That's it! If legwarmers come back in and make their way north of the border, I'm packing up and moving to Greenland.

Can't. Take. Legwarmers.

I can see the office wannabe-Fashionistas now: Brown cord skirt, white tights, striped legwarmeers and Uggs. Spending hours hiking up the tights and adjusting the legwarmers.

Seriously. Greenland.

what the.

where are these mythical aisles comin from?

I've honestly never seen those before at Target.

OMG. Leg warmers are back? I can't wait to see all the tweeny girls wearing them and feeling the retro groove. Can we bring back "rad" and "narly" too then? And, and, dare I say it? Parachute pants? Oh, I am breathless with anticipation- because really the clothes were horrible. The 80's excelled in music, fashion not so much.

I keep hearing about other Target stores that have all this cool knitting stuff. No such luck here however.

[I secretly love Whitesnake too!]

I feel so ashamed now. I thought I was so cool last week at karaoke with my fishnets, black legwarmers, and black peep-toe heels.

I even sang She-Bop.

Sigh.

I can't wear leg warmers. My calves are big enough as it is without adding any extra bulk to them.
I do love the garter/rib/cable/loop scarf. A trip to target may be in my near future.....

Wow, Target's pretty cool! Living in Canada, we don't have a Target to browse through and take digital shots of...LOL Did anyone see you snapping photos in the store? I'm surprised security didn't wrestle you to the ground and confiscate your camera...you are in California aren't you? LOL!

Love the Target! But just last year, in a fit of nostalgia, I knitted my own legwarmers. :) Weren't legwarmers more of a 1985 kind of a thing? Because I had three pairs when I was in junior high, which was 1984-86. There, I just dated myself. But I've never denied being a child of the 80's. How do I love Rick Astley? Let me count the ways.

ok you've got the Target of champions my friend! I've never seen that much cool stuff in our local Target! Beautiful! And, I have to admit, I loved Fame, and now thanks to you can't get that song out of my head!!!

Legwarmers! How funny! I just finished going through a really great new book: "Easy Knitted Accessories: Funky And Fashionable Projects For The Novice Knitter" by Jeanette Trotman, and it included a pattern for LEGWARMERS! It sure looks like a comeback to me, Purl! Maybe you should list out colors and ask all of your readers to knit them for you!

I just saw Debbie Gibson in concert last month. Seriously. It was totally awesome.

Legwarmers making a comeback? Awesome. Am I going crazy or do I actually remember a trend in the late 80s of wearing legwarmers over jeans? Memory or nightmare remnant? We can only hope that will come back into style again...

Don't you LOVE Tar-jay? I grew up in MN, their headquarters, and love them. Cute, trendy stuff without having to pay a lot of money!

Great photos!

My DD announced today that she'd like a pair of black leg warmers - it brought back a few memories.

I liked that loopy scarf too...and could hardly justify buying it when I knit...then I'd have to lie and say "why yes I did knit this" and wait for the flying spaghetti monster to use his noodley appendage to strike me dead...

Oh no, not legwarmers! At least there weren't any fluorescent ones, right?

Your post made me crack up. A new SuperTarget opened 2.5 miles away from our house. What a relief, because the other one was 4.6 miles away -- just.too.far.

Does your Target have the $1 section in it? They have 4 or so different knitting project books along with several different colors of 4 or so different kinds of yarn and then several different size needles. I hope my family will enjoy various little, knitted thingies for X-mas, 'cause that's what they are getting.

ya know that faux fur/dead muppet crap? someone made a set of legwarmers with that shit. straight up dead muppety goodness. FURRY LEGWARMERS, my friend.

I refuse to believe that legwarmers exist again. No. Not possible. Aren't ponchos punishment enough???

Love the shopping trip!
To go from regular knitting to cables (on a scarf) without the sides pulling in, increase 4-8 stitches evenly across the last row prior to starting the cable section (number of increases depends on stitch pattern and gauge) and decrease evenly before starting the section after that. Blocking takes care of the rest.

So, my question is, did you buy any?

You're a maniac! Maniac!

does this mean high hair is coming back too? i could get really high hair now! ( my hair is past my ass). as for the red scarf, if you increase the stitch count for those sections, they don't "draw" in as much. go back and look, i betcha that's how it was done.

leg warmers, eh? i think i'll stick to my long johns

Yeah, go check out the "1 Spot" - I've seen yarn there. It's usually novelty railroad-type stuff...but it's ONE DOLLAR! You can't beat that with a stick!

Ohmigod!!!
I totally knit a sweater back in THE 80'S !!!!
And I STILL HAVE IT!! A completely pulled- out- of- my -ass-designed- cotton -string- yarn- thing- with bat sleeves and increasing/decreasing blocks of knit/purl...
I had no idea what I was doing , probably wont still but thats not gonna keep me from knittting something else now that ive found this gnarly
site! The perfect way to bust back into this knitting thing???matching LEG WARMERS!!!!REMEMBER.!!..REMEMBER!!!!!!REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!oh
yeah I saw a pattern for these as well as knit cuffs today at my friggin "JOBBY"..it's real kids..know it!!

