Failed Flashback
Bummer!
I had this blog post all planned out in my head that would illustrate my bad 90′s style. It was inspired by Kerflop linking to this. It brought back all sorts of memories of pinning my jeans at the ankle, matching my sock color to my shirt color, demanding to have a Kenya bag to carry my school books in, and tying my brown leather shoes with squiggles at the top* instead of in bows.
I wanted to write about all of those horrible clothes and styles and weirdness complete with photos, but I’m unable to find, (a) any photos of myself in any of this garb; quite possibly because I was between the ages of 13 and 15 and a downright impossible bitch when it came to any kind of parent figure what-so-ever so God forBID one try to take my picture and (b) any photos online – no thanks to you Google Image Search!
It made my head all wacky thinking maybe it was a Westchester thing. Then I thought well maybe it was just unique to my High School. Yes, even each school near where I grew up had their own trends. I mean, NO ONE wore their hair as high as those Fox Lane girls. What the hell was with them?
I figured I needed to put this out there for all of you. What were some of the trends you remember from your teen years? The really awful years where even when your mother told you she couldn’t believe you were wearing that, your response was, “Well, Mom. I can’t believe you’re wearing that.” And pointing at a plain black suit that would never go out of style — except for maybe the shoulder pads.
Share!
*Someone PLEASE tell me they remember this weird short-lived trend. EHH has NO idea what I’m talking about and apparently neither does Google Image search.
You are not crazy, I totally know what brown shoes you are talking about and the squiggles. I never had those shoes, hated them in fact. LOL. I did get penny loafers in middle school b/c all the ‘J.Crew girls” had them. I was SO NOT a J.Crew girl then.. I definitely did the pants rolling and pinning. I had a hypercolor shirt. The worst thing I ever did was wear jean shorts in the winter (rolled like Jennifer Grey in Dirty Dancing) with nude pantyhose and Keds without laces. Don’t ask, I distinctly remember that was 7th grade. Yes, I have pictures. No, you will never see them. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA
March 4th, 2008 | #
Yes, I remember the brown shoes and the squiggles – where is EHH from?
The 90′s in Medina was really really big bangs AND the curled under bang – at the same time…and you had to use a curling iron and first you would basically soak your hair in hairspray and then the sizzle crunch noise of the curling iron would indicate that you had done it correctly. Let’s see PERMS. Applique – things like buttons and yarn glued onto sweaters – why was that cool? I still do not know. The tight roll of the jean with the scrunchie socks and white keds. Leggings. The busier the better – I wonder if that’s why I really only like to wear solid colors now? I was burned by the 90′s.
March 4th, 2008 | #
You are so not crazy. You just described the 8tj grade through at least the first two years of high school. All I need to add are: Swatch watches. Shirts all worn about 14 sizes too big. Overalls with one strap hitched & the other hanging down. Benetton shirts. And stirrup pants.
March 4th, 2008 | #
Not sure I remember the squiggles…. but I do remember everything else. Remember those Mexican-looking sweatshirt hooded things everyone wore? What were we thinking?
March 4th, 2008 | #
I’m a little older…a child of the 80′s so I win when talking about bad fashion. I started college in 90 and we were too busy drinking to pay attention to the fads off campus. I just remember my freshman year roommate showed up in August looking like preppy J Crew girl and left at Christmas break looking like she had been following the Grateful Dead – she stopped shaving, had dreadlocks, wore birkenstocks and tattered jean shorts with bad wool pullover hoodies, and was sporting a new dancing bear tattoo. Okay rambling way off topic here. Sorry.
My sister couldn’t let go of tapered jeans and pegged her jeans well into the 90′s.
I think I know what you mean with the squiggles – we called it barrel ties and did it mainly to boat shoes.
March 4th, 2008 | #
I definitely remember the squiggles, the tight-rolled jeans, the oversized shirts, the keds, and the hairspray! My mom was just talking the other day about how my sister and I would go through an entire bottle of shampoo a week. I told her it took that much shampoo to get the two bottles of hairspray washed out!
March 4th, 2008 | #
oh funny! i remember the pinned jeans with those bulky socks over them, hypercolor shirts, big bangs – as in half of it curled up and half of it curled under (ick), those funny mexican shirts or ponchos or whatever the hell they were that we all wore, BIKER SHORTS (hideous), and anything in a neon color. wow. i think if i do have pictures with any of this stuff on, i’m going to burn it. hahaha!
March 4th, 2008 | #
Oh, I have to add one more thing.. I thought I was so cool in my Bum Equipment tank top that was too big for me, and my sports bra underneath it. Ha, I didn’t even need a bra then.. Too funny.
March 4th, 2008 | #
OMG! I loved that trend. I still remember how to tie my regular shoelaces in a twisty manner to almost emulate them too. You looped it around and around and then brought the end back through the beginning… do you remember those?!
March 4th, 2008 | #
I had those shoe laces rockin my shoes too!
March 4th, 2008 | #
of course, those horrible squiggles! i only rocked them in eigth grade before i entered into goth-land, but i hearted my purple kenya bag forever! and the pinned jeans! and what moonshine said about the baja shirts!
good times. i loved my shaved head, black make-up and black clothes!
March 4th, 2008 | #
I left a long rambling, somewhat off topic comment this morning that for whatever reason didn’t take. I’ll be brief this time. I grew up in the 80′s so I will always win the bad fashion competition. But I do remember the squiggle ties on those brown laced loafers – we called them barrel ties.
March 4th, 2008 | #
I had orange squiggles with my brown shoes. I also used my Christmas money to buy some LA Gear sneaks which I wore with my B.U.M. Equipment sweatshirt, tight-rolled jeans, scrunchi’d hair, big socks. Definitely hot.
March 5th, 2008 | #
Do you ever remember having those patent leather black shoes like the New Kids on the block? I had to have those! I remember having short hair but bangs twice the size of my fists. Curl the bottom under and the top back and then tease!! Let’s see, what else. Tight rolling the pants. Will that ever come back? Wearing bootleg jeans was so not cool. I can’t live w/o them now.
WiNy’s last blog post..Don’t Cry Don’t Cry Don’t Cry
March 11th, 2008 | #