When I think of 1998, my brain conjures up a lot of images... pictures of angsty Capeside teenagers, Celine Dion belting out My Heart Will Go On, duo Lindsay Lohans pulling pranks at Camp Walden For Girls. My mind flips through mental snapshots of Boy Bands, cargo pants, Buffy, Ever After, and I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing. Those were all part of my world as a teenager in 1998.
But what were the grownups doing that year? Specifically, what were the middle-class, 2.3 kid-having, mortgage-paying grownups up to in 1998? Is there any better place to look than in Better Homes and Gardens? I think not.
I recently acquired eight 1998 issues at a garage sale....
Was 1998 everything that I remember... or was it more?
So according to these magazines, "Country" was a popular look in 1998...
I don't know what to call this style... maybe "colorfully understated?" "Pastel plaid?"
I think this one's called "You can't own too many knives!"
In the 90s we were big on 70s nostalgia. Not even the Got Milk ads were immune...
Denim was popular for teens circa 1993-96. This included overalls. I feel like teens had mostly ditched those by 1998, but they had definitely been passed on to elementary set...
Forgiveness in a bottle.
Yeah, little Samantha's face tells me quite plainly she never expects to be forgiven.
Here's an ad trend I hadn't remembered was a thing: "Your car is going to try to kill you!"
I... I don't know? Is this a thing that regularly happens? Should I really invest in OnStar just in case I happen to be driving through the woods and a rogue tree happens to fall on me?
I'm not going to live to see the millennium, am I.
Technology was a funny thing...
OMG, yes! We did buy gigantic pieces of furniture in which to house our one home computer and all its peripherals.
Sweet, sweet disk drives...
Fun fact: those rainbow-colored iMacs were first released in 1998! What a time.
Also new for 1998 -- Computer Sleep Mode...
And... can you believe it... digital cameras!
I didn't get a digital camera until 2001 or 2002, but in the meantime, when I needed to add a photo to my AOL Homepage, I went with this method...
PHOTO DISKS! (Later, Photo CDs.)
Oh man... these things...
Fact about the late 90s:
It didn't matter if you had five kids, ten kids, or just one...
You were expected to own a van.
Toyota... raising smug, spoiled children... everyday.
I remember this ad, below. The older boy is giving the younger boy a noogie, and everyone in the family is just like, "How funny!"
1 video game... sssyyystem? And what's up with the "1 bed"? Do they all just take turns using it? Maybe it's a dog bed.
Even the Rugrats wanted to sell you a van!
Kleenex and Bounty were serving up their usual gimmicks of prettyin' up the paper...
Here's that "Country" motif again...
"Expression #16: Flortacious." I remember this sort of thing being a common advertising gimmick. Like, they'd say,"We have 18 different things, but we're only going to show you four of them... aren't you intrigued? Do not you pine for the other 14?"
Side note: I just Googled "Flortacious" and got a mere 7 results.
And I just remembered... Google was founded in 1998!
Everything is connected.
This is interesting...
That cartoon guy is looking a tad too familiar. MOVING ON...
Barney!! Alas, barneyonline.com is looking pretty sad these days.
Ah, Pringles...
Pringles, Surge, Red Bull, Bubble Yum, Fruitopia, hot pockets, Jelly Bellies...
the "90s Teen" diet was incredible.
Of COURSE there was Neat Stuff You Should Buy...
I initially read this as Frankenstein...
Ah... Barbies, Dianas, gazebos, table pads, and the occasional porcelain reminder that Jesus carried you through the hard times...
1998 was a good year to be alive.
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