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A lot of us are obsessed with vintage stuff nowadays, from clothes to music to generally wishing we had grown up in the 60s. We often forget, however, that our dear old parents were the ones who started all those trends we now admire.
Internet users are now sharing photos of their parents when they were young and hip, and it's pretty much safe to say that they were about a hundred times cooler than us. Maybe it was all the psychedelic rock, Mustangs, and mullets. Maybe it was the fact that, as one user commented, they "played outside and didn't have memes." Either way, the days of peace and love certainly look a lot more blissful than where we're at now.
Scroll down to take a walk back in time, and if you've got photos of your parents looking too cool for school, add them to our list.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
My Mother Skateboarding Barefoot In California In 1974
#2
I Found A Photo Of My Dad Cooking A Barbecue On Top Of A Moving Submarine
#3
My Dad Sculpting A Bust Of My Mom 1980s
#4
A Friend Of My Father's, Telling Off A Klan Member. Auburn AL, 1985
#5
My Dad Being Infinitely Cooler Than I'll Ever Be (1980)
#6
My Dad, Taken For Surfer Magazine. Peru, 1977
#7
Late 1960's, My Dad
#8
My Mom In Moscow 1975. From All The Stories She's Told Me About Her Travels, I Wouldn't Be Surprised If She Was A Spy
#9
My Dad's First Car, A 1939 Ford. He Bought It With His Own Money That He Earned Farming (And Drove It Daily). He Was 11 When He Bought It, So This Photo Was Taken In 1948
#10
My Dad Wasn't Famous, But His Moves Were Pretty Cool (1977)
#11
My Dad In Saudi Arabia In The 70's Working As A US Military Contractor Diving In The Red Sea
#12
My Dad In The 70's Doing What He Loves. Father To 4 Boys. More Man Than Myth Or Legend
#13
My Dad Teaching Math In Southern California (Late 70's/Early 80's)
#14
My Moms Selfie Before It Was Cool (1989)
#15
My Mom And Dad On Their Wedding Day - 1980
#16
My Mom When She Lived In Alaska With Her Husky Puppy, Okie
#17
Mom's 'Garden' 1980's
#18
Me Looking Up To My Fighter Pilot Dad In The Late 1980's
#19
So I Was Going Through Some Old Photos And I Found This. My Dad Holding Magic Johnson And Looking Incredibly Bad-Ass While Doing It
#20
My Mom Working At Nasa, 1974
#21
My Mom Skating With A Broken Wrist In The Late 70's
#22
My Dad In Alaska, Circa 1980. I Hope To Be Half The Man He Is One Day
#23
Mom Wasn't The Pilot, But She Was A Tech On The F-4 Phantom Back In The 80's
#24
My Mom Winning The Pie Eating Contest By Beating All The Boys, 1950
sunnyrei82 7 years ago
yeah! show 'em who's the boss! Girls are not only dresses and cooking ware! XD
#25
My Dad In France Is The '70s (Ryan Gosling Might Need A Paternity Test)
#26
My Father In 1982. When I Asked Him What He Was Doing In This Photo, He Said, "Shooting An Album Cover. Duh"
#27
My Mother And Father Being Young And Awesome On Santorini Island, Greece, 1985. I Was Conceived There
#28
My Dad And His Cousins, Back In The Day. I Don't Think The Cool Gene Was Passed Down To Me
#29
When My Dad Was 16, He Entered His Name In A Drawing, For What He Thought Was A Sports Jacket, At A Local Shoe Store. The Drawing Was Actually For A 1967 Shelby GT500. He Won
#30
My Friend's Dad Trained Seals In The Navy. This Was What His Everyday Job Looked Like
Vlad Horobet 7 years ago
So he was working for the NAVY SEALS training real seals? That's amazing !
