RetroDaze

Boo.

RETRORATING: 12

The Unsung Heroes of Halloween

CONTEST WINNER!

ThatDude's Christmas Memories

CONTEST WINNER!

Flannel Cornucopia

Don't mess
with the bull.
JOIN!!!

2 COMMENTS

RETRORATING: 8

FAVORITED 2 TIMES

Do You Remember: HyperColor Shirts

By: mickyarber

Once upon a time, we saw the future, and it changed color with heat!

Really, you practically couldn’t afford not to buy a HyperColor shirt. I mean, it changed color, right? That was like getting two shirts for the price of one. So that price tag you saw? Remember, that was 50% off what it should have cost you. You should probably buy two then, since you’re such a great bargain shopper.

What wasn’t to love about HyperColor shirts? Well, a few things, but we’ll get to those later. For now, let’s talk about how rad they were. Introduced by Generra at the tail end of those color-crazy 80’s, HyperColor promised a t-shirt revolution. A patented “Metamorphic Color System” caused the shirt’s color to change when it came in contact with heat. Press a warm hand onto your belly, and your purple shirt would have a temporary pink handprint. How cool was that?

Body heat, hot breath, blow dryers… any heat source was enough to change green to yellow, blue to green, and so on. It was like a Mood Ring for the body, and matched up with acid wash jeans, it made you one of the coolest kids in your school! Or maybe not judging by my experiences :-(. These kids below know what I'm talking about.

Unfortunately (and here’s the “what’s not to love” part), there were some drawbacks. Like the fact that wearing a HyperColor shirt seemed to give everybody the right to put their sweaty palms all over you or breathe on you. Or the way your shirt reacted to all heat, including the kind produced by your armpits (no volunteering to answer questions in class on HyperColor t-shirt day). Suddenly, the idea of a heat-sensitive shirt just wasn’t all you had dreamed it would be.

The HyperColor craze faded like a bad tie-dye by the early 90’s, and Generra had to lay off one-fourth of its staff by the spring of ’92. Apparently, the world just wasn’t ready for odd-colored sweat spots and rampant personal space invasion, even for the sake of a chameleon fashion statement.

For me, I thought wearing one of these would be awesome. But the truth was, I was still a nerd but in a cool shirt. No one wanted to touch it, which defeated my plans of getting touchy feely with girls in school. I guess it was a cool concept in theory, but didn't translate too well in execution. But still, I at least have fond memories of waiting anxiously to get my hands on one when the marketing buzz kicked in.

Did you have HyperColor clothing? Let me know what you thought of it in the comments below.

Mickey Yarber is a freelance writer and lover of all things fun from our childhoods. He has a blog where he shares childhood memories of tv shows, toys, movies, games, cartoons, food, school days, and a host of other things. Stop by and check him out at:

How I Spent My Childhood

And be sure to follow me on Twitter at @yesterdayville for constant retro goodness!

Looking for more from mickyarber?

READ 160083 TIMES

The Smell of Fall

The Smell of Fall They say the number one sense that triggers our memories is our sense of smell. I believe this to be true, I...

Horror Films From The Best Year EVER!

Horror Films from the best year ever. 1988. It was a fantastic year. Why you ask? Because not only was it the year I was born, but it also produced...

Pumpkin Patch Memories

Well I hate to sound cliche, but kids these days will never enjoy the little things.I've loved Halloween ever since I was a child. I love it so much, ...

Halloween Night In The 80's

October is here and Halloween is upon us once again. You know what that means, ghosts, goblins, and everything pumpkin spice ...

Benjanime's Top Ten Halloween Candies

For decades, Halloween has been one of our biggest events of childhood. You get to prance around in a costume, sure, but nothing defines it more than ...

5 Coolest Retro Skeleton Action Figures

I think it's safe to say that next to Jack O' Lantern's, Skeleton's are the official mascot of Halloween. Luckily, during the rest of the year they al...

Yo Joe

Long before Pokemon came on to the scene, there was G.I. Joe, and I for one wanted to collect them all. I didn’t sadly, but not for lack of trying. ...

Unmasked

UnmaskedWhen I turned twelve my mother informed me that I was now officially too old to trick or treat. If memory serves, I stared at her blankly, sl...

The Unsung Heroes of Halloween

The Unsung Heroes of Halloween By Anthony J. RapinoEvery year we celebrate the many memories and products that have filled our Halloweens with w...

MOST RECENT RETRORATING FEATURED OFFICIAL

Go to page: