02 Feb

I Found My Old Sassy Magazines

Posted By: John Doe Times Read: 431 Comments: 0

I was sorting through boxes and stumbled across a stack of vintage gold — my old Sassy Magazines circa 1988 through the early 1990s. These date back to my rebellious teen era — the junior high and high school years. During this time, I shaved my head, wore a black leather motorcycle jacket, listened to Morrissey, and suddenly shifted gears to hip hop and Kriss Kross jeans. Before we start flipping pages, I gotta give props to Erica Reitman for talking about Sassy Magazine in a brainstorming sesh. This has been so much fun to put together,

Table of Contents

Rewind To 1988 With A Vintage Sassy Magazine

Look at an old Sassy Magazine from July 1988

Every month, I would walk to the local bookstore in downtown Baraboo, WI, to buy the latest issue of Sassy Magazine for two dollars. BTDubs, my allowance back then was five dollars a week.

I thought sharing the Sassy July 1988 issue might be fun. Looking back at what was trending in the late 80s and the products advertised — let me tell you, it’s a trip. Who was the one to watch? Where are they now? It also got me thinking about how different life was without the internet and iPhones. Let’s open the pages, shall we?

Hot News From July 1988

Sassy Magazine July 1988 What Now section pop culture and hot news

Rumors of a Dirty Dancing 2 were swirling around, but a quick Google search told me only Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights had been released. BTDubs, it was a box office bomb. However, according to IMBD, Dirty Dancing 2 is in the works, and Jennifer Grey will return as Baby in 2025. Maybe the Hollywood execs are reading back issues of Sassy for movie ideas.

According to Sassy Magazine, stonewashed denim was officially out, “and if there was anything less attractive than a girl wearing stonewashed jeans, it was a guy wearing stonewashed jeans.” Apparently, there was just too much of it, and Sassy editors advised you to stick with a normal wash instead. A little harsh, but okay, I get it; I feel the same way about shiplap.

The cool concert of the month was the INXS KICK tour. According to Google, the setlist included New Sensation, Devil Inside, and Mistify. The encore ended with Suicide Blond. That album is iconic. I don’t know about you, but I wore that cassette out. I also owned an INXS tee and rocked it with my ESPIRT bag.

Did You Enter Noxema’s Sassiest Girl In America Contest?

Sassy Magazine held a contest with Noxema called the Sassiest Girl in American Contest

One of the first pages in the July 1988 issue is a contest sponsored by Noxzema looking for the “sassiest girl in America.” Don’t forget, there was no Internet back then, so you had to mail in your application to a random PO Box. Mandatory “vital stats” to include were your name, address, age, school, year in school, honors awards, and any prizes you may have won. What in the identity theft is this? Can you imagine willingly giving this kind of personal info to a company today? I mean, I hesitate when I’m asked to provide my email address.

But that’s not all. Next up, you needed to answer a few questions. What is your motto? What is your favorite movie? Book? TV show? Day of the week? Place? Animal? And so much more. Maybe we need to do a blog post dedicated to this contest. I’ll go first, and you can drop your answers in the comment section. Not the vital stats of course, but the fun questions. What do you think?