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Who Buys a Princess New in 1980?


vulgalour

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This might seem tenuous at first, but it is car related so please bear with me.

 

The local club, Motornutz, is having an annual shindig which raises money for charity, welcomes all cars and is generally a bit of a laugh. They have a 'dress the same era as your car' competition that I'm going to get myself involved in because why not. However, I can't decide what to put together. I want to go as the proud/disappointed new owner of a 1980 Austin Princess and I want to get it right.

 

So far, the idea that appeals the most is that of a rep that's been lumbered with/given the gift of a BL barge to zoom up and down the country selling stuff. I'd dress up the Princess with whatever I was selling and rep paraphenalia. Basically, build a whole different persona visually... because I'm sad and I enjoy that sort of thing. I just don't know what I should be putting together, 1980 is the year before I was born so I've not really got much to go on from personal experience of the world in 1980 and I don't know what sort of person would choose to buy a beige Austin Princess new in 1980 except for a particularly affluent Autoshiter. Whatever I put together, it needs to look like the Princess and I have been lifted straight out of 1980 and plonked into the show, mainly for the amusement of others.

 

By starting my research now I have enough time to source or make any clothing and accessories needed, and my fall back plan is an olive green double-breasted 2 piece suit with a red satin lining in a late 70s cut that I bought because I liked it, not for a bet as most people think when they see it. It looks for all the world like a pimento-stuffed olive with shoulder pads.

 

So what are my must-haves? Your sartorial opinions are welcome, and your sarcasm expected in spades.

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I'm sure quite a few were off loaded to disgruntled reps for their new company car, but I would have thought the most prolific customer by far was your retired, elderly Austin devotee who'd bought BL since the 50s. So I reckon you really need to invest in a tartan rug, some Werthers originals and your grand dad's best Sunday suit (and hat). And perhaps get your girlfriend to get a blue rinse.

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I'm sure quite a few were off loaded to disgruntled reps for their new company car, but I would have thought the most prolific customer by far was your retired, elderly Austin devotee who'd bought BL since the 50s. So I reckon you really need to invest in a tartan rug, some Werthers originals and your grand dad's best Sunday suit (and hat). And perhaps get your girlfriend to get a blue rinse.

 

And don't forget to wee yourself just a bit for that authentic 'old person' odour :wink:

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I was 17 years old in 1980 so feel qualified to make some comment:

 

To me a Princess a 'fogey' car, rarely driven by anyone under 50 at a time when 50 was over the hill, not the new 40 like it is now.

Definately middle class, married with 2 grown up children, probably at university. At least a semi, if not detached house, with nice front lawn and well tended flower beds.

Some non-descript job in 'management' or the civil service. Holidays in an Eldis 4 berth caravan in Devon or Cornwall.

A West Highland Terrier would accompany them on most trips, on a tartan rug on the back parcel shelf.

 

Shopping was done at Sainsburys...Tesco was considered downmarket in 1980. Hobbies would be golf for him, sewing or bridge for her.

Favourite TV shows...To The Manor Born, Generation Game, The Two Ronnies, Dallas.

 

In the cassette player would be 'Guilty' by Barbra Streisand and maybe a nice James Galway tape and the radio definately tuned to Radio 2.

 

Beige was 'in' clothes -wise. Nice Farah slacks with a brown shirt and stripy tie. He still wore a tie and cardi on Saturdays and Sundays. Slip-on shoes. Big, brown, face-dwarfing, plastic glasses.

 

Always well-spoken , rarely swore...maybe the odd 'bloody' or 'bugger'. Sex was off the cards and rarely spoken of. He would discreetly be fantasising about the long haired, slim secretary at work. Susan is her name.

 

Always bought a British car, fairly loyal to BL, so would have previously owned a Marina and Austin 1100. The Princess would have been a 'step-up'.... a treat for working hard the last 30 years. But a Honda isn't too many years away.

 

That's about it really. Just think conservative, traditional, dull.

