It doesn’t matter if you’re into Harry Styles’s 70s bell bottoms or the cast of Friends 90s denim, trends from decades ago seem to be making their way into today’s style. Fashion repeats history as different trends that were worn decades ago make their way back to the present day. Celebrities market these trends, stores sell them, and we, the consumer, purchases them. Trends rise and fall like a girl’s hair, and nothing does so better (figuratively and literally!) than the scrunchy. 

The scrunchy was created by a man named Phillips E. Meyers in 1963, but never gained it’s undivided and well-deserved attention until the 80s. In 1987, nightclub singer and pianist Rommy Revson created a prototype of the hair product. It was inspired by the waistband of pajama pants and transformed into a masterpiece for the comfort and style of a girl’s hair. Celebrities like Madonna and Janet Jackson wore the inarguably colorful and cute fabric, and from there the cast of Full House found themselves hooked on the look too. Now, nearly two decades later, the fashion trend has peaked its way through the surfaces again. 

So what is it about fashion trends, particularly scrunchies, that make parents say, “I wore that when I was your age?”

The scrunchy has resurfaced and repopulated because of the passage of time. Designers and brands who forgot about the scrunchy have suddenly become interested in it again. That’s because they rely on nostalgia to get consumer’s attention. Look at 1960s tie-dye outfits, 70s graphic tees, and 80s bucket hats, as other examples. With nostalgia, a trend becomes unusual, and people love unusual. It makes them feel unique, and it defines who they are. On top of that, new shoppers thrive off of scrunchies. Brands target college students because they are too young to have seen the scrunchy evolve from the 80s. Big designers like Elyse Walker and Neeman Marcus sell silk and velvet scrunchies for upwards of $340. Kate Spade sells scrunchy sneakers and heels for $180. Alexander Wang markets scrunchy purses for $300. Celebrities like the Kardashians, the Hadid sisters, and Jenifer Lopez wear scrunchies all of the time. Even television shows today like Stranger Things show off the popular accessory. In 2003, the famous Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw refused to wear the hair product, as though it was the butt of a joke. Seventeen years later, the scrunchy is still around and proving that Carrie was wrong. 

I know what you’re thinking: what does expensive brands and designers have to do with college students? Less expensive retailers have made us the targeted demographic for their fashion. Stores like Urban Outfitters and American Eagle sell what’s expensive for supposedly more affordable prices, and make their advertisements about young people and for young people. Because scrunchies at stores like Louis Vuitton or Versace cost up to $300, these retailers provide the same comfortable and trendy hair product for better prices. In fact, according to TeenVogue, scrunchies have become the biggest fashion trend as of 2019. While many wear it for their hair, it’s also used in place of bracelets and anklets. Many teenagers and twenty-somethings wear scrunchies on their wrists at all times, and like cell phones, never leave the house without one. In fact, in the past two years alone, the scrunchy has trended up to 92%. Even child stars like Jojo Siwa have her own brand of scrunchies for her fans to buy. So many children of today will grow up with scrunchies as a stylish item which will continue to shape future fashion trends and sustain its popularity.

The scrunchy is bringing back history and transforming it for the new generations. Every twenty years, a popular trend comes back, but the scrunchy is different. The scrunchy is arguably one of the biggest corporate retail deals in the 21st century that impacts everyone in some way. Whether you wear it in your hair, keep it as a bracelet, or use it to fidget, the scrunchy is a fashion trend that will never go out of style.