Forgotten trends/fads you remember

People still wear white jeans don’t they? They aren’t completely out of style!

I never thought JNCOs would come back but they did!

But to answer your question, tying a bandanna around your knee. That was a weird trend that I picked up as a gayling from the “Kid Video” cartoon. I didn’t have a red bandanna so I used my mom’s white handkerchief.

Satin jackets after Grease came out.

Earth shoes

I liked white Levis years ago when I was in school.

But Levis have priced their jeans right out of my willingness to pay, blue OR white.

Parachute pants. Like MC hammer wore. High top reeboks with slouchy socks. Capezios. Candies. Dolphin shorts. Those short corduroy shorts. Acid washed jeans. But none of these are forgotten, are they? It seems like things used to be “in” or “out” more definitively. Now there is more flexibility. One style of jean might be popular, but you aren’t a pariah if you wear a style that was having a moment two years ago. Or I’m a pariah. But it the late 1970’s/early 1980’s, wasn’t it Sasson, then Jordace, then Sergio Valente? And by the time people were wearing Sergio Valente, Sasson was pretty passé? And Calvin Klein and Gloria Vanderbilt were in a whole different lane?

Or did we repeat that in the early 2000’s, starting with 7 of Mankind?

I don’t remember the white jeans thing at all. Are you sure it wasn’t just summer? I remember painter’s pants and a lot of those were white or off while. Is that what you are taking about? I think they were Lee. Those were OK. Comfortable and trendy, but not stupid or overpriced. They should make a comeback. People also wore the overalls, but those were stupid.

And they never attracted dirt!

I forget what they were called, but when I was in the 8th grade circa 1991 I had to have one of those color changing shirts that would shift hues with your body temperature. They sort of stopped working well after a wash or two.

The other day somebody reminded me of that Tamagotchi craze from the mid-90s. That was as crazy as the Labubu weirdness today.

Mood rings

Jams - those Hawaiian print long shorts. Chinese slippers.

The horrific Grunge look which I fell victim to from 1993 to Kurt Cobain's death in 1994. Nose ring, shaved hair underneath my ponytail, Doc Martens, hideous clothes.

Neon colored clothes from 1988 to 1992.

Vuarnet fad. I wore only Vuarnet clothes in 1990.

OP, everyone stopped wearing them because they all got the same diatribe from their Moms as soon as she saw them.

Late 70s teenagers and pre-teens: comb in back pocket, sticking out just a bit.

This was in the Midwest. Not sure the sophisticated coastal kids did this. Probably not.

R13, sometimes for girls it was even a brush! I HAD forgotten that. The brush was to maintain the fluffiness of the Farrah hairstyles.

The “sophisticated” coastal kids did it too, BTW.

When I was in high-school 1996 . Everyone was wearing a Georgetown Hoya varsity jacket. I wanted one but my parents couldn't afford

For women, gauchos with tall boots (Frye), Bass Weejuns, Sperry Topsiders, knit ponchos or vests, especially ones that had individual crocheted "tiles". Body glove dresses and skirts, made of neoprene. Swatches. Wearing lingerie as outerwear (thanks Madonna). Baby doll dresses and tiaras (thanks Courtney). Low rise baggy cargo pants (thanks Britney and Abercrombie). Acid wash denim. Ed Hardy everything. Bedazzled everything (though it's making a comeback).

1983. growing a rat tail (tiny braid) and bleaching the tip.

[quote]I forget what they were called, but when I was in the 8th grade circa 1991 I had to have one of those color changing shirts that would shift hues with your body temperature.

Hypercolor.

I also recall the big comb in the back pocket fad from when I was a pre-teen. In junior high, there was a brief fad with some of the guys in my school. They called this hairdo “the punk” which even then I knew it wasn’t. This hideous creation was to have the middle of your hair cut short so it would stand up, then perm the hair at your nape! Basically, the redneck mullet that some Gen Z hipsters are wearing today. It was mostly the jocks or wannabe jocks who tried that style.

Oh I used to love my baby doll dresses and Keith Haring Swatch watches.

That preppy phase of the early 80s. I did a lot of it in junior high..a polo under a button down with the collar popped, colored tape around my topsiders, etc…then around the mid 80s I started dressing like a member of Duran Duran or something. The photos from then are hilarious.

From about eighth grade through tenth grade, one fashion trend for girls in my school was long macrame vests. Late 60s/early 70s.

