Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Journalist. Mother. Bunny enthusiast. Pop culture junkie.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Nostalgia of a mid-90s tween

Lately I was thinking about old friends from elementary school and middle school, which led to remembering other less important things.

If you are a 90s child or someone who was simply childlike in the 90s, you might remember these:

Now & Then

This movie ruled my school when I was 12-years-old. It was a movie about life, death, love, and most importantly, friendship. After school, my friends and I would hang out at each other's houses and talk about the movie way more in-depth than it probably deserved. We would also role-play. I always designated myself as Sam (the writer) and my best friend Megan, the prettiest girl in school, was always Teeny (the actress). We let our other friends fight over who was Roberta and Chrissy.


Degrassi Jr. High

My sixth grade teacher forced us to watch this young adult soap opera every morning. Each day at this doomed junior high school was filled with unfortunate events. Rape, unplanned pregnancy, AIDS, and racism. At eleven years old, I might not have known algebra very well or world history, but I knew one thing for sure: junior high school was to eat me alive. (It didn't).


The Best Friend necklaces

Ahh yes, the status symbol of pre-teen girls everywhere, showing that they were the most important friend in another person's life. These necklaces were the most popular item at our local mall's Claires boutique. They were so popular, my cousin Bryant even bought us a set. Guys wore them too!
But, alas, the necklace came with its social complications. Friendship was not meant to have the equivalency of a class ring. In middle school, girls are competitive and clingy. Those necklaces often led to disaster.
Overheard in my sixth grade English class: "Um, Susan, we need to talk. I, uh, kind of want the other half of our best friends necklace back. I, um, want to give to to Jessica now."



The fashion of 1995

Believe it or not, I used to dress like this. It was cheesy as hell and we loved it. I also wore scrunchies, baby-doll dresses, and toted around mini-backpacks like the one Cher has in Clueless. I will most likely not be participating in the 90s fashion revival of this style that occurs in the future.


Teen Beat hotties
Before Robert Pattinson and Zac Efron, there were a few teenage boy celebrities that stole the hearts of middle-school girls everywhere.
Warning: these hotties might induce drool. Ha.









Okay, now looking back I am slightly horrified by all my celebrity crushes.
And I feel really, really old...

What are some of your favorite pop-culture memories from middle school?

72 comments:

Leia said...

Haha best friend necklaces! And Freddie Prinze Jr! Yess!

ALWAYS CHASING said...

Hahaha I used to love JTT!

Leah said...

I used to dress like that too. Oh, and I remember those best friend necklaces.

Sherin said...

Haha. Memories of the 90's are all coming back! Gosh: the fashion. I'm cringing right now!
And yes, I remember the fights connected with Friendship necklaces.

Sophie said...

Haha I love this post! best friend necklaces, oh my goodness I do remember them! And I absolutely loved Freddie Prince Jr and Jonathan Taylor Thomas! Ah so funny, thanks for posting this! xo
/teacups-and-saucers.blogspot.com

M said...

Ugh to 90s fashion.... now that is a trend that we don't need to see again on the runways. That said, the European take on the style was not as horrifying as in this picture... I remember wearing a lot of stuff that you see these days on the Gossip Girl cast. But still! :D

Audrey Allure said...

oh man haha, even though my middle school years were 2002-2004, i remember those BFF necklaces (as well as BFF bracelets) and i most definitely remember those hotties haha.

back in that time, i loved boy meets world too <3

Lexy @ QUIRKY EXPLOSION said...

HAHAHAA. I was only 6 or 7 in the 90s, but I love this post! I DEFINITELY had the best friends necklace. Obviously, it was the coolest thing EVER .

Thanks so much for stopping by!
girlwiththebowtie.blogspot.com

daisychain said...

omg haha, allll flooding back now.

yiqin; said...

Men's hairstyles were so bad last time =x

jane st. clair said...

i love it! you know what's funny? i have a folder of pictures downloaded from now and then b/c i was going to do a post about it! did you know the actress who played chrissie died? it was really tragic.

my favourites were blossom, NKOTB, big hair, and rolled jeans.

great post!

Dina's Days said...

I TOTALLY had that JTT milk ad hung up in my room. Along with the Hanson brothers. YIKES!

Michael said...

hahaha 'Degrassi Jr. High', well now I have Degrassi for us teens and unfortunately (hahaha) it's nothing like it!

Michael said...

hahaha 'Degrassi Jr. High', well now I have Degrassi for us teens and unfortunately (hahaha) it's nothing like it!

Maria Confer said...

Wow, this so brings me back!! We were such dorks during the early and mid 90's!!

Ha, I had the same crushes.

lululetty.blogspot.com

Ton Amour said...

I love Now and Then. Umm... we need to go some Best Friend Necklaces...from Tiffany's ...lol.
JONATHAN JACKSON IS STILL HOT, YES I AM USING ALL CAPS.

Mom Fashion World said...

it's a very cute photos!
bring back the old memories.lol!

http://momfashionworld.blogspot.com/

Barry said...

Degrassi-Canadian
Jason Priestley-Canadian
me-Canadian

Notice a trend here? lol

The Eighties were arguably the BEST decade for pop culture, like, EVERRRR. In fact it's generally accepted that nothing cool in history ever happened before then.

Okay so that's total crap and I made it up. But you get my point.

