* “For Which I’m Secretly Nostalgic”? Do we still care about prepositions?
Disclaimer: I am not saying any of these trends were ever actually good, but they do warm the cockles of my adolescent heart. And if you want to bring bulletproof-style vests (a la B4-4) back, who I am to judge?
Apparently I’m part of Generation Y, and I’m already nostalgic. At least the New York Times says so. Pining for 1998 may seem preemptive, but those were the days of Girl Power, a young Harry Potter, and Friends when Friends was still good. Here are some of my favorite “trends” that late-90s pop music gave us and then common sense took back.
1. Workout Clothing as Regular Clothing
Long before wearing yoga pants to Starbucks, Sporty Spice, S Club 7 and Britney showed us that the word “sweat” in a piece of clothing’s name shouldn’t stop you.
2. Floppy Hair
Ah, the days of wearing your hair long, floppy, and parted right down the middle. Here, Stephen from Boyzone will show you how:
See? Easy.
3. The “Schoolgirl” Look
Brit Brit. She also rocks the workout gear look in this video. If only she had floppy hair, she would be the ultimate trifecta and we would call her Queen.
4. Spiky Hair
If you didn’t have floppy hair (or the “Caesar,” but we’re not going there), you spiked the heck out of it. Jersey Shore‘s Pauly D totally got his hirsute inspiration from the likes of 5ive and *N Sync.
Bonus points for the unnecessary yellow sunglasses
This video gives you spiky, floppy and the Caesar! Everything wrong in one place.
5. Adorable Brothers Everywhere You Turned
Hanson? I know Hanson.* And you, Jonas Brothers, are no Hanson.**
*No, I don’t 
**They grew up and I feel old.
6. Chest-al Fanny Packs*
*I just use my bra.
I don’t know why this look didn’t catch on more…
7. Standing Out in the Rain
I couldn’t resist.*
*That’s a lie.
Video evidence here and here. So many pop stars, so many cases of walking pneumonia.
8. Half-Naked Guys on Treadmills
Really just an excuse to show this Boyzone performance again. But, honestly, this should never have gone out of style.
I’ll admit to having several tiny backpacks. What 90′s trends did you embrace? Bonus points if they included half-naked guys on treadmills…
Long crochet vests!
And then, of course, combat pants and enormous Nirvana t-shirts and even more enormous plaid shirts as jackets, and wallet chains and chains as necklaces and Chuck Taylors and Doc Martens in my surlier mid-teens.
But those vests! I hear they are back in now and I just…can’t.
If I could find another pair of Docs, I’d wear them all the time.
There are a ton on Ebay. Not the cheapest shoe, but they last through years of hard wear.
They’re made too wide for my skinny, skinny feet
It’s probably for the best.
Fun!! My tastes were more like Raych’s; JNCO jeans, chain wallets, enormous stompy shoes. I like the slip-as-dress-with-combat-boots look, but I never attempted it. Pierced eyebrows. Had tiny backpacks, scrunchies, and excessive barrettes in my younger days.
Bananas in Pajamas! Blues Clues with dreamy Steve Burns. Winona Ryder.
I want you to know that I had floppy hair, center part and all. Between that and the huge clothes, I was frequently mistaken for a dude. That part hasn’t changed.
ALSO— Pop-Up Video!
Just for you: http://fuckyeahsteveburns.tumblr.com/
Pierced eyebrows! Rebekah, where were you in my mid-teens? I had my eyebrow pierced TWICE because I was SO BADASS. And then was later frequently mistaken for a dude in my early 20s after I cut my dreadlocks off and had supah-short hair and wore caps and hoodies and fat jeans.
AH, YOUTH!
As a child/teen of the 90s, I love this. Bonne Bell lip smackers, doc martins, flannel shirt, and Nirvana. And what about Party of Five? Will you ever sort yourself out, Bailey!?
My grandma lived near the town that produced all the Bonne Bell products, so I would go on vacation and come back with the most “exotic” flavors that you couldn’t find everywhere.
Oh Stephen Gately! How I adored him.
Hanson are pretty great, nowadays, though I didn’t appreciate mmbop in its time (I really should have, It’s so happy!).
Tiny backpacks? Yes. Tight tight vest tops above great baggy combat or exercise trousers? Oh, yes. Those weird suede-y clog-shoes that did up with elastic somehow? Yeah!
I was more a Ronan Keating girl. I agree that Hanson’s not bad, at all. They got such a bum rap, but they’re talented musicians and songwriters.
I did in fact have a long rose-print dress that I wore with Docs. And I had no excuse — I was already 27 by the time “My so called life” rolled around.
It’s still my goal to dress like Lisa Loeb circa the “Stay” video.
Bhaahahah!!! This. post. is. AMAZING.
This is such a coincidence! I was just thinking what happened to Hanson a couple of days ago and now I find them here
Great minds … 
Hmm, in the late 90′s we all wore Docs (Yes, even across the pond! Talk about globalization!) and Fruit of the Loom hoodies. It was a uniform of sorts. I also wore my dad’s cardis and scarves and felt really cool
Before reading any further, I am moved to tell you, yes, we do still care about prepositions. Thank you.
Oh my… So good! I went out dancing on Sat night and they played a whole 90s set. It was magical!
Part of me feels old that there are 90′s nights at clubs and on the radio, but most of me just happily shakes my booty.
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I’m loving all the boyband-age in this post!! I completely agree with the floppy hair thing. I was just thinking about that the other day, too. And I’m a HUGE Hanson fan, so I gotta give you that one, too.
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