Monroe Back-to-School 2016 vs. 1976: Culottes, Clogs and Kardashians

MONROE, CT — You know you're getting old when you find phrases flying our of your mouth like, "Back in my day we got one pair of shoes and we had to wear them for the whole year" while back to school shopping with your kids. Aah, yes. Back-to-school shopping has completely changed and so has the standard of living.

Keeping up with the Joneses has been replaced with keeping up with the Kardashians— everything is bigger, brighter and blingier (it's a word, I checked). The most pressure a girl in the mid-70s had to face was whether or not to wear the rainbow fuzzy ribbons in her ponytails or the bright pink ones.

I didn't know it back then, but we were poor— blue collar, lower, working class Americans. My parents worked hard to provide for six kids and back-to-school time in 1976 meant something completely different than it does today in 2016.

Although commonly worn as far back as the Renaissance times by upper-class European men, culottes had their heyday in the late-70s and early-80s in women's fashion. If you were lucky enough to have a pair you were, well, lucky! I had one pair— rust-colored corduroy that I paired with a homemade rust and hunter green checkered vest and off white dress shirt. Top it off with some brown clogs and a Farrah Fawcett feathered back hairdo and boy was I stylin'!

Sad to say that style has not yet come back in fashion. Now back-to-school attire for teenagers and pre-teens means ripped jeans, cropped tees, flip flops and off-the-shoulder tops. Okay, so one style trend has made its big comeback. But for many elementary-aged school kids it means name-brand athletic wear, top-of-the-line sneakers and more.

Besides the styles, how have things changed from when we were kids? Let's break out the Rocky & Bullwinkle Viewfinder and take a peek, shall we?

1976 School Shopping List for 2nd Grade (From memory)

1. Cartoon character metal lunchbox
2. Pens
3. Pencils
4. Trapper Keeper
5. Looseleaf paper
6. Composition notebook
7. New shoes
8. New sneakers
9. Five new outfits, one for each day of the week
10. Socks & underwear (Underoos if you were really good)

Garanimals were all the rage back then. I was lucky enough to get one matching outfit for my first day back in second grade. My mom bought them in Alexanders in Milford right before I stole a Snickers bar in the checkout lane. She didn't realize it at first, but when we got back to our dark green Dodge Dart, my sticky brown fingers were a dead giveaway. At the tender of age of six, I got a hard lesson in why a life of crime does not pay.

So she marched me right back to that cashier, biting her lip all the way in while "gingerly" escorting me inside, and made me apologize. I was more scared about getting my brand new purple corduroy pants with a matching giraffe shirt taken away then facing the embarrassment of a forced apology in front of a line of strangers.

At six-years-old, I didn't fully understand the consequences of my actions or what compelled me to do what I did. All I knew was that the Garanimals and Tough Skins double-reinforced knee pants I just got were going to come in pretty handy for all the "Duck and Cover!" under the desk air raid drills we went through on a weekly basis.

And what about that back-to-school shopping list now?

2016 School Shopping List for 2nd Grade (From Cozi.com, About Parenting and Me)

1. Backpack
2. Lunch tote
3. Camelbak water bottle
4. Writing journal
5. #2 Pencils
6. Erasers
7. Pencil pouch
8. Pencil sharpener
9. Pens
10. Colored Pencils
11. Highlighters
12. 12 inch Ruler
13. 5 inch blunt tip scissors
14. Glue sticks
15. 4 oz. Glue
16. Wide ruled 1 subject notebooks
17. 3 subject notebooks
18. 5 subject notebooks
19. Composition notebooks
20. 2" binder
21. Dividers
22. Loose leaf filler paper wide rule
23. Folders
24. 3 ring binder or zipper binder
25. Crayons
26. Markers
27. Watercolor paint
28. Ruled index cards
29. Blank index cards
30. Compass with measuring guide
31. Book Covers
32. Tissues
33. Antibacterial hand sanitizer
34. Post-Its
35. EpiPen, medication
36. Did I miss any?

On top of the clothes, shoes and supplies, many schools now have pay-to-play sports programs. So there is the sports fee, the booster club fee, the PTA joining fee, pictures, and the list goes on and on. Needless to say, for some, this is not the most wonderful time of the year. But somehow we will get through.

How do you survive the back-to-school shopping season without breaking the bank? Many take advantage of Connecticut's Tax Free Week, clip coupons or use downloadable savings apps such as Cartwheel by Target. Check out more tips here and share your own in the comments section.

Read more

• Connecticut Tax Free Week 2016: Where & When to Get the Best Deals
• Mom Shares Her Back to School Blues

Photo by Chris Faulkner via Flickr Creative Commons