Can I just tell ya that I loved my legwarmers way back when? And though I'm not sure I would wear them again, being 39 and all, I was secretly very excited when I saw their return in JC Penny a few months ago.

I loved "Fame" but really loved the television series of it!

I graduated in the early 80's. Had kids and worked as a receptionist in the late 80's. Having to wear skirts and pantyhose to take a bus in the winter in Rottenchester, I LOVED my leg warmers.

Surrupticiously (sp?) taking pics on your phone in Target of knitting and posting it on your Blog. Sad.
Not.how.I.envisioned.life.in.So.Cal.to.be.

gee--wish we had a tar-jay here--it's only WalMart in the bonnies of the boonies!!Still, at least in Virginia (USUALLY) you need a nice wool scarf by October. NOT SO THIS YEAR!! Not yet anyway, but I ordered something yummy from elann.com to knit two Christmas scarves--for someone!! (I never seem to buy yarn to knit things for me. I guess it's the natural knitter-thing!)

Love you Purl! Read you everyday...so please don't stop lving out loud!

Oh my gosh - I love the Target - They just opened a BRAND-SPANKING-NEW Target acroos the street from where I live, and as if it couldn't get any better, it's got a Starbucks inside!!!! Talk about feeding 2 addictions at one time.. So cool. Love the blog Purl, keep it up!

The mittens? Are either the hugest mittens ever? Or the skinniest wrists I've ever seen. One or the other.

Ok, so that girl Roxanne just admitted there are no Targets in Canada. And I was just thinking that if legwarmers are coming back, I'm moving to Canada. But here are the flaws in my plan: A) it's cold in Canada, I might actually NEED legwarmers (ugh). B) There is NO TARGET in Canada, and I can't live without Target. C) It's Canada.
Oh well. Have a great weekend - keep on rockin' the free world! And happily wear legwarmers just. cuz. you. can.

PS on a side note - had lunch with my hypothetical email guy...he's still cute and irresistible (ugh, can't spell after a night of drinking and dancing) - and he's still SUCH an inappropriate prospect for dating. BUT SO VERY ADORABLE. YUCK! See, this is what happens when one is in sales, you start thinking of your dating life as "prospecting." SO sad. Get this girl another G&T. Pardon the rambling comment. XOXOOX Marissa

why would anyone shop anywhere else but Target? Target rocks.

I still have the pair of legwarmers I was wearing when I met Bruce S. in 1984. I am NOT throwing them away. Target is great!

You sound like a spokes person for Target. Hope they pay you a commission!

How many people can go into Target (or any store), take pictures, and not get yelled at by security? Only Crazy Aunt Purl can pull that one off out here. Any plans for a Macy's photo tour anytime soon? Their knitted items are cute, with a huge price tag to go with it too.

Tootles~

I LOVE Target. Unfortunatly, I can spend way too much, as I always find something there(even things I didn't know I needed). They also had a Knitting kit over the spring/summer that had cute cat toys that you can make.

UGH!!! Legwarmers fall into the same category as ponchos: I was old enough to wear them the first time they were "in," so I am automatically disqualified from having them in my vicinity this time around.

Again, UGH.

Legwarmers! Time to cut open wide necks on our sweatshirts! Channel our inner Irene Cara!!

Our urban Target has escalators, with tandem cart-scalators. And we've got the knitting stuff, too, but I have to warn that the "bamboo" needles actually feel a lot more like unsanded balsa.

In defense of leg warmers...
I'm currently knitting a pair in lovely soft cashmerino aran, in basic black...and I'm doing so for a purely practical purpose: up here in Northern Cali, it's getting cold in the mornings [like, mid to low 50's cold] and at night...if I wear a skirt with tights, then my legs stay warm on my walk to work but I'm sweatin' like a pig by the middle of the day...without tights, my legs are frozen in the a.m. but perfect by noon. Thus--leg warmers. I shall wear them on my commute, remove them at work, and then probably wind up putting them back on by 2p.m. once the building a/c kicks in the inside temp drops to morgue levels.
But seriously: totally useful! I promise I won't abuse the leg warmers...

Knitted things are everywhere!! And I kinda feel bad about buying a wrap around shrug that I so could have knit myslef ....... Tee hee hee, I love legwarmers! they are very good at keeping your leg's warm. *runs off to find some pretty yarn for leg warmers*

I've seen the second coming of the legwarmer and it is not a pretty sight. The latest rage on all of the fashionista wannabes (i.e. the under 18 set) is to wear a destroyed denim miniskirt, an off-the shoulder, cut up t-shirt, the aforementioned legwarmers, and the final LA touch -- flip flops! Of course the real fashionistas (i.e. tragically hip girls trolling the streets of Hollywood) wear this bizarre creation that is like a legwarmer/platform boot. Rather frightening, especially with a tiered mini and chandelier earrings. Legwarmers were ridiculous 20 years ago and they are even more ridiculous now as kids who weren't even born thae last time around try to go retro. 80s fashion pretty much sucked and it should stay back there. I was a dancer back then and I wore my legwarmers one place -- in the dance studio. Thank you Jennifer Beals for creating a trend that really must die!