Though they definitely were not hippies (at least not most of them), they were definitely influenced by the pop culture version of hippiedom (e.g., “Hair).

Suburban Key Parties

Knit ties and corduroys in the early-mid 80s

Monchichi

4th grade, age 9-10 or so, 1977-78, and suddenly half the girls came to school wearing “gauchos.”

'Members Only' jackets.

Lava Lamps

Ed Hardy and Juicy Fruit "coutures".

White painter pants, a big comb (for my parted-in-the-middle feathered hair) in back or side pocket, and a parachute jacket… Freshman year, 1979.

Early 80s, skinny leather ties, argyle sweaters and socks.

r22, we doubled Polo shirts! More collars to pop up!

They better not have been wearing them as back to school clothes.

1980s - Checkerboard Vans, rat tail mullets, permed and teased bangs for the girls, Benetton or Coca-Cola rugby shirts, jelly shoes, LA Gear, Units/Multiples

saying everything was “from hell”.

I had the waitress from hell who brought my check before I finished my sun-dried-tomato penne.

r34, jelly shoes are back- I saw some tourist gays in Greece wearing them last week.

[quote]When I was 13 in 1979 everybody at school suddenly started wearing white jeans.

Even after Labor Day? How tacky.

R30 was cool.

I remember big, chunky "clutter boots" were all the rage when I was in junior high in the early 70s.

Then I rememer painter's pants being a thing when I as in high school.

Aughts Teenager in New York City

Von Dutch caps, timbos, skinny jeans, jersey dresses, valor sweat suits, button ups with the Sean John label, Marc ecko t-shirts

[quote] colored tape around my topsiders

Tell me more.

Painter pants, ID bracelets, Wrangler superstar jeans.

Denim overalls make an appearance every decade or so

Black Ferragamo loafers

They looked like someone burned their baked potatoes and shoved them on your feet.

From my mid 20s, Z. Cavaricci pants with floral print rayon shirt.

my older brothers in the early 1970s went through a period where sewn-on patches on your jeans were the rage.

Graphic tees from Hot Topic. FUBU apparel.

Vans. The shoes the destroyed a thousand arches.

Ah r45 you've reminded me of Girbaud jeans with their pegged ankles.

Had forgotten that, R46. Some kids had legit sewn on patches and some kids had mass produced jeans with tons of patches, but some other kid might have the same jeans with the exact same patches in the exact same places. And then some kids might have to try and upgrade their boring jeans from Sears with iron on patches from an old sewing box that only had a few blue patches and some black ones using an iron that didn’t really get hot enough so the patches would start to peel off.

R30, the white painter pants had a hammer loop at the side, which is where we would hang our hairbrushes for our feathered hair (guys and girls).

Around the same time, denim overalls were also in vogue and those too came with hammer loops. And for some strange reason, we would leave one shoulder strap unfastened so it would hang freely down our back.

Slap bracelets

Ocean Pacific neon shit

Those ugly LA Gear high tops

Ah in the early to mid 90's, frayed jean shorts, white tanks, white socks and big yellow construction boots were de rigueur in West Hollywood. As well as Calvin Klein underwear.

[Quote] Within a month no one was wearing white jeans anymore.

Yes of course not. After all, you’d started wearing them.

“Quad Cities, are you ready to rock!?!?!”

I like how r17 goes in chronological order!

You were born in 1970, right r17?

It was Guess?acid-wash jeans with padded knees. I didn’t “get” the implication, but I was drawn to them.

Unfortunately, they were size 32 and I toned down to size 30. I refused to wear loose clothing at that time in my life.

Not too far off r55, 1965.

r53 that hurt my feelings. Now I'm in love!

I also recall from the 80s high top sneakers with the laces tied at the back .

Whites Only Water Fountains and Restrooms.

I still wear gauchos (usually a cuffed wool mix) with tall leather boots. I still do the occasional babydoll dress.

I am breathlessly waiting for tiny butterfly clips holding twisted hair to come back. I LOVE that.

In the 80s,the two short sleeve polo (?) shirts layered in bright turquoise over hot pink. Often paired with socks of the same.

In the early '80s, when Country music had gone mainstream (Dolly, Kenny, Oakridge Boys, the Mandrell Sisters, "Urban Cowboy", etc.), the fashion world foisted upon us those ugly ruffled prairie tops and gaucho culottes / knickers and cowboy boots. My sisters wore them back in the day and when they look at old pictures taken of them, they still cringe.

