Oh Yes I Have Arrived: Contempo Casuals Part One

Finding home.

Jun 16, 2024

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The year was 1985. I had just graduated from high school and worked part-time at Templeton’s, a local clothing store in Colorado Springs, Colorado. I was taking a year off before college to save money and get myself out to California.

When I was four, we moved to Colorado from Chicago. Sitting on our new swing set, I was in the backyard, and my mom came outside. “What’s wrong?” she asked. “I’m supposed to be in California,” I replied. I remember the moment clearly. I was sitting glumly on the swing set, looking at the huge mountain range between me and my California dream.

Templeton’s was not a cool place to work. It was simply a job I preferred over working in the food industry. My dad had a bookstore when I was growing up, so organizing merchandise and engaging with customers was in my blood.

My ideal place to work would have been Contempo Casuals. I had never seen anything like this store. First, they were from Southern California. At that time, anything from California was considered cool. It was the 1980s, and Contempo was in its prime.

The clothes were the apex of 1980s fashion: bright colors, skinny-leg pants, oversized blouses, huge belts slung low at the waist, and enormous earrings. I went daily to look at the Guess jeans I coveted. They were black and white striped skinny-leg Guess jeans with a zipper at the ankle—$85.00. I made $3.15/hour, so the jeans were, at this point, just a dream.

The whole store—the idea of even working at Contempo—seemed preposterous. Contempo Gals were pretty and wore the latest fashions. They were outgoing and comfortable in their skin. This was not in any way close to how I felt about myself.

One day, I was in Contempo, circling the rounder—retail speak for a round rack —looking for my Guess jeans when a warm, friendly girl walked up.

“Hi! Can I help you find anything?”

“I’ve been eyeing the black and white Guess jeans, but I don’t see them anymore.”

“We have one pair left, and they are on hold for someone.”

I was crushed. I hadn’t decided to buy them yet, but now that they were gone, I had to have them. She eyed me carefully.

“Let me see when the hold expires, be right back.”

I drifted through the store. I loved this place. I felt more at home here than in my own home. My family had recently gone through hard times. My dad lost his bookstore, we lost the family home, and my sister’s kidneys failed all in the span of two years. After my dad struggled to find work, we moved to Arkansas when I was in 10^th grade, then moved back to Colorado 10 months later. Our furniture was still in storage in Arkansas, and we couldn’t afford to rent a truck and bring the furniture back to Colorado. We were living in a rental house. Each bedroom had a bed and a cardboard box as a nightstand. The living room had two directors’ chairs given to us by friends, and the dining room had a card table and four folding chairs. Not exactly my dream home.

Being in Contempo among the perfect 1980s blue carpet and the Art Deco-inspired wallpaper was a dream. Immersed in the soundscape of 80’s pop music and the latest in fashion, I didn’t want to leave. In Contempo, anything was possible.

1980s Blue and Art Deco-inspired wallpaper. I would be living the dream.

She soon emerged from the employee break room and whispered, “They’re on hold for an employee, but we must give them to a customer first. They’re yours!”

She handed me the striped Guess jeans, and I gratefully accepted. I didn’t consider whether I could afford them, as I was supposed to be saving for my move to California.

“You must love working here,” I said.

“It’s great. Where do you work?”

I told her about Templeton’s, and then she said the words that would change my life.

“You should work here! If you are a manager there, you could be an assistant here for the same amount. I know someone who is leaving for college soon. Here, fill out an application!” I went for it.

The next day, walking into Templeton’s felt wrong. I gave my two weeks notice.

I was certain I would get the job at Contempo, and sure enough, when I got home, I had a message on the answering machine asking if I could come in for an interview. A new era had begun.

That night, I began going through my closet, filling bags for donations with clothes I could not and would not wear to Contempo. I needed to change the trajectory of my life. The messages from home I had received in the last ten years were: life is hard, you are on your own, don’t expect much, and get a college degree. Oh yes, I would get that degree - in California. I would be a Contempo Gal and move to California, where things would be much better.

The truth is, I did, and it was!

I discovered that my visual environment is very important to me. When I love where I am, I excel in what I do. Contempo was beautiful and organized, praised its employees, and had clear paths for growth. I thrived.