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I was 17 years old in 1980 so feel qualified to make some comment:

 

To me a Princess a 'fogey' car, rarely driven by anyone under 50 at a time when 50 was over the hill, not the new 40 like it is now.

Definately middle class, married with 2 grown up children, probably at university. At least a semi, if not detached house, with nice front lawn and well tended flower beds.

Some non-descript job in 'management' or the civil service. Holidays in an Eldis 4 berth caravan in Devon or Cornwall.

A West Highland Terrier would accompany them on most trips, on a tartan rug on the back parcel shelf.

 

Shopping was done at Sainsburys...Tesco was considered downmarket in 1980. Hobbies would be golf for him, sewing or bridge for her.

Favourite TV shows...To The Manor Born, Generation Game, The Two Ronnies, Dallas.

 

In the cassette player would be 'Guilty' by Barbra Streisand and maybe a nice James Galway tape and the radio definately tuned to Radio 2.

 

Beige was 'in' clothes -wise. Nice Farah slacks with a brown shirt and stripy tie. He still wore a tie and cardi on Saturdays and Sundays. Slip-on shoes. Big, brown, face-dwarfing, plastic glasses.

 

Always well-spoken , rarely swore...maybe the odd 'bloody' or 'bugger'. Sex was off the cards and rarely spoken of. He would discreetly be fantasising about the long haired, slim secretary at work. Susan is her name.

 

Always bought a British car, fairly loyal to BL, so would have previously owned a Marina and Austin 1100. The Princess would have been a 'step-up'.... a treat for working hard the last 30 years. But a Honda isn't too many years away.

 

That's about it really. Just think conservative, traditional, dull.

 

 

Yeah that's spot on, I was 16 in in 1980, this sound right to me.

 

Can I just add in that you need something like this;

 

ouOZh.jpg

 

The digital watch was the mobile phone of 1980, if you had one like this (with a calculator) you really did have the iPhone of it's day. But any variation on the digital watch shown above would have earned you points at the golf club's bar back then.

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That watch is more early-mid 90s, I had one of them at school. GR8 4 CHEATING.

The 80s LCD watches were the ones with the glowing red numerals, and a battery life measured in days.

 

I think you have to consider what the modern equivalent of the Princess is. Let's look at the facts.

 

A bit barge-like

Very comfy.

Dubious build quality

Not many sold

 

So... you have to ask yourself, what would a Safrane owner look like? :D

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That watch is more early-mid 90s, I had one of them at school. GR8 4 CHEATING.

The 80s LCD watches were the ones with the glowing red numerals, and a battery life measured in days.

 

I had a grey LCD watch in 1980, my mate (Neil Williamson) had the calculator version (which made him very popular with every one BASTARD), the ones with the glowing numerals were seen as so 70s back then, floating grey numerals were very much the thing in 1980 (if you wanted to keep up with the Medfords..)

 

None the less...to be 1980 you need a watch with no hands. :D

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This is epically useful, thank you! Worryingly, I already own quite a few of the fuddy-duddy elderly owner accoutrements though I didn't buy/inherit them specifically with Princess ownership in mind at the time. I'm wearing Farah trousers right now... does this mean I qualify for early retirement?

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In Autumn 1983 I borrowed a car from the company car pool - a V reg Princess 1700 in that nice orangey red with pinstripes. Cars that were no longer needed by their custodian were returned to the pool for use before their lease expired. As I worked for an IT software company at the time it would have been the choice of one of the managers back in 1980/1. So a bloke in a moderate but not too smart suit with a tie. The car was a pig to drive with awful notchy gearchange and heavy non-power steering but a great cruiser once it was up to speed on the motorway.

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Terry Medford look-alike is now off the cards. New haircut is much more in line with young management or rep than it is with middle class surburbia. That's not to say I can't put a truly horrible brown ensemble together though, completely with digital wrist calculator watch and samples of some godawful books or something in the boot. Travelling Haynes salesman perhaps? Would need considerably more manuals of the right era to pull that one off properly.

