Retro Louisiana Back to School ‘Must Haves’

It's almost back-to-school time in Acadiana. However, back to school in 2024 looks much different than it did years ago.

Let's take a fun look back at some of the "must haves" for school from back in the day that kids today don't get to experience, or in some cases, are just kind of weird.

Retro Back To School Must Haves

Throughout the 80s, 90s, and even into the 2000s, there were just some things we just had to have for back to school.

Certain types of glue, book covers, Trapper Keepers, and more.

Then there were the school clothes, including a few certain types of t-shirts that we "had to have".

Purple Crown Royal Bags To Carry Our Pens And Pencils

Yep, only the coolest kids had purple Crown Royal bags to carry their pens and pencils around in. In the 80s, no one thought twice about a 12yr old toting around a whiskey bag.

The same goes for this next "must have" back-to-school item.

Cigar Boxes Used To Store Pens And Pencils

Much like the weirdness of school kids walking around with whiskey bags, cigar boxes were also something that was highly sought after to keep school supplies in.

Obviously, this sort of thing isn't allowed any longer, but back in the day, you had to have one.

Mucilage/Brown Glue With The Orange Rubber Top

At some point in the 80s, this exotic new glue with a fancy rubber tip showed up in schools and changed the game.

Once you used the smooth rubber tip that perfectly and neatly applied the perfect amount of glue needed with extreme precision, there was no going back to the archaic Elmer's horse glue.

Joe Camel, Marlboro, Bud Light, and Corona T-Shirts

Back in the 80s and part of the 90s, before school uniforms in public school was a thing, we had "school clothes".

Some of the t-shirts kids routinely wore to school were t-shirts from cigarette and beer companies.

It was no big deal at one point to see Joe Camel cigarette and Marlboro cigarette t-shirts being worn by 15-year-olds.

Then there was the "Spuds MacKenzie" Bud Light t-shirt craze.

You just had to have one!

Triangle Pencil Grips

Ah yes, the classic triangle pencil grip.

These are still available and still used, but in the 80s and 90s, you couldn't find a pencil in any classroom in the country that didn't have a triangle pencil grip on it.

If you really wanted to kick it up a notch you'd put two or three on your pencils.

Trapper Keepers

Throughout the 80s and 90s, Mead's Trapper Keepers weren't just "Must Have" but quickly became a cultural icon.

The Trapper Keeper remains a beloved icon of school supplies, remembered fondly by many who used them during their school years.

Although Trapper Keepers are still made and available, some schools eventually implemented rules against Trapper Keepers, citing reasons such as their bulkiness and the distraction caused by their colorful designs and the noisy Velcro closures.

Lisa Frank Stickers, Folders, And Notebooks

Lisa Frank is a brand known for its vibrant school supplies, which became insanely popular in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Founded by Lisa Frank in 1979, is characterized by its distinctive use of bright, neon colors and fantastical imagery.

The Lisa Frank brand made a ton of school supplies like folders, binders, notebooks, pencils, erasers, stickers, and backpacks.

Paper Bag Book Covers

School books are becoming more and more a thing of the past due to tablets, but back in the day, they were serious business.

At the start of every school year, students were issued their textbooks and then subsequently threatened with every punishment available to not damage them.

The threats were definitely justified. These textbooks cost hundreds of dollars each.

To help prevent damaging the textbook, paper bags were cut and folded into textbook covers.

There was a certain art to getting it just right and when you did, it was everything.