Scrunchies and the scrunchy – 1990s icon making a comeback

One of the biggest fashion trends we’ve seen in 2019 was the return of hair scrunchies. And we have it on good authority that the iconic 1990s fashion accessory is here to stay in 2020.

A fashion mainstay in the late 80s into the early 90s, the hair scrunchie (a.ka. scrunchy) became “uncool” by the early 2000s. Around that time, Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City famously uttered the words: “No woman who works at W Magazine and lives on Perry Street would be caught dead at a hip downtown restaurant wearing a scrrrrunchie”. And so confirmed the demise of the much-loved hair accessory, being relegated to bathroom vanity drawers so mums can pull their hair back to apply makeup or facial products.

So why do fashion trends repeat and why is the scrunchie back in vogue after two decades of being rejected by the fashionistas?

If you don’t already know, the hair scrunchie in its most basic form is a ring of elastic encased in loose fabric that forms a ruffle when twisted around a ponytail. The fabric used can range from the ubiquitous basic cotton-polyester blend to luxury silk fabrics. This allows you to match your scrunchie with everyday t-shirts and jeans, or with a pretty dress for a garden party in Spring.

Like circle skirts, pussy-bow tops and crop tops, fashion trends that were only a few years ago deemed “vintage” or “old-fashioned” seem to have a habit of coming back full-circle to becoming trendy again, and there are many speculative reasons for it. 

For one, when enough time has passed (usually around 20 years or so) for a new generation to rediscover and revalue a certain fashion trend, the perfect balance of “novelty” and “nostalgia” is often what makes a particular product popular with consumers again. Clever product designers who are able to foresee such comebacks and make new what was old often can spearhead such a revival, especially in the world of social media and social influencers that we are so deeply entrenched in today.

For the hair scrunchie, we can probably attribute its comeback to teen influencers on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, followed by young celebrity influencers like Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, and Selena Gomez. These little fabric-covered hair elastics are so versatile and easy on the wallet that it didn’t take long for the trend to really emerge! 

Hey, if it’s good enough for Aquaman on the red carpet, it’s probably good enough for the rest of us!

Added to all that, the recent trend towards minimalist makeup and dressing has also helped the scrunchie trend along, together with fabric scarves used as hair ties and fabric headbands. These simple accessories allow us to put our own personal style stamp on our outfits. Because they are inexpensive, it also allows us to mix up our looks from day-to-day effortlessly.

In the natural hair community, there’s been a growing movement for “curly girls” to embrace their natural waves and curls and kinks. And because of that, the humble hair scrunchie has become increasingly popular as well. Embracing curls means taking extra care not to crush them during styling and regular hair elastics often get tangled and lost amongst the curls, damaging them on the way. Curly girl experts recommend using silk or satin fabrics that don’t cause breakage or additional unwanted frizz, and that’s where beautiful silk- or satin-covered scrunchies come in. As the popular artiste Lizzo demonstrates below, these scrunchies allow curly girls to put their curls up without damaging them. 

We think there is just so much to love about scrunchies!

Scrunchies as Bracelets

You can wear them comfortably on your wrist when you want to keep your hair down so your scrunchie does double-duty for fashion! In fact, Balenciaga released a $225 scrunchie bracelet that was designed specifically as a bracelet, and not as a hair tie!

Easy to wash

It doesn’t get easier! Simply chuck them in a lingerie bag and pop them into the washing machine. You never have to worry about sweaty, stinky hair ties after a whole term of school or after a sweaty session at the gym.

Won’t break the bank

You can pick up a basic scrunchie from the corner drugstore for about $2 each, at School Pride Accessories, our popular school colour or uniform fabric scrunchies range from just $3.50 to $6.95 each. (P.S. from now till 23rd February 2020, our massive Back To School Sale is on with ridiculously low prices so don’t miss out!)

Super kind on the hair

Whether you have straight hair, wavy hair, or super kinky hair, the humble scrunchie is super gentle and won’t snag or cause painful breakage.

Incredibly versatile

You can use your scrunchie to rock a high ponytail, keep it low and demure or to secure a big bun… the sky’s the limit!

So so fun!

With the infinite different colours and fabrics and sizes out there, scrunchies are so much fun to explore while you figure out your style and the statement you want to make. Even if every person in your girl group uses a scrunchie, you can still stand out with your unique design and style so experiment away! If you’re handy with a sewing machine, you could even make your own and be the envy of the gang.

At School Pride Accessories, the comeback of scrunchies has been much celebrated because we think that there is nothing more gorgeous than a perfectly matching scrunchie in school colours or made with matching school uniform fabric (well, other than our ever-popular korker hair ties, that is).

Walking my kids to school and seeing other little ones with scrunchies in their hairs bring back memories of my own childhood with scrunchies and there’s just something sweet and nostalgic in that!