31 photos that show what life looked like in 1985

The mullet, the Cons, the pink mag wheels. This kid had the whole summer figured out.

The aviators, the feathered hair, the crucifix on a delicate chain. A school photo that time preserved perfectly.

The Atari 2600 is sitting right there on the floor, still in the box. E.T., Word Zapper, Space Attack fanned out like trophy cards. Two kids who had no idea they were living through the best Christmas morning of their generation.

They taped a hand-lettered construction paper sign to the station wagon door, and that tells you everything you need to know. Six kids, arms crossed, dead serious about being the Suburban Street Rockers. The USA headband, the matching red tracksuits, and the whole neighborhood as their stage.

Oscar the Grouch, Big Bird, Lion-O, and a robot, all rendered in thin vinyl and hard plastic that fogged up the second you put it on. The mask never quite lined up with your eyes. You couldn't eat candy through it. None of that mattered. These four were ready to own the neighborhood.

The JVC boombox, the shell-toe Adidas, the gold medallion, the trucker cap worn just right. A portrait of a culture that was still being invented in real time, right there on the stoop.

He's the American side, she's the Canadian side, and together they built a waterfall out of cardboard and fabric and wore it to a party. The little flags planted right at the top are the finishing touch that makes the whole thing. Nobody else at that party came close.

Skeletor took a break from conquering Eternia to shake hands with a toddler in the He-Man aisle. The shelves packed with boxes, the fluorescent lights, the moms in high-waisted jeans who didn't even look up. Just another Saturday at Toys "R" Us.

That hair didn't just happen. It required planning, product, and a level of commitment most people never find in their lives. The studded white jacket, the pink lips, the confidence of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. She arrived at picture day fully prepared to win it.

The red headband, the squint, the camo Big Wheel with a mounted machine gun, and a little flag on the back. A licensed Rambo tricycle was a completely normal thing to sell to children in 1985. You could not get away with this today.

They were pulling it off completely. The blue wayfarers, the geometric print shirt, the brick stoop. If this frame appeared between scenes in Sixteen Candles, nobody would have questioned it for a second.

He was 14 years old here, just a kid on a red scooter in a New York City tank top, helmet in hand, grinning at whoever was holding the camera. Six years later, the whole world would know his name.

Car #135, sponsored by the Hat Tavern, painted with flames and driven by your grandmother in a helmet and a smile. She did not come here to watch.

He showed up to picture day with crosses painted under his eyes, a Scorpions headband, a Mötley Crüe shirt, a chain necklace, and a Powell Peralta Tony Hawk deck propped on his shoulder. This was a prepared, intentional, fully realized vision. The photographer just worked around it.

Siouxsie and the Banshees on the ceiling, Siouxsie on the wall, Grace Jones in the corner.  He had a type, and he committed to it fully. This room had a point of view.

Kerri Green, Jonathan Ke Quan, and Jeff Cohen on a promotional tour in Japan, all three in their Goonies sweatshirts, arms around each other on a busy street. The movie had just come out, and the whole world wanted a piece of them.

The red shirt, the gold chain, the white sundress, the oversized shades. Two people sitting on a stoop in Brooklyn, looking like they weren't even trying. That's the hardest thing to pull off.

Two mustached, barrel-chested guys running a Coleman camp stove like they built it themselves. The pop-up camper behind them, the cooler on the table, the whole setup dialed in. These two knew how to make a campsite feel like home.

Four kids, four different energy levels. The youngest on the Big Wheel is still figuring things out, the one in the middle is brandishing a He-Man sword like he's defending the driveway, and the oldest is already in sunglasses on his bike like he has somewhere to be.

Tiger print vest, white suit, powder blue jacket, leopard clutch, leather, and sunglasses. Road Damage found some graffiti-covered ruins in front of a mountain range and made it work completely. Every band photo should look this committed.

Flat on his back in the grass, a pint of Malteser Bitter nearby, an Alice Cooper magazine on the ground for reference. Two girls are doing their best work while the rest of the festival carries on behind them. He came prepared, and so did they.

Two of the biggest young stars on television, just a couple of kids goofing around. Bateman was starring in "It's Your Move," while Fox was Marty McFly and Alex Keaton all at once. In 1985, these two were everywhere.

A Danish flag snapping overhead, the Brooklyn Bridge behind her, the Twin Towers rising on the right. She sailed into New York Harbor from somewhere far away, and someone had the good sense to take a picture.

A Jim Morrison shirt, a tin of popcorn, a wingback chair, and a macrame plant hanger in the corner. This dad had his whole thing figured out, and Christmas morning was no exception.

Floor-to-ceiling shelves packed with every piece of cookware, hardware, and housewares you could ever need, and one woman on a ladder who knew exactly where everything was. This is the kind of store that no longer exists, run by the kind of person who made it work.

Three cases of Grizzly Beer Canadian Lager, stacked chin high and carried out the door in one trip. The Brewers Retail sign overhead, slush on the sidewalk, a grin that says he stuck the landing. Someone was very happy to see this guy walk through the door.

Ten guys who just earned their welding certification gathered around the workbench for a photo. Trucker hats, overalls, a satin bomber jacket, a plaid flannel. Nobody dressed up, and nobody needed to. They had just learned a trade that would last them a lifetime.

The brown wood paneling, the family-style tables with vinyl tablecloths, the backlit menu boards, the crew in blue pinstripe uniforms and visors. A McDonald's in 1985 looked like a completely different restaurant than it does today, and somehow felt more like a place you'd actually want to sit down in.

Everything they owned fit in the trunk of a Chevy Citation. A case of cassettes and a boombox were carried in first, because of course they were the most important. First day of the rest of their lives.

The Cardinals were deep in a pennant race, and Fredbird was doing his part, making the rounds at the Walmart in Carlinville. This kid in the number 44 jersey showed up in full uniform and earned his spot in the front row. The rest of the store just kept shopping.

Hurricane Gloria hit New York in September 1985, but ended up being less devastating than feared. Tower Records taped the windows anyway, because that's what you did. The tape was meant to hold shattered glass in place if the windows blew out, not to prevent them from breaking.

Looking for more slice-of-life photos that take you back?

• 35 photos that show what life looked like in 1973

• 25 vintage photos of life in 1983

• 33 vintage photos of 1979