[quote] Within a month no one was wearing white jeans anymore.

That's because you menstruated all over them and they were ruined. Ruined!

R61, wow, those getups are truly hideous

Go-Go boots! Snicker!!!!!!!!!

LAURA ASH:LEY prairie style. Also fomented hideous home decor

Parachute pants. You could not wear underwear. You had to squidgy them on and after a nite of coke fueled disco dancing you literally had peel them slimy with sweat off your body. Totally unwashable. Essentially a leg condom.

[Quote] [R53] that hurt my feelings. Now I'm in love!

😂🤍🤍🏳️‍🌈

Yarn ties for girls' ponytails, color chosen to match the outfit. Many of the Brady girls' friends did this.

When I was in high school: tiny one-inch "punk" buttons you pinned on your vest or jacket. P/I/L and English Beat were popular. Enterprising vendors would also sell them to kids outside punk clubs.

Definitely remember Coca-Cola (and Bennetton) rugy shirts (and sweat shirts)

The nost ridiculous thing was leg warmers, early 80s.

Mood rings. The 'Carnaby Street' look/ Twiggy shtick. Yeah, like the cornfed girls in Wisconsin were gonna copy the Twiggy look! More like "Stumpy".

Loverboy headbands

farthingales

Personalized buggy whips.

Guess? Original nerd T-shirts. Hard Rock Cafe t-shirts from whatever location. Esprit bags. Esprit sweaters. Shaker-knit sweaters. Aerobic sneakers as streetwear. Parachute pants. Ocean Pacific (OP) tropical prints. Chuck Taylor high-tops in banana yellow or turquoise Short/spiked haircuts on girls.

Most of the above were aspirational for me, due to my parents' shaky finances (wah/poor me), so I either got knockoffs from discount stores or went without.

OP - people stopped wearing White Jeans "within a month" because they were raised correctly, to put away white trousers when autumn arrived. Too bad your dad didn't tell you that.

[quote]Not sure the sophisticated coastal kids did this. Probably not.

They did, they just stopped by the time the flyover kids started.

For girls—horizontal pins covering the top button of a shirt.

OP- In the movie My Bodyguard which was filmed in 1979 thug Matt Dillon wore white jeans.

Beer pong was a hot for a while in the '70s - '80s.

JakPac! JakPacs & their knock-offs were colorful cotton windbreakers with many pockets. They were reversable (solid color inside) and could also be turned inside-out, through the collar, to make a drawstring bag. They had their moment 1983-84ish -- at least on the West Coast/Los Angeles, I don't know if they were trendy nationally. I had two which my mom bought on a trip to Indonesia. Here's Lisa Whelchel wearing one:

Raping, pillaging, and plundering.

Pegged pants and slouchy socks.

Hair permed within an inch of its life! OMG!

Early 70s, David Bowie look pre-Ziggy Stardust. Bubble toed shoes, pleated slacks with cuffs. Silk or crepe button-down shirts. Took a whole day of shopping in Boston to achieve that look, and always came home broke.

Boxer shorts as the standard men’s underwear. Anything else was gay.

Cavariccis.

Does anyone really follow trends or fads in clothing like a teenager though? I couldn’t tell you what is trendy these days. Before Covid, it would have been tight-fitting, jewel toned suits and dress shirts, and no show socks with dress shoes.

Early 80s, Anorak wind breakers were ubiquitous on college campuses. L.L.Bean is you were from money, Land’s End if you weren’t. Frequently paired with duck boots.

Two. Both involving Eastland. Circa 1990, Midwest:

1. The Eastland knot

2. Wearing a pair of Eastlands that were about a size too big and shuffling. I swear this was a thing among junior high girls when I was growing up

You’re old, OP.

Toughskins, fatty?

pettipants

R80, I missed that trend. When I worked in a grocery store, someone had to explain it to me so I knew why ping pong balls could be found near the beer aisle. I had already figured out why playing cards could also be found there, often in display cases that attached to the cooler doors with suction cups.

Mulva (!!!) at R42 reminds me that ID bracelets were a thing when I was a teen. In retrospect, it was a ridiculous fad. We wore them engraved with our own first names - as if we might suddenly have amnesia. OTOH, I think some straight girls wore their boyfriend’s ID bracelets.

And I misspoke. The vests were not macrame (though that also existed, but wasn’t a trend near me). They were crocheted.

