Mullets, tie-dye and shopping at Tape World: New book sheds light on the American mall in the 1980s - and the off-duty style of shoppers that defined a generation



Malls have been a staple of American culture for decades, representing suburban consumerism in its most basic form.

In a new book called Malls Across America, photos taken during the 1980s reveal how little has changed in the esthetic of these shopping meccas - although the fashion and hairstyles of shoppers tell a different story.



Photographer Michael Galinsky was just 20 when he began driving across the country in 1989, capturing these pictures from shopping malls in different states for a college art project.

Eighties flashback: In a new book called Malls Across America, by photographer Michael Galinsky, images reveal how shopping malls and their customers looked in the 1980s

Road trip: Photographer Michael Galinsky was just 20 when he began driving across the country in 1989, capturing these pictures from shopping malls in different states for a college art project

In an extract from his book, Mr Galinsky writes that his college photography teacher at New York University encouraged him to travel across the country after she saw photos he had taken at the local mall in Garden City, Long Island.

In 1989, he embarked on a road trip to the West Coast with a friend, and by the time they got to San Francisco they had visited over a dozen malls and even more thrift stores and antique shops.

Vintage style: While the tiled floors, artificial plants and brightly-lit stores are recognizable features of malls to this day, the customers' hairstyles and fashion reveal the era these photos were taken in

Customer: A woman sips on a fountain drink while looking at jewelry, her hair styled in voluminous waves and her brightly colored shirt revealing a more flamboyant era of fashion

Bygone era: 'This was pre-Internet, pre-cellphone, there was smoking in malls, it was before the Gulf War. It was this weird moment in time where things were getting ready to change,' said Mr Galinsky

Shocked: David Walczak recognized his father in this image, days after attending his memorial service - the photo shows his father and mother riding down an escalator

While the tiled floors, artificial plants and brightly-lit stores are recognizable features of malls to this day, the customers' hairstyles and fashion reveal the era these photos were taken in.



One of the photos from his journey shows two teenage boys playing old-fashioned arcade game Golden Axe, with shopping carts and a brightly-lit storefront window in the background.

With their hair worn in mullet styles and their T-shirts tucked into their high-waisted jeans, these boys look every inch the typical late-Eighties teens.

Browsing: A girl in an oversized bomber jacket and white high-top sneakers ogles leopard print clothes in a storefront window

Blast to the past: Signs for shops like Tape World and Musicland also reveal a bygone era, as do the boxy television sets being sold at one of the stores (pictured)

Identity parade: 'The "jock" on the left is my uncle! Number 62.,' Ryan Travis from New York wrote

Mr Galinsky told Today.com in 2011 that the time period is just as significant as the physical setting of his photos.

'At the time, the mall was the new public space, the new community center where people would interact.

'This was pre-Internet, pre-cellphone, there was smoking in malls, it was before the Gulf War. It was this weird moment in time where things were getting ready to change.'

Indeed, one of the most noticeable aspects of the images is their lack of cell phones, iPads and other technology that play such a large role in our lives today.

Tie-dye and overalls: Of course the style of the people in these images is the most obvious indication that they are from a not-so-distant past

Shared style: Three girls hurry down the hallway wearing matching baggy sweatshirts and big hairstyles Fake snow: A woman looks down from a staircase at the Christmas display in one of the malls Mr Galinsky visited

Do you know who this is? One woman thought this was her in the photo but the location of the mall didn't match up to the ice cream parlor where she used to work

Another detail that reveals these photos are relics from the past is that several of the subjects are smoking inside the mall.

In one such photo, a woman perches on a sofa puffing on a cigarette while children play by a water feature in a shopping mall lobby.

The signs for shops like Tape World and Musicland also reveal a bygone era, as do the boxy television sets being sold at one of the stores.

Colorful: In this photo, a girl wearing a coordinated purple ensemble giggles inside a shop

Sticking together: A mother takes hold of her son's hand as he stares at TV screens playing what looks to be 1986 film Ferris Bueller's Day Off. A man looks on from a bench in the foreground

Maze of tiles: Two women navigate their way through a food court with their shopping bags and child

Of course the style of the people in these images is the most obvious indication that they are from a not-so-distant past.

In one particularly vintage-looking photo, a man in a tight Coca Cola T-shirt rushes through the halls of a mall, his black leather and shearling jacket hanging off of his shoulders.

His dark hair is short in the front and longer at the back, and he accessorizes his look with gold chains around his neck.

Another photo shows a woman hugging a young boy, both of whom are clad in oversized tie-dye T-shirts and white sneakers.

The making of a book: Mr Galinsky funded the publication of his book with the help of a Kickstarter campaign

Unidentified: He explained on his Kickstarter page that while he had no idea the images would spark such an interest today, part of their intrigue is the mystery of where each photo was captured

Unraveling the mystery: The only indications of place are in the clothes the customers wear - like this man sitting by a payphone in a Stetson hat

A young girl in a pink T-shirt and black overalls watches from the corner of the frame, clutching several stuffed animals close to her chest.

Mr Galinsky says one of the ground-breaking moments on his road trip was when he visited a mall in St Louis, Missouri, and he realized it was identical to one he had been to in Vancouver, Washington.

'It was a completely surreal experience to walk around that space,’ he says. 'Even the "restaurants" in the food court were the same. This was America.'

On the website for Steidl, the company publishing the book, a description delves further into the themes of the photo series.

Vague: 'It was hard to tell from the images where they were taken, and that was kind of the point,' he writes

Shoe shopping: A group of boys look at an array of white sneakers, all in a similar high-top style revealing the trend of the era

Outdated: Fake plants hang from the ceiling of a corridor where a motorized shopping cart is on display

'Malls Across America is filled with seemingly lost or harried families navigating their way through these temples of consumerism, along with playful teens, misfits, and the aged,' it reads.

'There is a sense of claustrophobia to the images, even in those that hint at wide commercial expanses - a wall or a ceiling is always there to block the horizon.



'These photos never settle or focus on any one detail, creating the sense that they are stolen records of the most immediate kind.'

Subjects: 'Malls Across America is filled with seemingly lost or harried families navigating their way through these temples of consumerism, along with playful teens, misfits, and the aged,' reads a description of the book Varied clientele: Some of the customers look to be on the hunt for good purchases, while others use the lobby as a place to sit down and relax Read more: Malls Across America, published by Steidl, hit shelves and Amazon.com earlier this month

Mr Galinsky launched a Kickstarter campaign in 2011 in order to raise money to publish his book of photos.

He explained on his Kickstarter page that while he had no idea the images would spark such an interest today, part of their intrigue is the mystery of where each photo was captured.

'It was hard to tell from the images where they were taken, and that was kind of the point,' he writes. 'I was interested in the creeping loss of regional differences.'