Whether you wore glittery jelly shoes or JNCO jeans that were so baggy they hid your shoes, you probably reminisce about your life in the 1990s in two different ways: “Aw, that was the best” and “What were we all thinking?” Some of the trends of the 90s lasted and some didn’t quite make the cut to the new millennium, but time has only made us grow fonder of them. For the readers out there who occasionally feel guilty about their attics full of dust-gathering Beanie Babies, here are five of the 90s trends we miss the most.
1. Beanie Babies. How could I leave them out after name-dropping them in the intro? Talk about a craze that swept the nation. I still remember how insanely excited I was to get the “ultra rare” Princess Ty Beanie Baby. Seriously, I don’t think I was that excited when I got accepted to college.
2. Fanny packs. Now they’re relegated to goofy tourists and out-of-touch old people, but they’re so convenient! They even came in ridiculous colors and patterns—a true touchstone of the 90s.
3. Body glitter. Preteen girls all across America wouldn’t dare get a ride to the mall without swiping sticks of body glitter down their arms (or legs, or necks, or cheeks) first.
4. Gel/Milky pens. They drew on paper (or on your skin) with thick, shiny, and glittery ink, and there were hundreds of colors to collect. The more you had, the cooler you were—that was just the way of the classroom.
5. Jelly shoes. Also known as flimsy, plastic footwear that was perfect for the beach, but that didn’t stop us from wearing them everywhere. Whether you went with clear sandals or sparkly slip-ons, they didn’t quite match any outfit… which meant they matched every outfit.