Fashion look back: rocking my teenage years

I was trying to show my son our resemblance when he saw these pictures of me in my teens. And guess what he said? “You look better now!” He said my hair looked really strange back then. LOL. That, was my maggie noodle hairdo – which was the rage in the 80s. I think I wore that kind of hairstyle for many years because my mom had always liked my hair permed. Yeah, mom and her weighty words – better to curl my hair then to suffer her nags really.

All right, my fashion sense back then was quite odd. Just try to picture me dressing like Cyndi Lauper with that maggie noodle hairdo for a moment and you’ll know what I mean. But you don’t see much of the eccentricity here because those were not immortalized in pictures. These I’m showing you here are well…pretty normal.

One of my brothers had bought me this pair of boots from Taiwan because he said the girls there looked real cool in them. Of course I wore them. And of course I got stared down very hard. It was a pair of long boots and I was 14. Boots in Singapore then was almost unseen.

I might have rocked it as a fashion blogger if I had Internet back then because I loved to experiment with clothes and taking my own pictures. Nah, I didn’t have a photographer. I was my own photographer and this was one of those pictures I took on a tripod stand. But boy, I already knew how to pose as young as 15! Camwhoring is indeed a timeless concept!

One of my favorite looks was trying to dress older than I really was. I think I was inspired by some Taiwanese celebrities back then and was trying very hard to immerse myself as one of the “Qiong Yao 琼瑶” characters in my head! Heheh. And yes, I did want to be an actress as a teenager.

Okay, other than the maggie noodle hairdo, this was another hairstyle I wore for some years as a teenager. Don’t you think it’s very “Princess Diana”? But honestly, I have no idea if I was trying to copy her then. I mean, it was so long ago!

This picture was taken when I was about 19 I think. I wore my hair long for a few years but still with those signature maggie noodle curls. I definitely don’t miss my longer hair but I do miss my complexion back then. No sunscreens and my skin didn’t suffer for it until now. And I swear my eyebrows were much thicker back then too.

All right, thank you for reading this useless post of mine but I hope it brought back some nostalgic moments for you as it did for me. I definitely committed A LOT of fashion crimes as a teenager but I don’t think I cared too much about them. In fact, I had so much fun with clothes because I was more adventurous back then. I sewed my own clothes and I dared to be different, even if it meant looking odd. I mean, what’s the big deal if I had looked weird anyway?

Comments

  1. Lee Ying says:

    Maggie noodles? ?

  2. Marla says:

    I love those pics-especially the one with the tammy hat.

  3. Caren says:

    Wow you look pretty! ? I’m 18 now and I have to agree with the “I dared to be different, even if it meant looking odd. I mean, what’s the big deal if I had looked weird anyway?”
    Caren last post is: What it really means to listen to God

  4. Sanne says:

    What great pictures ? Love seeing them. You certainly had an own style!

  5. aisyah says:

    waah, such a fashionista! The second photo (top part of the outfit) looks like something out of a japanese magazine I recently bought. No kidding. Being fashionable is such a good trait to have and I approve all of your past photos! so cantik loh! ?

  6. Sesame says:

    Haha…but they’re not edible.

  7. Sesame says:

    Thank you. ?

  8. Sesame says:

    Thanks! Yeah, I think it’s a great age to experiment and develop your own style. ?

  9. Sesame says:

    Haha…I had a style – hotchpotch sorta style. Hee…

  10. Sesame says:

    Oh thanks so much for your kind comments. I know the word “cantik”. ?

  11. EcoBeauty says:

    Sesame, you were so pretty! And you’re still pretty now but obviously more sophisticated. I guess the boy isn’t used to the maggie hair do. :p I liked the 1st and 4th photo the most because your face reminded me of a popular actress during the 80s (but I forgot who). How old were you in the first pic? ?

  12. Carol says:

    Sesame looks like Esther Kwan (Hk actress) in the first pic!

  13. Sesame says:

    @EcoBeauty: Oh geez…thanks. The hairstyle also reminds me of poodles. Kekeke…

    1st & 4th pics were of me during college time – so should be around 18.

  14. Sesame says:

    @Carol: I had to google to see who was that. I like her but nah, she’s a lot prettier.

  15. Leila says:

    It’s so cute that your son prefers how you look now to then, it must be nice to know, right? (On a side note, I remember from a picture you posted of him a while back, he really does resemble you!)

    It seems everyone’s fashion sense was odd in the eighties, but you don’t look so strange to me and in fact, some of the other outfits wouldn’t be out of place today! That’s the best age to experiment anyway! You look quite fashionable, it’s the style of the times. Besides, what will people think of the current styles 20-30 years from now? The outfit in the third picture is especially pretty, it would easily be in a magazine today.

