The eighties gave us loads of awesome movies, but
National Lampoon’s Vacation is
one of our all-time favorites. Clark Griswold (Chevy Chase) is hilarious
in the cross-country family adventure, but Cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid)
steals the show when he’s onscreen.
Here’s a great montage of Cousin Eddie scenes to help you get in the mood:
Cousin Eddie wears a variety of fetching ensembles in the Vacation
film series, but two are standouts to us at LT80s.
Formal Eddie
To get the dressier Vacation Cousin Eddie look, you’ve got to
have a pair of these babies:
You might be tempted to pinch pennies and wear, like, white sneakers or
brown loafers – and that’s totally lame. You MUST spring for the
white
(p)leather slip-on loafers.
Next, you need a leisure suit. You can buy a costume from Amazon or other
retailers,
such as this one, but we’re partial to the real deal. Ideally, you’d
want light blue, but any color is perfectly Eddie-esque:
Don an embarrassingly short, white, ratty bathrobe.
Buy new if you must, but try to get a well-loved robe from a thrift
shop for that authentic Eddie look.
Accessorize with a white dress belt, black socks and dark dress shoes. As
with Formal Eddie, you’ll need to carry around a beer
can, but add an unlit cigar to perfect Dressing Room Casual
Eddie’s look.
At one point, Eddie uses the hose from his RV to empty its septic tank
into the storm drain. (Ew, grody!) Carry around a short length of hose,
such as this, for bonus Eddie awesomeness.
Cousin Eddie has some choice lines you’ll want to deliver while in
costume, so, prior to party time, read through these
bitchin’ quotes. Better yet, watch a marathon of eighties’ National
Lampoon movies: Vacation (1983), European Vacation
(1985), and Christmas Vacation(1989) to really grasp Eddie’s
character. Be sure to take lots of pics of yourself in your Cousin Eddie
duds and share them
with us at Like Totally 80s – we know you’ll look radical, dude!
