You know you are old when you can remember the first time something was in fashion. It’s even worse if you’ve seen the fashion more than once in your lifetime! We all remember the tightest of jeans, only zipped up if you lay on a bed with a coat-hanger used to pull them up. Don’t worry about breathing for the rest of the night.
I loved seeing everyone embrace tight jeans a few years back, and now we’re about to see baggy boyfriend jeans. We’ve had bright colours, and are about to see the emergence of pastel colours for Spring. It really does seem like yesterday that I was wearing my most favourite ever pair of Levis boyfriend jeans to Chasers nightclub, thinking I was the incarnation of cool. Or heading off to the St Roch’s school disco at 14 years old in my hot pink pencil skirt with matching t-shirt – OMG I was soooo on trend. Perhaps that is why admittedly it does take me a while to embrace new fashions – I am definitely a follower, not a leader these days, because of course I have been there before!
Speaking of which, I am constantly surprised to discover my men-children visiting my old haunts. I kid you not, they are slowly but surely revisiting some of the clubs and pubs of my teenage years. One of the boys regularly goes to Hatter’s Castle Hotel – now known as Arcadia, and the other to Inflation – now known as Cloud 9 (with a rooftop garden added). The other day one said he was off to the Malvern Vale – I nearly choked on my wine (probably at the memory of how many I drank there when I was an underage drinker).
So I thought I’d put together a list of the old favourites (for those who want to reminisce) and the new favourites (for those who want to pretend they are cool, or so you know where you kid is going when he says he’s going to “Room” – don’t be fooled, it’s a nightclub, not his bedroom).
THEN:
- Hatters
- Mudclub
- Sedition
- Underground
- Inflation
- Chasers
- Malvern Vale
- Bush Inn
- Redheads
NOW:
- Arcadia
- Room
- Cloud 9
- Survivor
- Hidden Forest
- Tramp
- Jungle
- Malvern Vale
BTW, some other things haven’t changed, like the special VIP friend lists, and the payment to “advocates” to ensure the coolest people come to your club. One of my men-children is very much enjoying earning money to go clubbing.
So which night clubs and pubs do you have fond memories of? Which ones have I missed? Have you been to any of the new ones listed (in which case you are clearly younger than me)?
Mother of a Man-Child 
Hey Kelly , I remember you in those Levi 501 jeans and Jacquie in her Paysley ones, together drinking wine and orange out of those awful fishbowl glasses at inflation on Wednesday nights was it called “sanction ” or “high society “?
Keep those blogs coming ….
Great Memories Good Times – Lanco Lanco Man
OMG, the dreaded paisley jeans. I am sure the whole Lorne population remembers those Lanco Man! Jacqui was clearly the trend setter amongst us.
High Society rings a bell with me.
I loved Chasers on Sunday- it was called ‘Delirium’ and Impression on a Friday for ‘Fishbowl’ wearing my best rahrah skirt with one of those wide elastic stretchy belts and pointy toed shoes…..
And then there was Chevron- Tuesday nights…was it ‘Just Acid’? If only I had know what that meant in the 80’s Of course there was Checkpoint Charlie, later to become Three Faces and the Market. But probably the one I spent the most time at was TOK H. I am sure I still have my collection of medallions somewhere.
Fond memories indeed Jac! Clearly you were a groover given the list above. One of my work colleagues still has a veritable collection of nightclub medallions – just to prove he was once cool!!