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I know a fair bit about old digital watches and especially Casios (watch shite) and that one is late 90s/early 2000s. In 1980 the digital watch was a statement. The first LCD watches were breaking through to literally obliterate the previous LED watches away. A 'must have' Casio of 1980 would be a Casiotron like this: images-1.jpg

or the brilliantly named Casio 'Digiking'

AX2503_400_500_f9f9f9_imageswatermarkpng_140_60_80_r_b_-10_-10_all_15_s_c1.jpg

 

I have 17 Vintage Casios but these two are like the Cortina Crusader and Talbot Tagora of watches for me - Holy grail stuff!

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Well you've got me on eBay looking at Casio watches now. Spotted this bit of pointless gold watch-shite that I quite like: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-casio ... 500wt_1413

 

This is pretty neat too: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mens-Casio-A- ... 500wt_1413

 

I do have this habit of destroying wristwatches by either killing the batteries (inherited that habit from my Mother, who can kill a watch dead in a matter of days just by wearing it) or carelessly smashing my wrist into walls so I tend not to bother with them. Seems that there's a lot of watch-shite on eBay for not very much but that it will also be very easy for me to get the wrong watch.

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I was 21 in 1980 (after April 16th anyway, lol). Terry and June should be exactly the look you are aiming at, although I think you might be a bit young to carry it off. In which case, check out some old episodes of The Professionals. You want to look like Lewis Collins on a suit-wearing day; sort of Detective-Sergeant Volksangyl! The suit you described at the beginning would work very well with a plain cotton polo-neck, preferably cream. Try to swagger a little too if you can (I've never mastered that :oops: ).

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That newspaper is a top idea, not thought about that. I'm not going to attempt a swagger, it'll only end up looking like a mince if I do. I'll get a picture of the horrible suit up at some point, see what folks think, I did find out I need to repair the seat seam on the trousers but that's a quick enough job thankfully. So, junior plain clothes detective route instead of rep route, might be slightly easier to achieve if somewhat comical with the Princess. Can you imagine getting in a car chase? I'd never catch a Jag, I'd have to wait for it to roll over or drive into a harbour instead. Of course, having Life From Mars and The Sweeney fans in the club too should make it even funnier, as they all have things like Granadas and Cortinas.

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Eek That Digiking my Dad had, it was in a box of my random crap after my parents split up then lost in the subsequent move from a nice detached bungalow in the countryside to a council flat. :D

I know a fair bit about old digital watches and especially Casios (watch shite) and that one is late 90s/early 2000s. In 1980 the digital watch was a statement. The first LCD watches were breaking through to literally obliterate the previous LED watches away. A 'must have' Casio of 1980 would be a Casiotron like this: images-1.jpg

or the brilliantly named Casio 'Digiking'

AX2503_400_500_f9f9f9_imageswatermarkpng_140_60_80_r_b_-10_-10_all_15_s_c1.jpg

 

I have 17 Vintage Casios but these two are like the Cortina Crusader and Talbot Tagora of watches for me - Holy grail stuff!

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This might seem tenuous at first, but it is car related so please bear with me.

 

The local club, Motornutz, is having an annual shindig which raises money for charity, welcomes all cars and is generally a bit of a laugh. They have a 'dress the same era as your car' competition that I'm going to get myself involved in because why not. However, I can't decide what to put together. I want to go as the proud/disappointed new owner of a 1980 Austin Princess and I want to get it right.

 

 

The plain clothes copper route might be wise - oh, and if you want the Brut it's still widely available at supermarkets!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I've told you what I'm going as - but I'm keeping it very quiet for now...

 

 

 

 

 

So far, the idea that appeals the most is that of a rep that's been lumbered with/given the gift of a BL barge to zoom up and down the country selling stuff.

 

 

Oh, and I did this a week ago. Red braces, big mobile, the lot. WIN.

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