Brace yourselves, ’90s survivors: Scrunchies have returned. And they are more extra than ever.
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The puffed-fabric hair/wrist accessory that was a staple of the ’90s girl wardrobe is here for its comeback. It was only a matter of time, honestly. Have you seen the Clueless reboot that’s unfolding in America’s juniors departments? If it can be cropped, mocked, shrunk, held up with suspenders or made out of corduroy, it’s being sold to the teens. We won’t tell them we’re the ones who made it cool in the first place.
OH WAIT. YES WE WILL.
Sorry, McKynzlee, but you know who invented that plaid-mini-with-an-oversized-crop-sweater-and-don’t-forget-the-chunky-shoe ensemble?
Your MOM.
(We won’t get into the fact that ’90s fashion was largely born out of a revisitation of 1960s and 1970s style trends. My generation is timeless and unique and nothing like this has ever happened to anyone at any other point in sartorial history.)
Anyway, now that I’m old, I refuse to buck the trends being embraced by the youngs. BRING ON THE SCRUNCHIES, I say. To myself, quietly under my breath, as I’m standing in front of the buy-three-get-three-free rack at Claire’s listening to a group of Big Ten cheerleaders talk about which ones would look cutest with their game day outfits. (True story.) Except today I’m thinking about how to coordinate them with my yoga outfits instead of buying them to match my jewel-tone crewneck sweatshirts that for some reason were embroidered with the Olympic rings. (Because ’90s, that’s why.)
Because I’m all about public service, I have rounded up some of the best scrunchies out there for your shopping convenience in the gallery below. You’ll soon see that these are not your mama’s scrunchies. They have sequins! They are velvet! They come with matching headwraps! They are holographic! One even has furry cat ears! All things old are new again and made out of better, more varied materials!
FYI, they still look bangin’ on a messy bun and/or your wrist. You’re welcome.
LOVE! Scrunchies are so great. I don’t understand why they ever went out of style in the first place. So versatile, as you point out – ponytail, bun, sloppy bun, wrist adornment. I’m so excited to build a new scrunchie collection. If YOU say it’s cool, I’m totes on board!
And I love this:
“Sorry, McKynzlee, but you know who invented that plaid-mini-with-an-oversized-crop-sweater-and-don’t-forget-the-chunky-shoe ensemble? Your MOM.”
RIGHT??? I don’t know how many times I have had to tell my kids, “You know your generation didn’t invent that, right? You guys are copying off of MY generation.” They didn’t care. They had their faces in their phones, nodding and smiling, as they tried to appease me long enough that I wouldn’t notice them trying to get away from me.
By the way, doesn’t McKynzlee have an apostrophe, or hyphen, or tilde, or something? I mean, just letters? That’s a little old-fashioned, isn’t it?
There’s an umlaut but it’s silent 😂