90's Fashion & Trends

As I stated in my intro to Nostalgia, fashion in the 90's was piss poor...but the good news is: we all looked like idiots together!  I don't remember when it happened, but at some point in the 90's I went from a little kid to a really confused teenager...hence "early 90's" and "late 90's" trends:

Early 90's Trends:

 (Think Elementary School)

T-Shirt Clips

Yes, the infamous T-Shirt clip...the best way to make an oversized shirt fit snugly over your stirrup pants.  They came in plain colors and the fancy glittery ones with rhinestones.  Don't deny it...you had some too.

Stirrup Pants

Speaking of which...stirrup pants: the worst fashion trend for a child with long legs.  No matter how much my mom and I pulled from leg to waist of these things, I could never stretch them out enough to where the crotch wasn't halfway down my thighs.  I'm pretty sure my mother cut the stirrups out of a lot of them for me...we just covered them up with slouch socks.

Slouch Socks

Ok, I'm onto something now...a full 90's outfit where one trend leads into another.  Slouch socks were a trend that some people never got out of...remember I live in Rock Hill.  Whether they're white or layered in colors to match your outfit, nothing was more important than getting the perfect slouch.

Keds

We called them "bobo's" in my house...as in the shoes that you could wear with anything and not care if they got messed up because they were $7.99 at Belk. I had them in pretty much every color...but the white, that's the classic shit right there!

Scrunchies

Classic 90's trend...and yet another one that some people can't get out of their heads (pun intended).  I had a million of these things...and I'm pretty sure my mom custom made a lot to match my sundresses that she also sewed for me.  Later in the 90's, scrunchies were worn on the wrist...even if you weren't planning on putting your hair up.

Banana Clips

If you weren't wearing a scrunchie that matched your outfit, you had a banana clip in to give that "waterfall" look.

 Late 90's Trends

(think Middle School) 

 

Hypercolor T-Shirts

Nothing cooler than breathing on your friend's t-shirt to see if you can make the colors change.

Umbro's

Whether you played soccer or not, these shorts were the Soffee shorts of the late 90's.  I had them in every color imaginable.

Flannel Shirts/Plaid Shirts

The late 90's brought a fashion trend that confused the shit out of most parents: Grunge.  Why on Earth would you want to dress like a bum?  Well, mostly because everyone else was.  Only rule, never button the shirt all the way up, and if you add a sweater tied around the waist...even cooler.

VAN's and Airwalk's

Another trend that went with a sport that you didn't actually have to participate in to appreciate the attire.  All my friends in Middle school were skateboarders and surfers, so the VAN's and Airwalk Shoes were seriously everywhere at Laing Middle School.

JNCO Jeans

Seriously, WTF were people thinking?  I had ONE pair of these atrocious jeans and my mother shook her head every time I wore them.

 CK1

Ahh, the "universal" cologne.  Don't lie...you had some too.

Mood Rings

Mood rings put Claire's Boutiques on the map!

Best Friends Necklaces

Another Claire's specialty.

Butterfly Clips

The more the merrier, right?  Oh dear.

Toys of the 80's & 90's - Just Toys

I realized in my thought process that I didn't really have "toys" in the 90's.  Those were the years that I was being all artsy-fartsy at the kitchen table.  So I expanded this list to the 80's and 90's.  Enjoy...

Sit n Spin

If I were to try and sit on one of these and spin myself, a few things would happen...

1.) I wouldn't be able to fit my ass on it

2.) I don't think I could get it to spin (see #1)

3.) If I could get it to spin, I would throw up.

Slip and Slide

Oh man, how much fun were these?!?  Even as an "adult" I want one of these!  It's amazing how resilient we were as children...run full speed through the yard and then belly flop right on top of a latex runway to be catapulted OVER the "pool" at the end.

Cabbage Patch Kids

OMG, I had a thousand CPKs when I was a kiddo.  I remember (very vividly) from our house in Wando Lakes that I had all my CPKs on my bed.  I must have just watched Huggabunch Kids for the fifty-thousandth time, because I thought if I put my mother's mother's hand mirror on the bed, I could jump through it with my CPK's and go to Huggaland... I was wrong.

