remember when we used to rock: pajamas @ parties.

if my memory serves me correctly, pajama parties became popular in the early 90s thanks to the release of the movie, house party 2 (1991). starring 80s/90s rappers, kid n play, play comes up with a masterplan to earn kid's tuition money back - a pajama party where men pay an entry fee and women clad in their pj's enter for free.

i will tell you every tom, dick and harry wanted to throw a pajama party after watching this movie. i wasn't quite in high school yet, but i went to at least two. during that time, dressing provacatively wasn't really our steeze. we still rocked baggie jeans and knee length shorts so no, we weren't wearing lingerie to these parties. we were innocent (ahem, clearing my throat) in flannel (ok maybe polyester) pj pants or shorts and tee shirts. nowadays, these teens ... i can't imagine what they'd rock to a pajama party. enough to make me blush, i'm sure.

check out this scene from the party with toni tony tone singing and a dance off between kid n play vs. tisha campbell (gina from martin) and her friend.

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vintage tv: stevie wonder stops by sesame street.

this is classic. one of my buddies on the book posted this and it made me so happy. this first aired in april 1973, 4 years before i was born but i grew up on some sesame street. and reading rainbow. and pinwheel. remember them? shout out to pbs for that good, wholesome programming. and in my best ol' head voice: this is what kids need to be watching today! i said it like i meant it too. steve wonder and his band stop by sesame street and perform the sesame street song with his talk box. scroll to bottom of page and click the music player to mute the background music.

and as an extra bonus, here he is performing superstition on sesame street. check out the kid at about the :40 mark. he knows what good music is.

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gordon gartelle inspired air questo 2 dunks.

yo. i never watch 106 & park. but love that i turned it on today just in time to hear questlove and jimmy fallon talking about questlove's gordon gartrelle inspired air questo 2 dunks specially designed for nike. quest said his design was inspired by the classic gordon gartrelle episode of the cosby show. in the episode, which is my favorite, denise agrees to make theo a shirt for the prom by the fictitious designer, gordon gartrelle. never seen it? what?! click here now. straight classic.

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farewell to another golden girl.

before there was sex and the city and girlfriends, there was the golden girls, a mid 80s to early 90s sitcom about 4 seasoned women with 4 different personalities who shared a miami home. rue mclanahan aka blanche devereaux owned her role. let's see, she'd be the equivalent to samantha from satc - fiesty and sex-crazed.

who didn't love the golden girls theme song ... thank you for being a friend, travel down the road and back again, your heart is true ... ok. i'll stop singing.

mclanahan passed from a massive stroke today. she was 76. betty white is the remaining golden girl - bea arthur passed last year and estelle getty in 08.

farewell gary coleman.

wha'chu talking bout?

gary coleman (42), the childhood actor who will always be known as the cute kid with the chubby cheeks from diff'rent strokes, died today after being taken off life support. he suffered a brain hemorrhage yesterday after falling. he was so troubled. you could see it in his face and in his actions. glad he's in perfect peace now.

i hope they play a diff'rent strokes marathon all weekend long.

classic episodes: arnold jackson on the set of the knight rider and with mr. t.

throwback: school daze good and bad hair.

school daze (1988) is one of my all time favorite movies. spike lee is the man. he mastered the way to make entertaining movies without missing an opportunity to give his audience something to think about and learn from. love him for that.

who can forget this scene when the jiggaboos battled the wanna-bes. natural vs. artificial. dark vs. light. nappy vs. straight. classic scene. check it out:

punky brewster.

one of the first style icons in my eyes was undoubtedly:

punky brewster. yup. back in the 80s, punky was the girl as far as i was concerned. she was so sui generis. and spunky. i loved her eclectic and colorful style. she rocked the bandanna around the one leg and mismatched colors and styles. i never missed an episode.
who were some of your first style icons?

mother jefferson.

stoked that tv one has been running reruns of the jeffersons these days. getting a straight kick out of mother jefferson (played by the late zara cully) who played the sharp-mouthed mother-in-law to louise. hilarious she was.
in this episode, mother jefferson gets a boyfriend ...

rolling with the homies.

peacefully rest, brittany murphy. here's one of my favorite scenes of hers from one of my favorites movies, clueless ...

grease, 1978: the one that i want.

we'll take it back a little further to the first grease. i was 1 when it came out in 1978 but you know you have a classic when generations to come are still watching and talking about this movie.

how familiar do olivia newton john's pants look?


real familiar. just like the black liquid tights that everyone and their sister was rocking a few months ago. and still rocking, probably. i like olivia's better though because their high waisted.

everyone loved this part of the movie when olivia popped up and made john travolta's jaws drop. the one that i want ...

grease 2, 1982: girl for all seasons.

any grease fans out there? how could you not like grease? i was a huge fan. i even picked up about 10% of my elementary school swag from the movie ... i mean who didn't swear they were a pink lady or want to start your own crew after watching stephanie and paulette and the others.

this is one of my favorite parts ... girl for all seasons ...

krush groove: box.

classic scene from the 1985 hit movie krush groove. i loved this movie. and usually watch it until this day if i catch it on cable. check out run dmc, rick rubin, andre harrell.

ll is not trying to hear that auditions are over, as he busts in with his posse. BOX - lol.

breakin 2: electric boogaloo.

what do yawl know about this?! 1984. i used to love this movie. and i'll admit i thought turbo boogaloo shrimp was a cutie. check him out as he proves that poppin' and lockin' came way before omarion and everyone else ...

cher'isms.

"he does dress better than i do. what would i bring to the relationship?"

--cher, clueless, 1995

do the right thing.

staying in this weekend? make it a movie wknd and watch do the right thing. can you believe it's been 20 years since it came out. i feel old.

school daze is still my favorite spike lee movie but i loved this one too. in ny, some famous faces came out to help spike celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie.

spike and rosie:

spike, rosie and chuck d:

malinda and d-nice ... love these two:

top 5: old school sitcoms.

quick. name your top 5 favorite old school sitcoms. mine:

gordon gartrelle.

"IT'S TUCKED INTO MY SOCKS." love this throwback episode when denise makes theo a gordon gartrelle replica for his date. crack up at this snippet:

remember gidget?

i just caught a glimpse of sally field on the golden globes and all i could think was "gidget got old". remember gidget?

now of course i wasn't around when the series first aired in 1965. it only ran for a season but when i was a youngin they were still showing the reruns. i remember being home during summer breaks from school and watching gidget was my daily routine.

mahogany.

i don't know about you but this cold weather makes me want to rent a good movie, grab a bag of red hot chips (or barbecue seeds, either will do), a glass of shiraz and curl up in front of the tv.

i think i'll do just that. first up. mahogany. i love everything about this movie which traces the life of an around the way girl played by diana ross who makes it into the fashion world and discovers the realness of life, fame, and love. and though critics were never kind to this 1975 flick, it'll always be one of my favorites.

and since this is now available on dvd, i recommend that every fashionista add it to her collection.

Diana Ross Mahogany