#31
My Cool AF Dad At 19 (1973)
#32
My Dad And His Pet Monkey In Vietnam, 1966
Vlad Horobet 7 years ago
If that'd been my dad, he wold show this pic to everyone and he'd be like: "look, a photo with me and my newborn son " xD
#33
My Mom Circa 1986
#34
My Mom Thinks She Is So Hardcore In Her Fleetwood Mac Tank Top At Age 18, 1982
#35
My Dad And Uncle At Their Joint Wedding, 1970's
#36
Dad In 1969. I'd Love To Know How This Happened
#37
My Mom Being Infinitely Cooler Than I'll Ever Be... Without A Saddle (Late 70s)
#38
My Dear Mom In The 70s With Her German Shepard And Manta
#39
My Mom Bought A New '63 Corvette On Her Own At Age 20. She Owned Her Own Hair Salon In Midland, Tx
Final score:
192points
#40
My Father Got Drunk With Some Friends And Caught A Record Breaking Tuna In Newfoundland, 1972
#41
Found This In An Old Shoe Box At My Dad's. It's My Parents, 1990
#42
My Dad At Marching Band Practice, 1985
#43
My Dad Was A Legit Ski Instructor In The 1970's
#44
Apparently My Dad Used To Ride 3 Wheeled Unicycles In Parades
Trisha Dragon 7 years ago
I hurt myself just looking at this picture. How the hell does this even come to exist...
#45
My Mom Looking For Her Prom Date 1969
#46
My Girlfriend's Dad After Flipping His '73 Mustang On The Highway
#47
My Dad Giving A Thirsty Bear Some Soda Sometime In The 50's
Vlad Horobet 7 years ago
Back then, people were walking around bears and cheetas like it was nothing. Nowadays some people are afraid of chocolate eggs with toys inside.
#48
My Bad-Ass Mom In 1979
#49
My Dad In Northern Montana, 1989
#50
Here Is A Bad Ass Picture Of My Dad From The 80's. Gatorade In The Can Doing A Control Burn. He's The Shit And My Hero. My Grandfather Was A Firefighter Too Rip. The Real Heroes Are Firefighters, Cops And All Military!
#51
My Dad When He Was 17 In A Small Village In The Netherlands, 1981. He'd Meet My Mom A Year Later
#52
My Dad, The Fbi Agent, At A Bahamas Airport, Late 1960s
#53
My Dad Claims That's "Oregano" Above My Mom. 1978'ish
#54
My Dad In Hawaii, Late 1970's
#55
My Dad And His Fox Patricia (1987)
#56
My Dad And His Firebird In The 80s
#57
My Dad In 1971
#58
My Mom Lounging On A Car (1980's)
#59
My Dad The Undercover Cop In The 1970's
#60
Came Across This Photo Of My Dad In The 70's With His Mustang And I Had To Share It
#61
My Dad When He Was A Surfer Dude Sleeping On The Beach For 3 Weeks With Only A Sleeping Bag, Somewhere In The Southern Europe, 1989
#62
My Dad Squaring Off With A Cheetah, 1979
#63
My Dad In His 20s
#64
Mom In The 80s
#65
My Dad, Kicking Back With A Cup Of Coffee, 1988
#66
My Mother, 1968
#67
My Mom When Se Was 20 At The End Of 60's
Final score:
91points
Matilde Rondon Ferrari 7 years ago
"These boots are made for walking, and that's just what they'll do one of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you." - Nancy Sinatra, 1966
#69
My Cool Mom With Her Firebird. Sometime Around Early 80's
#70
My Mother At The Weiser, Idaho Fiddle Festival, 1973
#71
My Dad Back In The 1980's Definitely Not In The Us Military
#72
My Dad Shortly After Arriving To Australia From Vietnam In The 80s
Marilyn Roberts 7 years ago
I remember boom box's bigger that suitcases, being carried on shoulders!
#73
My Step-Dad Is Convinced He Was The Coolest Guy In The 80's
#74
I Just Found This Photo Of My Dad In The 80's. Apparently He Was Quite The Ladies Man
#75
My Dad Refused To Take Off His Shades During Wedding Ceremony (1978)
Final score:
56points
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Beks Czar 7 years ago
No pictures but let's name everything. The very first is she's a single mother who became pregnant after being raped. The strength to take on a child by herself at 23, that's a strength I do not possess. She went to Europe twice because of her singing voice, 1st she represented Wisconsin (only a couple from each state won the seats), 2nd was through some program Jimmy Carter started. She rode a motorcycle that she won on the radio. She took a spiritual journey from WI to California by herself with her dog. She appeared on the cover of Time because her factory made the magazines. She hurt her back lifting those magazines, had 2 spinal surgeries and went back to school for computers. And lastly, I have a bad immune system and have been sick for 22 years and she's been my caretaker, doing everything I ever need while working to put s roof over my head and food in my belly. THAT is why my mom is so unbelievably cooler than me.