Teddy Ruxpin

What a creepy bear...but it was really cool as a kid to have this thing read a book to you!

Stretch Armstrong

Ok, so I didn't have one of these, but Lance (Laura's Brother) did...and we always stole it from his room.  The curiosity in us wanted to stretch the hell out of it to see what was inside...didn't every kid?  We were never successful in breaking it in half...but we did manage to cause a small leak.  The inside material was disappointing.

Polly Pocket

Ahh...the toy that caused more little girls to cry and scream when their 1/8" sized Polly went missing.  

Trolls

OMG, I had a thousand of these too!  One for every occasion: birthday, Christmas, Halloween...hell yes!  

POGS

Ok, maybe these were not a popular as I remember, but I had THOUSANDS of these.  The object of the game was to stack up the POGS face down, each player contributing the same amount to the game from their collection.  Then, each person would take turns using a POG slammer (heavier POG) to throw on the stack.  Any POGS that were face up when they finished their turn were theirs to keep.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Toys of the 90's - Board Games

Board games have always been a favorite toy for me - I guess it's my competitive side.  I didn't have A LOT of "toys" as a kid (other than about 500 Barbies), but I did have an extensive board game collection!

Hi-Ho Cherry-O

One of the first games I remember having was Hi-Ho Cherry-O.  A counting game that you spun the wheel and picked as many cherries out of your tree and put them in your bucket as displayed on the wheel.  Winner yells "Hi-Ho Cherry-O" when their entire tree has been picked!

Another game with small edible parts...

Pick Up Sticks

Unbelievable...a game composed of nothing more than colored sticks.  That not only brought in revenue for a company, but kept children busy for hours. 

five, six...pick up sticks

Guess Who?

Ahhh...Guess Who?...the game of "does your person have glasses".  I used to LOVE playing this game with my dad!  I cannot lie...I may or may not have changed my person a couple of times during the game once or twice.  

This is officially next year's Halloween Project...

Chutes and Ladders

This game used to get me all nervous and shit...the closer I got to the dreaded #87 tile, the more I panicked!  Now that I look back on the images on the game board...this was supposed to be a learning game for cause and effect.  Hmmm...ok.

I hope I land on #28!

Trouble

Pop-o-matic was an amazing invention: it kept people honest and made losing the dice to a game impossible.  There's no way to get around the # you "roll"...even someone who has left the room will hear the POP if you try and cheat!

Trouble, Trouble...pop the magical bubble...

Perfection

Other than Operation...Perfection was the 2nd most terrifying board game of all time.  If you didn't put all the pegs in their places before the timer was up, POP!  Everything pops out at your face.

Apparently children fly out with the pieces too...

Mouse Trap

Ok, seriously, did anyone actually PLAY this game, or just build the trap and make the marble go down it?

...cause I never played it...

Thin Ice

Seriously...I didn't have this one, but Laura did.  Thank goodness for one ply tissue paper...otherwise with today's tissues, this game would last forever!  Another ridiculous concept for a game that entertained for hours...or until you ran out of tissues.

another game that will scare the shit out of you

Crossfire

Ok, I'm not a girly girl, but I also didn't OWN this game.  Laura's little brother Lance did...and we played it (read: stole it from him and Vincent).  Object: shoot bb's at little discs on the "field" and make it land in your opponent's tray.

"Crossfire... you'll get caught up in the... Crossfire"

SPLAT

OMG, a board game that includes Play-Doh!?!  Need I say more? 

Who actually PLAYED the game...I just made bugs...and squashed them!

Candy Land

A classic...also an option for Halloween next year.

Lollipop Forest

Girl Talk

Ok, now we're into the mid 90's (umm...everything up until now is not in order...).  Anyone remember "Girl Talk"?

If you don't do the dare...you have to wear a zit sticker!

Mall Madness

Who doesn't love spending hundreds of dollars in the Mall with it all?  Especially with your QuickDraw credit card!!!

"Mall Madness, it's the mall with it all!

