{This is from one of my Flickr friends.}
My mom bought those benders curlers from this exact catalog. They never worked too well, and we probably trashed them when we moved to Wakefield in 2000.
I have the Conair Geometricks (the four in one thing down at the bottom). I bought that in almost mint condition at a CHKD thrift store in Smithfield in 2004. It’s in storage now 
You know back in 2005 when I did a series on the 1983 Sears and J.C. Penney Christmas Catalogs my mom saved for me?
(This was originally posted in my blog during the summer and fall of 2005)
In 1983 (the year I was born) my mom saved the 1983 Sears and JC Penney Christmas catalogs. We thought we lost them when we moved to Wakefield in 2000, but when we were moving to Franklin last summer we found them again. They were severely water damaged though, hence these images being taken with my digital camera instead of scanned (and, my dad’s PC [my eMac is too new to use the scanner with] was dead at the moment).
Here they are, all together in their own category
And here are some recent ones:
You guys remember last summer when we moved and my dad found those 1983 JC Penney and Sears catalogs my mom saved for me to look at when I got older?
Sorry the little boy with his toy hair dryer is on the crease of the page. I think the 70’s and the 80’s were the only times that blow dryers were in toy grooming kits.
Sweet Christ No! I so remember the page devoted to marionette dolls and “old timey dolls” in the JC Penney and Sears catalogs. I always thought, “No who buys those for their kids?”. I didn’t know any kid who got a Howdy Doody or Bozo doll for Christmas. This must be the “toys for adults page” in the cataloge. Although I am kinda crushing on the Bozo doll. I wouldn’t mind having one today. Oh yeah, and what’s up with the Huck Finn Doll?
I have wanted a Mickey Mouse phone since the beginning of time. They’re always so expensive though. Like almost a hundred bucks. Even at antique stores they’re like $50-$80. The Kermit phone is interesting as well. I still haven’t found a photo of the Olive Oyl phone that I want so badly. When I was five, we’d go to this Salvation Army thirft store and they had a red rotary phone, and Olive Oyl was laying on the cradle. This phone was not for sale.
If every family didn’t get these in the 1980’s then they shure did in the 1990’s. Almost every year I would always get a popcorn tin from mom. I threw out all the other ones but kept a Peanuts one that I keep my old newspaper clippings in.
Of all the promo crap they made for the remake movie last year, I wonder why they didn’t make a kiddie bedspread set.
This is 1983, correct?
More 1983 JC Penny & Sears stuff…guns, leather phones, truck accessories, play food, a cool old camera, and some more phones:
Yeah, JC Penny (yes, that JC Penny) had GUNS in their catalogs back in the 80’s! But only hunting guns.
Here’s the specifics on ordering a gun from JC Penny:
I guess the guns got picked up at the Catalog Department because they could force the customer to show them ID?
Including guns, JC Penny also had a truck accessories section of their catalog! Yeah…that truck couch looks really safe, faces meet the pavement the second the driver has to throw on the brakes.
{JC Penny}
How much counter space would you want to give up for one of these babies! They’re all as big as a nightstand table top!
{Sears}
Check out the phone that has its own…leather dust cover? Here is the decription of the phone:
Contempra/Talia Telephone. Beaitifully crafted in fine Italian leather, this unique status symbol is the perfect gift for that special somone who appreciates the finer things in life.The sleek handset features conveinent touch tone dialing buttons. Converts quickly and easily from desk to wall phone. ….. $174.99
I wish I could’ve seen someone have this phone on their wall. While typing that description up, I saw a phone in there that was even more than the leather phone that I didn’t catch the time I took pictures of these things. Oh, it’ll be up here in a few days.
{Sears}
This camera is awesome! I love it. I love 1980’s cameras. Too bad none of them really work anymore.
{Sears}
I could never have enough play food sets and play kitchen sets growing up. I loved them. I’m sure we all have our favorites. I loved when there was some brand recognition in our play kitchen sets as well. I’m crushing on the La Choy stuff in the bottom right hand corner.
{Sears}
And finally..we all knew somebody who knew somebody who had one of these racing sets in their bedrooms/rumpus rooms back in the day…and we all knew someone who knew someone who had one but mom made them throw it away or put it in the yard sale because they lost a peice or it just stopped working. And my dad and I were the ones who would buy them off the kids’ mom and try to see if they’d work on Sunday afternoons with the Sunday afternoon movie in the background on the UHF channel. Dad and I never got them to work.
Today I wanted to reserve my 1983 catalog entries to one section, and to one catalog. In 1983 the Sears Wish Book devoted 4 pages to … Garfield. (you know, back when Garfield was funny). When I was 13-17 I had a huge garfield collection I probably had over 100 Garfield things, but looking at this stuff I only owned 3 things out of this catalog spread:
I owned several of those little Odies (mom and relatives would pick them up for me at the thrift stores and yard sales, they didn’t know how many little Odies I had). I think I had 4 of these guys before my collection ended. (I packed it up when we moved to Wakefield in 2000 and put it in my attic).
No, those Garfields in the bottom left corner are not wearing glasses, they were talking Garfields whose eyes would move. I guess they didn’t think about painting the inside of Garfield’s head orange so it wouldn’t look like he was wearing glasses.