James Harding 7 years ago
"#75 My Parents in 1977" is Roger Moore and Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me. They were nobody's parents together.
Phil Boswell 7 years ago
Looks like they removed the contentious picture because my #75 is indeed "some dude in a marijuana mangrove"…but I don't have a #80…
Load More Replies...
Giedrė Svaldenytė 7 years ago
My Grandma with her colleague's bricklayers back in the Siberia in 1950's. mason-59d6...0e532a.jpg 
Marina Vladescu 7 years ago
If I can add one piece of art to this article I would be more than happy. Here was my sexy af mom with her lover from that time. In the summer of 1982. She was 21 years old. :) 22279119_1...4c8d51.jpg 
Steve Schario 7 years ago
First time I've seen it. So, I guess they did for me.
Load More Replies...
Eric Booker 7 years ago
My Dad on the first day of his Sophmore year at Texas Tech studying hard for his future PhD in Chemistry. Dad1-59def...c274eb.jpg 
Suzanne Burt 7 years ago
These old photos are fantastic! They stir up my own memories of those days growing up...the cars, clothes, hair. I have a pic from 1971-72, my sister Brucene Smith, Miss World USA, with Bob Hope on his tour to entertain the troops. Bruceneand...07aae9.jpg 
Caoimhe Willemoës 7 years ago
I really enjoy looking at these photos, but it's funny how must of the photo includes a car or a gun...
Kristine Zarcone 7 years ago
This Is a 'Poster Gallery' print of an actual ceiling poster made by American Greetings in 1972. That's my badass police officer dad on the left. There were many people back in the 70's who laid in their bed at night and looked up to see my dad and his partner staring down at them through a 'hole' in their ceiling! Dads-ceili...ddabb9.jpg 
Don Lee 7 years ago
Early 1950s, Dad decided he wanted to learn to ride a motorbike. So he bought this Harley and practiced on it on our then-secluded road and in the field back of the house. Unfortunately, it was stolen. Police found it dumped in Lake Erie. He also built minibikes for the neighborhood kids. In fact, I was in my teens before I realized you could buy a minibike from a shop. 10390058_4...98fcd5.jpg 
Mick Craig 7 years ago
The last one... Roger Moore and Barbara Bach didn't have kids. This is a publicity shot for The Spy Who Loved Me.
Dori Kelly 7 years ago
The 60's and 70's weren't exactly days of peace with the Vietnam war and Civil Rights riots. However, these people looked awesome and knew how to grab life by the cojones!!! There is absolutely nothing like this now!
Veselka Hadzieva 10 months ago
Marijuana is NOT cool since the more you smoke the dumber you become.
Miljenko Pticar 7 years ago
I know that i am cooler then my kid but it is only for now, she will be much more cooler when right time comes, the key word is future, not past, we did what we could in our time but time changes..
Harrache Abd Al Halim 7 years ago
This really make me think , that we all gonna be elders one day , haha , enjoy your youth while you can .
Gracita Gouverneur 7 years ago
Is this even real? That's enough internet 4 me 4 2day.............
Steve Shay 7 years ago
I love the concept but me thinks some photos are professional models posing for ads.
Alan Lebov 7 years ago
What do I think? I think if you ride a motorcycle barefoot you are just begging to lose your toes.
Rita Cerniglia 7 years ago
My dad out on the Pacific Ocean with friends. He's the one holding the bottle. 41087_1331...29a272.jpg 
Henry Gaudsmith 7 years ago
I think it was a time when we wanted to be ourselves and enjoy what was available. we had not really been at war and had only good things ahead of us. Behind us our parents had made the world safer. But mostly we had a view of only possibilities of a good life
Lisa Hofschneider 7 years ago
My mom in 1973 with her 1967 Dodge Charger. She was one cool chick
Tom Doss III 7 years ago
I could add a pic of me and my '61 Jaguar MKII being 'way cooler than my boring nieces and nephews...
