The Best Trapper Keepers of All Time

The coolest binders ever created.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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We definitely prioritized design over function when it came to school supplies that we brought for the first day of class. You only have one chance to make a first impression, right? Luckily, Mead's Trapper Keeper provided function and creative expression that made them super popular during the '80s and '90s. The Best Trapper Keepers of All Time prove that even the tackiest era of American history produced some pretty awesome products. 

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This conceptual cover reminds of us a classic Ellsworth Kelly.

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Kenzo has nothing on Meade.

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You might not have experimented with drugs in middle school, but you defintely were exposed to psychadelic images.

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Sonic the Hedgehog, the mascot of the '90's.

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Some might say that Lisa Frank was the taste maker of the 90's. Who doesn't love a rainbow, leopard seal?

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Who said minimalism wasn't a thing in the eighties?

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For those with a more sensitive, artistic inclination when it comes to binders.

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We don't know what this design means, but we're digging the hyperrealistic tears dripping across the page.

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This Keeper is great for impressing the ladies during Social Studies.

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Here's an idea for the next Jeremy Scott campaign.

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We would definitely still use this street art inspired Keeper.

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Graphics and technology were speeding up in the eighties and this cover was probably innovative at the time. Now? Just a bit tacky.

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This cover reminds us of the sweet video game graphics at the time.

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The graphics in the eighties are so bad that they're great.

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We could totally see a bro walking down the street with one of these and wearing the same sunglasses.

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