Dream Phone

"You're right, I really like you!" were the words you always wanted to hear with this game!  I love that all the numbers started with a 555...and that you always hoped that it wasn't Phil or Jason who was crushin' on you.  

Dan, Dan, Dan My Man!

Ok, so that's my list of some of the board games I loved as a kid.  Next up...Toys...just plain Toys.

Toys of the 90's - Creative Play

Ok, I'm an only child...we've been thru this.  But unlike most perceptions of only children, I was not a spoiled brat.  I appreciated my things, and never asked for anything without offering up some extra chores in return.

I didn't have ALL the toys I ever wanted...that's why going to my friend's house to play was always new and exciting...like my own personal Toy's R Us!

Now, onto the good shit.

Colorforms

 aka: the poor man's Barbie

These pieces of crap were really thin, die-cut vinyl sheets of images and shapes that you stuck to a "scene" or "person" (depending on the kit).  I'm certain these would fail completely these days for children.  There's nothing like eating vinyl Barbie outfits...

Colorforms - Oh look, a travel pack...

Shrinky Dinks

aka: "crafts you can't hang on the fridge because they're too damn small"

Being an "artsy fartsy" person, I friggin LOVED these things!  I never followed the "rules" that came with them...which means I may or may not have screwed up the toaster oven at one point in time (sorry mom).  So these crazy things were flexible sheets with pre-printed outlined images on them that you colored before cutting out and baking them.  Once you baked them, they turned into smaller, harder pointless objects.

People actually make "art" with this crap now.

Lite Brite

aka: "Seriously someone made money off this thing?"

I'm not hatin' on the LB...I loved the thing.  But seriously...a light box + black construction paper + colored pegs = fun?  What the hell were we thinking?  I loved how they came with outlined "peg by numbers" that NOBODY ever used.  I kind of wish I had one now...

Light Bright, Light Bright, turn on the magic of colored lights!

Fashion Plates

aka: "Make your own damn coloring book"

Ok, so this crafty toy had a plastic flap thingy on the left side and all the plates with head, body, legs were conveniently stored on the right side.  You laid out the plates with the head/hat, then body, then legs/shoes on the left side and laid a piece of paper over them.  Then you took a "special" crayon and rubbed it lightly over the framed area over the plates.  And voila!  You have your own person and outfit to color.  I bet this is the same thing Diane von Furstenberg uses...surely she doesn't actually re-draw people every time!

PS: I NEVER wanted to be a fashion designer...that's why I'm not.

Easy Bake Oven

aka: "the toy Mom would never buy me"

I don't know if it's because she thought I'd burn the house down with an oven operated by a 60 watt bulb or if she was not comfortable with me eating things "cooked" with a 60 watt bulb...but I never got an Easy Bake Oven!  So sad, right?  NOPE, my friends had them...ha ha MOM, in your face!  Yes, the Easy Bake Oven was like a trophy that read "I'm a grown up little girl and I can cook brownies for myself...by myself."  And we can't forget the boy's version: Creepy Crawlers!

Cakes cooked with water and light...yum?

After reading that, don't you just want to pile up in the living room with all your friends and play an amazing game of Girl Talk?  Yes, 90's board games is up next in the blog...prepare yourself...we're going WAY back...

I'm a 90's Kid...

...and while my attire during that decade may have been questionable, the things that bring me back to the innocence of childhood are not.

I don't know if it's because my birthday is coming up, or my 10 year high school reunion, or the fact that like 60% of my friends are preggers right now...but I've been really nostalgic lately.

Granted, Pintrest has me viewing things that I remember from childhood, so that may be why I'm all of a sudden craving Shrinky Dinks.

So, in honor of the 80's and 90's, I have decided to add a blog section - Nostalgia.  Let's take a trip back in time, when t-shirts were cinched with plastic loops, Ked's were cool, and scrunchies were a fashion statement (even when worn on the wrist).

nos·tal·gia/näˈstaljə/

Noun:

A sentimental longing for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The evocation of these feelings or tendencies, esp. in commercialized form.