Corrine Todd 7 years ago
These are classics. Although it's great to be able to take photos all the time now, you can't beat a classic
Jenny Moore 2 years ago
Not really... Only at school, church, and work. I didn't start regularly wearing shoes until my mid-30's lol
Load More Replies...
Alvaro Alexandre C. Pereira 7 years ago
In the near future the kids will say "wth! dad, the coolest thing you have ever done was a triple kill in a s**t game!!!"
Christy Lou Sturman 7 years ago
My dad in the mid 70s, this guitar is now a family heirloom that my someday grandkids will inherit 10341948_1...59c744.jpg 
Ian Sirota 7 years ago
I am secure in the knowledge that no such photos of me being cool in any way exist............
Miklós Nagy 7 years ago
And now imagine what will your kids think when they will browse back on your facebook/instagram/whateverwillbecoolinthefuturepage...
Tim Douglass 7 years ago
Weird reading the captions and realizing that all these "my dad in the 80's" or "my mom in 1977" mean that these are pictures of my contemporaries or younger. I was around in those years, but was just your average dweeb, my kids will never find a picture of me looking badass, just some truly embarrassing school pictures.
lindsaymad2000 7 years ago
My dad once shook the popes hand... (got in a bunch of trouble for it too lol)
Roger Epps 7 years ago
They both had to be sexually desirable to someone for you to exist. Think about it
Dschulidschi 7 years ago
Nice, that this time mothers could be cool too, but why so many weapons? Thinking about Las Vegas, I prefer the more pacifist parents... :-)
Yasmin Shalev 7 years ago
Here's a picture of my dad in the late 60s serving in the IDF. 22179891_3...366678.jpg 
Beks Czar 7 years ago
No pictures but let's name everything. The very first is she's a single mother who became pregnant after being raped. The strength to take on a child by herself at 23, that's a strength I do not possess. She went to Europe twice because of her singing voice, 1st she represented Wisconsin (only a couple from each state won the seats), 2nd was through some program Jimmy Carter started. She rode a motorcycle that she won on the radio. She took a spiritual journey from WI to California by herself with her dog. She appeared on the cover of Time because her factory made the magazines. She hurt her back lifting those magazines, had 2 spinal surgeries and went back to school for computers. And lastly, I have a bad immune system and have been sick for 22 years and she's been my caretaker, doing everything I ever need while working to put s roof over my head and food in my belly. THAT is why my mom is so unbelievably cooler than me.
James Harding 7 years ago
"#75 My Parents in 1977" is Roger Moore and Barbara Bach in The Spy Who Loved Me. They were nobody's parents together.
Phil Boswell 7 years ago
Looks like they removed the contentious picture because my #75 is indeed "some dude in a marijuana mangrove"…but I don't have a #80…
Load More Replies... Giedrė Svaldenytė 7 years ago
My Grandma with her colleague's bricklayers back in the Siberia in 1950's. mason-59d6...0e532a.jpg
Marina Vladescu 7 years ago
If I can add one piece of art to this article I would be more than happy. Here was my sexy af mom with her lover from that time. In the summer of 1982. She was 21 years old. :) 22279119_1...4c8d51.jpg
Steve Schario 7 years ago
First time I've seen it. So, I guess they did for me.
Load More Replies... Eric Booker 7 years ago
My Dad on the first day of his Sophmore year at Texas Tech studying hard for his future PhD in Chemistry. Dad1-59def...c274eb.jpg
Suzanne Burt 7 years ago
These old photos are fantastic! They stir up my own memories of those days growing up...the cars, clothes, hair. I have a pic from 1971-72, my sister Brucene Smith, Miss World USA, with Bob Hope on his tour to entertain the troops. Bruceneand...07aae9.jpg
Caoimhe Willemoës 7 years ago
I really enjoy looking at these photos, but it's funny how must of the photo includes a car or a gun...
