The 1990s moved fast, and nowhere was that speed more obvious than in its fads. A toy, an accessory, or a hairstyle could go from completely unknown to absolutely everywhere in a matter of months. For a while, it felt like these things would never go out of style.
Just as quickly as they arrived, most of these fads vanished, leaving behind nothing but a drawer full of forgotten collectibles or a photo that’s hard to explain to younger generations. Here are 15 fads from the 1990s that seemed unstoppable at the time, but disappeared almost as fast as they showed up.
1. Beanie Babies
Beanie Babies turned tiny stuffed animals into a genuine financial obsession. Ty released new babies constantly and retired old ones just as fast. The bubble burst hard by the early 2000s, when most Beanie Babies turned out to be worth what people paid for them: not much.
2. Tamagotchis
Tamagotchis were small, egg-shaped digital pets that demanded constant attention. Kids carried them everywhere, including into classrooms where teachers had to confiscate them mid-lesson. Most Tamagotchis ended up forgotten in a drawer.
3. Pogs
Pogs turned simple cardboard milk-cap discs into a full-blown playground economy. Entire collections were built, traded, and guarded. Some schools banned them over gambling concerns.
4. Slap bracelets
Slap bracelets were strips of flexible metal covered in colorful fabric that would snap around your wrist with a satisfying slap when you hit it against your arm. They came in every pattern imaginable and were traded like currency at school.
5. JNCO jeans
JNCO jeans took baggy to a new extreme, with some styles featuring leg openings wide enough to fit over a pair of sneakers with room to spare. They were tied to skater culture and became an unmistakable visual signature of the decade.
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6. Zubaz pants
Zubaz were zebra-striped or neon-colored pants that started in gyms before spreading into mainstream 1990s fashion, worn by everyone from athletes to regular teenagers.
7. Furby
Furby was an animatronic toy that appeared to speak its own language before slowly “learning” English, giving kids the sense that it was actually alive.
8. Gak
Gak was Nickelodeon’s stretchy, slimy, and colored putty, marketed with the tagline that it made noises “in places you shouldn’t”.
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9. Koosh balls
Koosh balls were squishy balls designed to be easy to grip and impossible to lose, since they wouldn’t roll away like a regular ball. They became a fidget toy and a stress reliever.
10. Chain wallets
A chain wallet was a staple of grunge and skater style throughout the decade. The heavier and longer the chain, the better…
11. Frosted tips
Frosted tips became a defining hairstyle of the late 1990s, popularized by boy bands and teen heartthrobs on every magazine cover. The look aged out quickly as tastes shifted in the early 2000s.
12. One-strap overalls
Wearing overalls with a single strap fastened and the other hanging loose was a deliberate style choice throughout the 1990s, showing up on everyone from rappers to sitcom characters. As overalls themselves cycled out of everyday fashion, the one-strap look went with them.
13. Inflatable furniture
Inflatable chairs and couches, often colored, became a popular, affordable way to furnish a teenager’s bedroom or a first apartment.
14. Mood rings
Mood rings used a heat-sensitive stone that changed color based on the person´s body temperature, marketed as a way to reveal your emotional state. They were cheap, colorful, and easy to find at any mall kiosk.
15. Butterfly clips
Small plastic butterfly-shaped hair clips were a signature look for girls throughout the late 1990s. They came in every color and were sold in bulk packs at drugstores. As Y2K-era hairstyles took over, butterfly clips quickly fell out of favor.
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Check out 15 Items That Were Considered High-Tech in the 1980s for a look at the gadgets that once passed for science fiction. Then take a break from the screens and see how the era looked off the shelf, too, with 20 Pictures of Street Fashion in the 1990s. And if you want the full picture of what people were indulging in, 18 Gadgets From the 1990s That Were Surprisingly Expensive rounds out the decade’s most expensive must-haves.
