A side-by-side comparison of a clean-shaven young man in a formal suit and a bearded man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses outdoors.
via Canva

The year of 1989 didn’t make a quiet entrance, and the vintage photos certainly accomplish that storytelling process. Amidst all the chaos and the change that sprang forth, pop culture also seemed to be fully thriving. From the very launch of the Nintendo Game Boy right into the surge of cable TV and Blockbuster. These are just some of the vintage photos that can show what life looked like back in the year 1989.

1. Solid class photo here

A group of high school students posing for a class photo, including a girl in the center wearing a band t-shirt that says “Sickies.”
u/suffrncash/ via Reddit.com

2. Love the 1980s nostalgia hairstyle right here

A portrait of a smiling young man with a short, bleached-blonde haircut and a small hoop earring.
u/deleted / via Reddit.com

3. ‘DJ’ing a House Party at 17’

e1miran / Reddit.com

4. Someone’s parents in 1989

Black and white headshot of a young woman and a young man side-by-side.
u/accountnervous/ via Reddit.com

5. Nice beard there, buddy, circa 1989

A bearded man wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses stands in front of a large fallen tree in a mountain landscape.
u/icarus717/ via Reddit.co

6. Walton Goggins back in high school in 1989

Black and white headshot of a young man smiling in a tuxedo and bow tie.
u/lost_in_the_stars/ vi Areddit.com

7. George H. W. Bush is sworn in as the 41st President of the United States on January 20, 1989

A man in a suit raises his right hand while being sworn in by a judge. A woman with white hair stands beside him, and several people in formal attire watch in the background.
Wikipedia Commons

8. Everyone all dressed up and ready for the big event, circa 1989

Two couples pose for a photo at a formal dance, wearing matching blue and white tuxedos and metallic blue gowns.
u/reubal/ via Reddit.com

9. Young and in love a year before marriage was underway too

A man and woman posing for a photo outdoors in front of a parked Nissan vehicle.
u/Comacaz/ via Reddit.com

10. Adam Driver as a young kid

A vintage portrait of a young boy smiling.
u/deleted/via Reddit.com

11. Love the hairstyle too

A young man with shoulder-length hair and a patterned teal shirt stands with his arms crossed in front of a tree trunk.
u/techdaddy70/ via Reddit.com

12. Doesn’t even matter how they played

Five young men with long hair posing together in a room, two of whom are holding electric guitars.
u/deleted/ via Reddit.com

13. Young and in love back in the year 1989

A split photo showing a woman in a black dress sitting on a stone ledge on the left and a man in a striped shirt and shorts sitting on the same ledge on the right.
u/deleted/via Reddit.com

14. A solid class photo back in Berlin, 1989

A high school class photo of sixteen students and their teacher posing outdoors.
u/ukuk/via Reddit.com

15. American Actors D.B. Sweeney (left) and John Cusack Pose for a Photo at a Party for the Film ‘Scandal,’ on April 25, 1989, in New York

Two men pose together in a dimly lit setting, both wearing black leather jackets. One man has long hair and a relaxed expression, while the other wears a bandana and rests his arm on the first man's shoulder.
Catherine McGann/Getty Images

Want a closer look at the ’80s?

Be sure to check out These 31 Photos Will Take You Straight Back to the 1980s and These 31 Vintage Photos Will Instantly Transport You to 1985. Plus, we think you’ll also like 13 Popular Products From the 1980s.

Meet the Writer

Matt has spent over the last 8 years as both a writer and editor, working in Seattle and Brooklyn, where he is now based. He loves escaping the tirelessly fast pace of the “Mad Apple” that is NYC by taking walks and runs through parks where he’s able to catch up on the latest tea about society from the city’s ever chatty, always hungry, occasionally maniacal, pigeons. They always have a lot to say. When he’s not taking his urban nature strolls, or dutifully combing the deepest rabbit holes of the internet to find the content that’s worth sinking your mind’s teeth into, he’s likely holed up at a dark-lit dive bar with a new book and/or some friends, or just easily he could be on the hunt for the next addition to his steadily growing plant family.