I remember I.D. bracelets from grade school. In junior high, lots of girls wore P.O.W. bracelets.

Big Daddy Roth art featuring Rat Fink and popeyed monsters driving funny cars.

troll dolls

Lacoste alligator shirts, wash and wear chinos.

We had a group called Aqua Velvas, but as far as I could smell they all wore Polo and Drakar Noir. They wore Z Caviriccis, Zubaz and Skidz. Along with mock turtlenecks fringed leather jackets and bolo ties. They also had these awful little black cowboy boots with faux silver spurs. The girls wore a similar look but with tiny tight skirts and giant hair. 1990 was a sad year for teen fashion

Any millennials remember the starter jacket craze of...I wanna say '97? Absolutely hideous, not at all warm, and expensive (you could only buy them from the official Starter store at the mall), it was social suicide not to own one, regardless of whether or not you gave a whiff about sports. I certainly did not, but I begged my parents to buy me the Charlotte Hornets one for Chanukah because I liked the color scheme.

Blow up

Everything's gping to go up

Even if you don't show up

In your chemise Lacoste

Cuffs on dress pants circa 1973 -1974

Brown Distressed leather pilot jackets 1986-1988

Unconstructed jackets for men 1978-1980

Calvin Klein Jeans. 1978-1982

Double-breasted Suits worn with French cuff dress shirts 1985 to 1987

Levi Jeans with elastic cuffs. 1986?

Earth Shoes

teenie tiny backpacks

Chokers and toe rings

Jelly shoes and bracelets

Asymmetrical haircuts on boys and girls. I always wonder if my neck and vision problems stem from flipping my bangs out of my eyes for two years.

Lord yall brought a tear to my eye ! Parachute pants ! members only jackets ! OP shorts ! I had a bright pink shirt covered in multi color fruits that I wore to shreds . Another favorite shirt was based on designs by Chagall. It was this dreamy green color with sorta aquatic designs but in different colors. Oh how I loved that shirt !

Circa 2000-2003, all types of women's clothes and accessories were fur-trimmed. Doesn't seem likely to happen again any time soon.

Child labor.

Early 70s: sewing a colorful fabric into a slit cut at the bottom of jeans to make them bell bottoms.

Ahhhh you've just triggered a memory r112- turning a pair of jeans into a skirt (also into a bag):

The 90s had the WWJD? what would Jesus do? bracelets and shirts.

R103 Every single item on your list is also wildly trendy now.

Short shorts for men, until 1982. And then, in one year, shorts were suddenly knee length and longer, and anyone with shorts mid-thigh was a fashion pariah. ONE SUMMER. No transition. And those long shorts lasted for a decade at least.

Denim overalls with one strap unfastened.

Maybe the changeover was in 1985^. I'm thinking back to some gay porn from 1984 and they were still wearing short shorts.

r116, I've always associated the change to long shorts with the movie Chariots of Fire. I remember going out looking for Bermuda length shorts which I thought of as "Chariots of Fire shorts." This was in 1982 IIRC.

CB radios.

All the girls at my high school were obsessed with gladiator sandals and juicy couture

I remember around 1977 to 1980 painters pants were the in thing- I even wore a pair for a while- anyone remember those.

R90- Eastland?

I don’t think Mrs. Garrett would have approved.

r122 it was discussed upthread

I remember when kids lost their minds collecting these things:

[quote]The 90s had the WWJD? what would Jesus do? bracelets and shirts.

"What would Judy do?" for the gays.

The back pocket combs! Many back pockets torn due to boys getting up from their seats and their comb getting caught on the back.

Our junior high history teacher confiscated combs if they were used during class. He called the guys using them “Charles of the Ritz” and used a tissue to remove the comb.

There was a brief moment in the late '70s, early '80s when the African American kids in school would walk around with "cake cutter" combs in their afros. That is until our school banned them because those metal combs could inflict damage when used as a weapon.

Does anyone else remember the feathered roach clip fad ? You would hand feathered roach clips from your hair . It only worked with long hair. I had several different colors Id match to my shirt.

I recall back in the late 70s/early 80s, many girls in my school were wearing Chemin de Fer jeans (with the lace-up front & rear) & guys wore Senior Lopez pullover hoodies.

[quote]When I worked in a grocery store, someone had to explain it to me so I knew why ping pong balls could be found near the beer aisle.

Ist dat vair dey are? Need for show een new ballroom.

r129, I remember my older cousins wearing them. You've reminded me of the 80's version with barrettes and woven ribbon with dangling ends.

