.  The Jordan endorsement, the flashy colors and the then unheard of retail price of $65 made it a favorite with jocks, style setters and social climbers.

Noted Feature:  According to Nike, when Michael Jordan saw the sketches of  the black and red Air Jordan he said “I can’t wear that shoe, those are devil colors.”  Conveniently forgetting, we assume, the same “devil colors” he donned each time he slipped into his Chicago Bulls uniform.

Today, you can find vintage Air Jordans at WatchMyKicks.com

1. Floppy Disc

Product: The 5.25-inch (133 mm) Floppy Disc

Wafer thin and flexible, the data storage systems of yore were notoriously temperamental.  The diskettes were sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric to protect from dust particles, and featured large circular holes in the center perfect for twirling around your finger until the disc launched across the room.

Noted Feature: You could “jailbreak” the single-sided floppy from Radio Shack by puncturing them with scissors.

For a contemporary, stylish ways to transport your data today check out our gallery of USB sticks here.