    Seeing fashions from this time period brings a sense of nostalgia, because that’s how I remember people dressing in my very early childhood. Anyway, a very nice post.

  16. Paris B says:

    Haha I enjoyed this and you were & are pretty and I admire the fact that you do know how to pose ? My old pictures will never see the light of day ?
    Paris B last post is: Tip and How To: Using Eyeliner as an Eyeshadow Base

  17. xin says:

    even as a teen you knew how to pose already!
    my teen pics have nothing dramatic to show except for the odd mushroomy thick hair i had, definitely nothing even worth remembering in the fashion department. LOL. it was mainly just jeans and blouses
    xin last post is: Random Updates: When the Itchy Hands Get Inspired

  18. makeupmag says:

    So pretty, Sesame. I enjoyed looking at your walk down memory lane – thanks for sharing! If only I had such presentable pix (mine all jian be de guang one, haha!). Some really lovely photos there, dear.

  19. Swati says:

    this is such a sweet post…you definitely looking awesome in shorts!!! that’s my fav look. i do think all kids find their parents better now than then….me too ?
    Swati last post is: Happy Bloggers Meet!!

  20. Soos says:

    Love the boots & beret! I wear both of those in the library – sometimes the aircon is chilling!
    Soos last post is: Dinner at Prima Kailua

  21. Sesame says:

    Yes, he looks a lot like me and also when I was at his age!

    I did wear some odd clothes but no pictures for those. It’s a bit like trying too hard. Haha…But it’s fun to experiment. With age, many of us get less adventurous although for some, it maybe the opposite.

  22. Sesame says:

    Haha…many of my pics were taken by my brother so I had to look a bit more decent. ?

  23. Sesame says:

    Haha…I was a bit vain (maybe a lot). But I never wore jeans…in fact, I hardly wore pants cos I don’t look good in them.

  24. Sesame says:

    Thanks Mag! Glad you enjoyed the walk with me. ?

  25. Sesame says:

    It’s odd right…I think cos the current look is more contemporary and something they’re used to.

  26. Sesame says:

    I don’t wear them anymore. I would love to be able to wear boots but they just make my feet uncomfortable.

  27. Amanda says:

    Wow, this is definitely an interesting post! I love it. You look most beautiful in the first the fifth photos. I hope I had taken such beautiful and displayable photos in my teens. But I wasn’t into my appearance at that time, so I have nothing to show now ?

    By the way, I think you must be a fashionable gal in your teens! Am I right?

  28. Sesame says:

    Thanks for your kind words. And haha…yes, I would organize fashion shows in school and I was also into fashion design and sewing my own clothes then too.

  29. Arthi says:

    Actually you are getting young as the years pass by…. Your teenage face look very innocent….I like your 4th photo…you look like a model in that…

  30. Sesame says:

    Wow, thank you for that! Haha…I’ll be happy to get younger by each day.

  31. M.Kate says:

    Hello Sesame, I love popping over and read your post. I think its first time commenting and I had to comment ? Seems like I too went through that Maggie mee hairstyles. I would rather die than have my ‘older’ pictures pasted…they were so scary and totally weird sense of dressing for me, i really cringe at my own pictures. So, this really brought me back to memory lane and thanks for sharing. It’s not a useless post, I love it in fact. btw, my kids all laughed at me and husband when they looked at our 80s pictures…it was a really funny time then haha! I definitely look better now (fashion wise) than those days…cant say the same about the skin though…however, I loved the photos from the 50s and 60s…my mom’s era, they were so graceful and polished then. Whatever happened to the 80s..I had no idea haha ? Tks for sharing everything…it’s been really great reading and learning everything.

  32. Sesame says:

    Oh moms! When my mom was younger, she wore those Stepford Wives type of dresses…so pretty! I love them. She definitely didn’t look odd. Yeah, what happened to the 80s???

    And thanks for commenting. Really appreciate hearing from readers more often. ? At least I’ll know whether they enjoy the posts.

  33. Lanie says:

    your beauty is timeless sesame, my daughter is like you, she changes clothes 5x a day… reason? she wants to dress-up and be a fashionista.. she poses on our mirror and takes her own photos too.. now she wants me to take videos of her making stuff like her grandma’s smoothies and also dyeing her grandma’s hair…

    I am wondering whether you have influenced her in some sort of weird way ?

  34. Sesame says:

    Thanks Lanie! Er…your daughter reads my blog? Hurhur…

  35. Lanie says:

    probably hehehehe ? I wouldnt mind..

  36. beautyknot says:

    You looked nice at different age… (“v)
    beautyknot last post is: Naruko Tea tree Oil Out Balancing Serum

  37. Sesame says:

    Thanks! #k8SjZc9Dxk#k8SjZc9Dxk

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