Like OP, my dad always took me shopping for clothes a day my mom would complain. My father was a clothes horse and that was one thing we had in common (my mother couldn't care less about clothes). Dad would buy sport coats and suits for me and have them tailored to fit perfectly. Mom would say, "great, they'll all be too small next month."

Drinking Bryan Singer's cum! We were all doing it.

Weren't you?

Do guys still wear those leather things around their wrist? Not really a bracelet, but kind of like the girls friendship bracelet, except leather.

Ocean Pacific long sleeve tees. They were surfer themed and good quality cotton. Mine was PINK (I felt very daring in 1981 buying a pink shirt!)

I miss that shirt.

During the war, I drifted with my Happy Few expat friends through the Shanghai concessions, where fads and trends came fast and furious, like the typhoons. One season we lunched at the Cathay Hotel in the International Settlement, then passed the afternoons at Madame Yoshiko’s maison close on Avenue Joffre in the French Concession. Another season no one rose before dusk, all of us hooked on Patna black-tar opium. Then it was drinks and betting on the hounds at the Canidrome, followed by cross-dressing and dancing until dawn at Ciro’s.

Mid 1970s. We all had to have CB radios in our cars. Pet rocks Black light posters

This was on every damn thing in the '70s - posters, stickers, clothing, patches, washcloths, towels, bathmats...

I love the early 80s preppy look. It’s classic and beats that horrendous acid-washed, oversized hideousness of 1983 onward.

Wish people today would care more about their appearance as they did in the early 80s. I absolutely loved that era.

I still wear a lot of preppy clothing, early 80s style, and will continue to do so as long as I remain in shape. Timeless & well fitting.

Not fashion, but does anyone else remember the digital pet craze of the late ’90s? Tamagotchis, Giga Pets, DigiPets, Nano Pets… even the oddly large Talking Nano Baby. If you were late elementary circa 97/98, you probably had at least one clipped to your backpack or stuffed in a pocket. Some people were basically running pet shelters or zoos, they had so many. They’d go off in the middle of class, and you’d try to sneak a feeding or cleanup under the desk before you got caught. For a couple of years, little computerized creatures were everywhere. They were kind of like a precursor to phone addiction. And then schools started banning them just like they ban phones now. Looking back, they were basically a lot of millennials' first taste of digital obsession.

R141, see R8.

Black lights and posters.

Wheat Zig Zag's for a healthier smoke.

[quote]R44 Black Ferragamo loafers: They looked like someone burned their baked potatoes and shoved them on your feet.

This made me snort[bold] : )

Black cloth Mary Jane style shoes from Chinatown, called Jap Slaps.

Mid 70s rugby shirts

[quote]R23 ID bracelets were a thing when I was a teen

In my area this could also be called a slave bracelet.

I wonder if that’s entirely PC.

I remember in high school in the very early '90s, everyone was wearing BUM Sweatshirts, and Hypercolor T-shirts. We would put the t-shirts in the freezer because apparently it would keep the shirt from "going dead" and not changing color. Also, I remember every other nerd wearing a Wayne's World baseball cap.

I'm Williwear (Willi Smith), Generra, and Colours by Alexander Julian men's clothing in department stores

Graduated high school 1974.

BIG bells on our bell bottoms. Plaid pants with a cuff on the bottom. Tight on top and progressing to wide bells. Hip Huggers. Denim shorts purses. Afros with "cake cutters". Long straight hair for girls. Headbands and chokers.

Lots of tye dye. Black lights and black light posters. Halter neck shirts. Just Keep On Truckin!! Platform and wedge shoes. Who could forget tire tread sandals! I had a pair.

r22 r140 You would really have liked the pre-hippie preppy look. It had been going on a lot longer than the 2- or 3-year spell in the early '80s. I went to college with a trunk full of sweaters, khakis, and jeans. I came home first semester in bell bottoms.

I get emails from Alan Paine, a Scottish sweater manufacturer. What costs $195 today, I paid $16 for in 1967. I've never really felt comfortable wearing anything else, but I'm retired now, so I buy Lands End rather than Brooks Brothers. And Alan Paine? Fuggetaboutit.

Around the time of the millennium - French Connection United Kingdom t-shirts.

Everyone in Australia had one in 2000 it seemed, but not so widely liked in the US of A back then.

Perhaps it was the logo? [bold]FCUK.[/bold]