The Return of the Scrunchy

Don’t look now, but it’s true. The scrunchy is making its return.

 For those of you who aren’t familiar with the scrunchy, it’s a six inch piece of elastic tied in a knot, encased in a longer piece of fabric stitched and scrunched together, usually finishing anywhere from a half inch to two inches wide.

This 80’s/90’s wildly popular item was used to hold back the locks of many women in need of getting hair out of their faces. This elastic wonder was sometimes worn on the wrist for easy access. Used as the secret hair weapon at a moment’s notice.

It was easy on the hair and made all your outfits complete. Oh, how I remember those days. As a matter of fact, when I first discovered sewing, I made tons of these. All I needed was a roll of quarter inch elastic and some fabric scraps. Running these through the sewing machine was a cinch. Quickest fashion fix I can recall.

Scrunchy became not only a household name, but a way of life. You would be hard pressed to find a female without one in her hair or locked and loaded on her wrist, just waiting for that important moment of swooping up her hair in a ponytail or a big heap on her head.

Scrunchies came in every fabric, print, texture and size. They were low cost and convenient. Every store and every bodega carried them.

Speaking of “Carrie”, do you folks recall the episode of Sex and the City when Carrie said she can spot the out of towners by the presence of there scrunchy? It was so true and so funny. In the mid 90’s, this trend came to a screeching halt. All of a sudden this trend was dropped like a hot potato, and it was so uncool to have one of these in your possession.

 Where did the millions and millions of scrunchies go? It’s like they never existed. It’s amazing how something that was so cool became so incredibly uncool.

 Well, brace yourself, because the stretchy, colorful hairband is back! Perhaps it’s so uncool that it’s cool again. Perhaps young girls see the appeal of these convenient little gems and want to revive them? Whatever the case may be, now is your chance to be the cool girl on the block and get yourself some scrunchies!