I wish I had found one of those Garfield tote bags when I was collecting, I’d carry that around as a purse.
Oh hey, I forgot I had a close up of it:
I like the little Garfield scooter thing with him holding the rear of it. They don’t make things like that anymore. Too bad 90% of them got rust and sun damage by the time summer of 1984 arrived.
If they made that sleeping bag (lower left corner) when I was in my sleepover days I would of been all over that. Instead I got Mickey and Minnie mouse one and a Babysitter’s Club one.
Check out the latchhook kit, that’s kinda sad. It looks like Garfield up in kitty heaven.
I had a plethora of metal wastebasket bins growing up. Strawberry Shortcake, Holly Hobbie and a late 80’s Garfield one. But man did those things get NASTY after the first time you trashed a soda can that had just a little bit of soda left in it. I still remember the smell of my Garfield one. Yuck. I just use a piority mail box for a wastebasket now and carry my soda cans to the kitchen to be thrown away. Finally learned my lesson after 22 years.
0/~When You’re Bored And Have Nothing Else To Write About, It’s Time To Turn To The 1983 Catalogs Again!o/~
See how I made that into a song? Just put those little makeshift music notes at the beginning and end of each sentence.
Anyways, more horrors from 1983—His And Here’s Red Long Johns, Huge Microwaves, Bert And Ernie Slippers, Barbie Goes Camping, Nightmarish Wallpaper, And How To Ruin Your Kitchen In One Easy Step:
{JC Penny}Doesn’t this pic just yell 32 year old businessman who brought his 19 year old girlfriend with him to the bosses cabin for the weekend? It looks like he’s telling that losing your virginity isn’t a scary thing. (Hence the reason why he brought her up to the cabin that weekend, and the reason why she bought them matching red long johns)
{JC Penny}NIGHTMARISH WALLPAPER! I mean my mom told me she loved me 9,000 times already by the time this catalog came out (Keep in mind I was born in 1983, this is why I have these catalogs), but for the parents that just could not tell their kid they loved them, there was the “I [heart] You” wallpaper.
Check out the ‘RAINBOW’ wallpaper, no not the wallpaper with the rainbows on it, but the wallpaper with the actual word RAINBOW on it.
{JC Penny}
How to ruin your $3,000 cabinetry in one fell swoop! Imagine if you will walking in after a hard days work and seeing your wife with your iron in her hand ironing laminate to the cabinets. What’s up with the beige rattan one? That looks like those shelf liners that also double for a nonslip mat (I forgot the actual term for them, but my mom uses them so her cutting boards stay still)
{Sears}
I had Bert and Ernie slippers growing up too, but mine had the little plastic heads on them, and once my slippers wore out, dad would cut the heads off the slippers and I’d have Bert and Ernie heads to play with. The Cookie Monster slipper is wearing a chefs hat apparently. Bert’s ears are HUGE in slipper form!
{Sears}I had a Barbie camper like that! Expect mine was from the 70’s and it was yellow. I loved that thing. That snack bar tent looks interesting though. If they still made that when I was playing with Barbies, I’d want it. Barbie’s own Dominos Pizza couldn’t beat that. (yeah, I had a Barbie Dominos Pizza. I thought it was the coolest Barbie playset ever, sad thing is I got it when I was 11)
{Sears}The catalog calls this a, “Micro/Convection Oven”, that “combines the speed of a microwave oven with the “hot air” browning of a convection oven.
Did anybody’s parents actually own one of these? I’m dying to know if someone actually made a ham with it or a turkey.
More 1983 funny:
{Sears}Girls too old to be playing dressup. Those girls look like they’re 9 or 10.
{Sears}
Hope you guys can read the description to that roulette watch.You have to bring that game board and chips whever you go if you want to reallly use that watch! That’s just stupid! Scenario:Jim: Hey, Bob! Is that a Roulette watch?
Bob:Yeah! Want to play? I just got to dig out my tiny game board and my tiny chips out of my wallet!
Jim: Nah, Bob. That’s ok.
Unless the photo is misleading, and it came with a full sized game board and chips, and you’re supposed to take it out at parties or something
{JC Penny}Yes! Nike made bowling shoes back in the day! Can you imagine what Nike bowling shoes would look like today!
{JC Penny}Those old Nikes are off the hook. I want the slip on shoes!
But oh, I got some good funny from the 1983 catalogs again:
{Sears}
Early camcorder! I felt sorry for whoever bought one of these and used it on a long trip. I’m sure their shoulders were aching.
{Sears}
Barbie shops at the moonlight madness grocery store sale! – or – Barbie shops at the going out of business grocery store sale and they already cut the lights.
{Sears}
I want a pair of those so bad. Delia’s had a pair similar to those this past winter, I wanted to get them, but either I thougt they’d look dumb on me or they were too much money, can’t remember which.
{JC Penny}
JC Penny had an entire page devoted to wicker stuff. It’s all sitting in landfills now.
{JC Penny}
Is that really Brooke Shields in that pic? Those striped tights are HOT. I had a pair of knee high socks like that for a few years. Not sure if I still have them.
{JC Penny}
Yes, apparently a tape player walkman with a reverse button cost over $100 22 years ago. Now you can get a portable cd player at wal mart for like $20 around Christmastime.
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