Kristine Zarcone 7 years ago
This Is a 'Poster Gallery' print of an actual ceiling poster made by American Greetings in 1972. That's my badass police officer dad on the left. There were many people back in the 70's who laid in their bed at night and looked up to see my dad and his partner staring down at them through a 'hole' in their ceiling! Dads-ceili...ddabb9.jpg
Don Lee 7 years ago
Early 1950s, Dad decided he wanted to learn to ride a motorbike. So he bought this Harley and practiced on it on our then-secluded road and in the field back of the house. Unfortunately, it was stolen. Police found it dumped in Lake Erie. He also built minibikes for the neighborhood kids. In fact, I was in my teens before I realized you could buy a minibike from a shop. 10390058_4...98fcd5.jpg
Mick Craig 7 years ago
The last one... Roger Moore and Barbara Bach didn't have kids. This is a publicity shot for The Spy Who Loved Me.
Dori Kelly 7 years ago
The 60's and 70's weren't exactly days of peace with the Vietnam war and Civil Rights riots. However, these people looked awesome and knew how to grab life by the cojones!!! There is absolutely nothing like this now!
Veselka Hadzieva 10 months ago
Marijuana is NOT cool since the more you smoke the dumber you become.
Miljenko Pticar 7 years ago
I know that i am cooler then my kid but it is only for now, she will be much more cooler when right time comes, the key word is future, not past, we did what we could in our time but time changes..
Harrache Abd Al Halim 7 years ago
This really make me think , that we all gonna be elders one day , haha , enjoy your youth while you can .
Gracita Gouverneur 7 years ago
Is this even real? That's enough internet 4 me 4 2day.............
Steve Shay 7 years ago
I love the concept but me thinks some photos are professional models posing for ads.
Alan Lebov 7 years ago
What do I think? I think if you ride a motorcycle barefoot you are just begging to lose your toes.
Rita Cerniglia 7 years ago
My dad out on the Pacific Ocean with friends. He's the one holding the bottle. 41087_1331...29a272.jpg
Henry Gaudsmith 7 years ago
I think it was a time when we wanted to be ourselves and enjoy what was available. we had not really been at war and had only good things ahead of us. Behind us our parents had made the world safer. But mostly we had a view of only possibilities of a good life
Lisa Hofschneider 7 years ago
My mom in 1973 with her 1967 Dodge Charger. She was one cool chick
Tom Doss III 7 years ago
I could add a pic of me and my '61 Jaguar MKII being 'way cooler than my boring nieces and nephews...
Corrine Todd 7 years ago
These are classics. Although it's great to be able to take photos all the time now, you can't beat a classic
Jenny Moore 2 years ago
Not really... Only at school, church, and work. I didn't start regularly wearing shoes until my mid-30's lol
Load More Replies... Alvaro Alexandre C. Pereira 7 years ago
In the near future the kids will say "wth! dad, the coolest thing you have ever done was a triple kill in a s**t game!!!"
Christy Lou Sturman 7 years ago
My dad in the mid 70s, this guitar is now a family heirloom that my someday grandkids will inherit 10341948_1...59c744.jpg
Ian Sirota 7 years ago
I am secure in the knowledge that no such photos of me being cool in any way exist............
Miklós Nagy 7 years ago
And now imagine what will your kids think when they will browse back on your facebook/instagram/whateverwillbecoolinthefuturepage...
Tim Douglass 7 years ago
Weird reading the captions and realizing that all these "my dad in the 80's" or "my mom in 1977" mean that these are pictures of my contemporaries or younger. I was around in those years, but was just your average dweeb, my kids will never find a picture of me looking badass, just some truly embarrassing school pictures.
lindsaymad2000 7 years ago
My dad once shook the popes hand... (got in a bunch of trouble for it too lol)
Roger Epps 7 years ago
They both had to be sexually desirable to someone for you to exist. Think about it
Dschulidschi 7 years ago
Nice, that this time mothers could be cool too, but why so many weapons? Thinking about Las Vegas, I prefer the more pacifist parents... :-)
Yasmin Shalev 7 years ago
Here's a picture of my dad in the late 60s serving in the IDF. 22179891_3...366678.jpg
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