The 80s prom night returns!

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? If you're anything like me, you'll be camped out in front of the TV, totally alone, sobbing while watching John Cusack get a pen in exchange for his heart in "Say Anything." Or watching the mopey Lawrence Monoson (aka "Gary") get royally screwed over by Diane Franklin in "Last American Virgin."

But now, there's another option -- at least for those of us in Tampa Bay. Ybor City's Crowbar is hosting its annual "80s Prom" party on Thursday night. And true to form, party-goers are being asked to wear their 80s formal wear for the evening! (I know I have a pink cumberbund laying around somewhere.)

DJ Mike B from WMNF will be spinning 80s tunes all night (How many times will we hear OMD's "If You Leave"?), and the band Rancid Polecats will be playing. The two party-goers dressed most like the 80s will be crowned "king and queen" of the prom. Check out the photo of some of last year's contestants. (Even in the year 2008, I have no chance of being king.)

Cover is $8 for singles, $10 for couples, and the party starts at 10 p.m. Click here for more information.

Will I be there in person? Much like my Senior Prom, I'll need a miracle to get a prom date this close to the party. So unless Maria, the Swedish exchange student who saved me back in '85, comes back to Florida in time, I may be forced to sit this dance out.

Comments

[Sherrie]

Oh man, I may have to dig up my stunningly horrid prom dress from 1987-cotton candy pink with a hoop skirt so big I was knocking over potted plants at the restaurant during pre-prom dinner. And yes, my date wore a matching pink cumberbund. Were we fashion-blind when it came to formalwear in the 80's?

[Spears]

Are you kidding me, Sherrie? I love that fashion from the 80s. I'd be wearing a pink Izod shirt right -- collar up -- if only I didn't think I'd look like a walking stereotype of myself.

[Sherrie]

I'm not dissing ALL fashion from the 80's- I practically live in button fly 501's and rugby/polo shirts- just the really over the top prom stuff. I'll have to dig up a pic of my unfortunate dress, it's even better because in the early 90's I cut my prom date out of all the photos. (Unbalanced? Me? No, I just had the misfortune of going to senior prom with the devil himself.)

[jane]

Now I have to go dig up my prom picture -- it's a classic.

Sherrie, if you thought a pink cumberbund was interesting, try having your date in a powder blue tux to match your powder blue dress. Outstanding.

[Jeff in Cuba]

At the risk of being too irreverent, the first tragedy at Columbine High School was the beige-with-beige-satin-trim tuxedo I wore to the 1981 prom.

Ghastly.

[Stephanie Hayes]

I hurled my Diet Coke can at the TV the first time I saw Pretty in Pink. Molly HACKED APART Annie Potts' totally cute pink 1950s prom dress and made what basically amounted to a pink toilet paper roll with a doily stapled to the neck (pictured above). It hurt my heart.

[Spears]

I agree with Stephanie -- Molly's dress is a crime against humanity. Even people in Nuremberg are saying, "That dress was not fantastiche!"

[jane]

That dress was indeed le terrible -- but I loved her hair. Which helped ease the pain of the unfortunate frock.

[Spears]

On the other hand, Duckie looked great. Even with the stupid shoes.

If I could dress up as anyone for that night, he's my role model. Ah, who am I kidding? Jon Cryer is the role model for everything in my life.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to queue up "Morgan Stewart's Coming Home" for a late-afternoon matinee.

[Stephanie Hayes]

Remember when, on the live call in podcast, Mike in Austin was telling us about his shoes? His "creepers"? I think he was referring to Duckie shoes.

[Douglas Arthur]

Don't feel so bad about your prom experience, or lack thereof, Steve-o. I didn't go to mine, being too painfully shy to ask out the girl I wanted to (I found out later there was another girl who wanted me to ask her, but I was so completely clueless, she wasn't even on my radar). So I worked that night and wound up cutting the tip of my thumb off and spending the night in the emergency room! Fun! So on Monday while everyone else was re-hashing the events of Saturday night, I was fielding questions about the humungous bandage on my left hand that left me looking a bit like the "keep on truckin'" guy.
God, how I miss high school.

[Bassnote]

I'm back from the frozen tundra of the Wisconsin Dells, where the high temperature was a balmy -2º.

Anyway, I never went to the prom either because I didn't get any interest from the ladies until after I graduated high school.

[Marissa]

Junior Prom I was escorted by none other than the captain of our football team. He wore white tails and I wore a tea length gown sewn by my loving sister. It was pale pink, and it resembled the wedding dress of Princess Diana. I skipped the giant butt bow, however.

[malibu]

Molly's dress was ghastly--but Duckie did look fabulous!
Didn't go to my prom, either. I was one of those "weirdos" that wore leather and shaved the back of my head before it was acceptable, so the choice was to go with a gay male friend or stay home and save money.
I did however crash my friend's prom a year later--THAT was a blast!

[Trish]

Yeah, I remember sitting in the theater wondering, "Why the heck did Annie Potts tear up that pretty prom dress?" It would've been a nice vintage, retro look for her to wear it the way it was!

I didn't make my Senior Prom, despite my mom trying to bribe my brother's best friend into taking me. I already had a boyfriend, but he was younger than me (but totally cute), and a Sophomore. It's OK - we had a fun prom night "date" anyway ;-)