Also in defense of legwarmers--I'm old...very old. Perhaps the oldest person alive today, or so I have been feeling lately, what with the weather turning colder and the achey arthritis, and I'm thinking, "Hmmm...legwarmers..." like, this might work!?

Seriously, if any of you had to listen to the sound of me standing up after sitting down for more than half an hour,(more pops than microwave popcorn) you might be begging me to insulate my joints...

If you're going to have "wristies," then why not "anklies"? Or "Knee-ies"

Just saying...please, go on with your discussion...

Warning the kits are cute but the needles are less than desirable.... The DVD's are great for a beginner though!

David Coverdale was hot. Now he's old. But he was hot.

Oh my gosh...thanks for making me feel old today. :)! Leg warmers...had them in the early 80s. My theory is that if you wore them once in your life and they come back...you can't wear them. No one wants to see my thick legs looking like a sausage caseing anyway. No really, they do not.

I also saw the movie Fame five times when it came out. Made me want to move to NYC...and I did after college.

Fame
I'm gonna live forever
I'm gonna learn how to fly
I feel it comin' together
People will see me and cry

Fame
I'm gonna make it to heaven
Light up the sky like a flame

Fame
I'm gonna live forever
Baby remember my name

Remember
Remember
Remember
Remember
Remember

Ah, good old legwarmers. I remember girls in junior high wearing tight jeans tucked into high heel boots and then leg warmers over that. In California! Northern California, but still.

I can proudly say that I never had legwarmers or the parachute pants to go with them. But I will own up to a pair of boots that were made to look "scrunched" around the ankle.

And attempting to dress up like Madonna as part of an 8th grade girl "protest" when the administration was considering banning the wearing of the Madonna look of the Lucky Star/Like a Virgin era (which seems so tame now).

Love Love Love the Land of Target!!!

First legwarmers.....second...Sweater Dresses!!!

Of course after reading this, I HAD to take a run to Target at lunch today.

It is my secretary's b-day, so I got her the fuzzy slippers and the mittens. She is a beginning knitter....but the DVD clinched it for me. I hope the DVD actually helps with the pattern. Doh!

The kits (in my store) were in the office supply area, but the bead stuff.
Just in case anyone is looking!

I honestly don't remember if I wore leg warmers the first time....but I will be making them for my DD for ice skating...she just made the class where she has to wear tights and leotards. SO completely ridiculous for a 5 yr old!

Oh my goodness. I just found your blog. Your writing is delicious. I heart it.

They let you just walk around Target and take photos with a digital camera? In L.A.? The Legal Suit capitol of the world?

By the way, it's highs aroud 60 degrees all week here in Michigan, and wonderful cool fall weather, with leaves starting to change colors. Yum!

Legwarmers over jeans? Check. In fact, I wore legwarmers UNDER my jeans in the early 80s to make my legs look LESS SKINNY!! Aahh, to have that problem now! The things we, as high school girls, felt insecure about! That's why I LOVE being 40.

Laurie, I love, love, LOVE your blog; I check it daily and always get a laugh. I'm also in the soon-to-be-divorced boat but (for reasons Iwon't go into here) still living with my husband. I tell you, I can't wait to be able to knit without getting the "evil-eye" like "Are you going to knit all damn day?!" Why yes, as a matter of fact, I am! Counting the days, baby, counting the days!!

CAP, Have you been to the new target that just opened at Nordoff and Balboa...very cool but very packed.

This is starting to scare me.
All my fashion "don't"s are coming back.
My mother says if you live long enough, they will return at least once.

That's hilarious! I feel a FLASHback coming on. :)

they probably got the scarf to be the same width all the way through by just blocking the hell out of the ribbed sections. if you steam block rib too seriously, it will stay expanded FOREVER and never suck back in. :)

Knitwear is HOT right now. I was in Marshall Field's the other day (So sad it'll be a crappy Macy's in a few months), and they're selling acrylic cabled throws for 70 bucks. I can read the throw and make one of my own in Elann yarn or Encore for 20 bucks. They look like they were made on US 35--huge! They look nice enough, but not for 70 bucks.

Hey! I liked your site very much! to Do Gnome you should be very Coolblooded: http://www.filmratings.com/ , International, Red, Black nothing comparative to White Fetch Chips is very good Gnome , Give Love Compute - that is all that Cosmos is capable of when Round Anticipate Plane Steal

I bought the Knit This! bear hat and booties kit from Target awhile ago, and I found that it didn't have the pattern. It has instructions on how to knit, but not this pattern, if anyone could help me out it would be greatly appreciated!! Its for my best friend's baby thats due next month. Thanks!

aw, it really sucks bigtime that we don't have target here in canada.

but I've been searching for a pretty long time for, maybe, a target website. but all I came up with was www.target.com and I don't think that's it.

can anybody help?