In the early and mid-Eighties, before that great day when the world first saw your face I was immersed in pop culture. We had so many stars in their prime:

Madonna
Michael Jackson
Arnold Schwarzennegger
Prince
U2
The Police
Bruce Springsteen
Eddie Murphy
Tom Cruise
Harrison Ford

Technology was advancing...

-it was the beginning of the computer age
-internet
-video games
-Post It Notes
-the wheel was invented (just kidding, the wheel was invented when I was a young boy)

TV was going strong:

Miami Vice
MacGyver (where we learned to make an explosive with chewing gum and mascara)
The A Team
Cheers

There were also pop icons like the Rubicks Cube and Cabbage Patch Dolls. BTW, it's a little-known fact that the shortage of these dolls was due to the Russians stealing them to make cabbage rolls. True.

Best of all in 1982 I won a Nobel Peace Prize for my role in diffusing the situation in the Falkland Islands, as well as inventing velcro.

Sure go ahead and call me a liar, you weren't even born yet. :)

Taylor Sterling said...

I loved all of these. Now and Then was so good!!

Melanie's Randomness said...

Omg Teen Beat!! YES!!! I was addicted to those boy magazines!!! Devon Sawa, J.T.T. and Zack from Saved by the bell were my top favs. If it makes ya feel any better dear I opened like I think it was 16 magazine like a week ago & didn't know who one guy was except yeah Rob Pattinson. YIKES!! And omg if Now & Then is on I have to watch it. hehe. =)

Couture Carrie said...

Love this post!
So nostalgic and fabulous...
I still have a crush on Brandon Walsh!

xoxox,
CC

P.S. Met Sandy Bullock through a friend and used to run into Alec Baldwin all the time because he lives one floor below my shrink's office in NYC ~ the building is called El Dorado. Other celebs, totally random... Thanks for reading my silly tags, darling :)

Niki said...

yess JTT! what about zack morriss? SUCH a 90s dreamboat.

Nubiasnonsense said...

omg 90's love. ahhh I use to crush on all these guys

Dane said...

Woooowww Now & Then!! Loved that movie.






www.trustme-itsparadise.blogspot.com

Becky Tjandera said...

lol it's like a flashback to my super uncool life . haha . thank goodness i was still in elementary at that time . x)

Saint said...

aw such good memories. i remember the old hairbands and scrunchies... i bought my firend a BF necklace, just so i could keep the other half- it was a present that gave back! haha x

JOWY said...

My goodness..this post: JTT whahahaha I had such a huge crush on him whahah

One Love,
Jowy
www.iseejanemary.blogspot.com

KP said...

ahh the bff necklaces-and I love that you included Devon Sawa-adore this post xx

ash said...

OMG, nostalgia at its best!

Its funny no one ever liked Roberta, she was my favorite. I even named my cat after the character. Oh man!

Ya, I always look back and think how old I am considering the celeb crushes I had. JTT, Devon Sawa, Leo D., The Hanson bros except Issac. haha.

I don't rememeber Degrassi from back in the day but even though I am not a teenager anymore, I am kinda obsessed with the new Degrassi, its addicting!

xo ash

Frank&Rémy said...

hahaha probably one of the best posts ive read in a long time! The 90´s was just to awsome!! :D

have a wonderful weekend dear!

(IN)DECOROUS TASTE said...

Wow, this is hilarious. I remember those friend necklace, I used to have a whole, embarrassing lot of them.

And where DID JTT go?

Lauren
(IN)DECOROUS TASTE

Miss Neira said...

hahahah I love this! of course I had the best friends necklace and I was insanely in love with freddie prinze jr
and I LOVED watching are you afraid of the dark and goosebumps..thats what I remember about middle school!

Tights Lover said...

Wow. This brings me back.

I think back then I was too busy rocking out to Liz Phair and The Lemonheads...hahaha.

Hard to believe the mid-90s were so long ago.

Winchester Manor said...

Thanks for the blast to the past! I remember those necklaces...what a crack up!

I'm actually a tad older than you and I grew up in the 80's and that was also a time of ridiculous fads and fashion! Parachute pants...need I say more?

Have a great week!!!
Karyn

noone said...

omg I LOVE NOW AND THEN! one of my fav movies :D awww and Freddie Prince Jr was so cute back in the days!

C A said...

Hello, thank you for the comment! I remember all of those pictures, I miss them all so much.

Maison Chaplin, the internationally recognized most stylish and glam fashion blog by some fashion houses!

MaisonChaplin.blogspot.com @ Lisbon Fashion Week

Toothfairy said...

hahahaha... cool post! brings me right back to memory lane!

*loves*

Olive Tee said...

Haha great post, I loved the film Now and then it was awesome! Thanks so much for commenting n my blog!
olivias-pizzazz.blogspot.com
xx

Rianna said...

Ahhhhhhhh i love that film!!!! Now and then absolutely rocked! Me and my friends watched it not too long ago and had a great girly night in watching it!
Rianna Bethany xxxxxxxxxxxx

Sierra said...

Oh my gosh all of those guys were my celebrity crushes too, lol! Oh my gosh, that BF necklace brought back so many memories, ha ha.

Angela said...

i am so glad i still have best friends from these times.

BonBon Rose Girls Kristin said...

They used to show us Degrassi school. Have you seen that they have a current day one? So funny!

Ela said...

How have I not seen this movie? Must watch. STAT.

Degrassi, really? LOL, it's a Canadian show and the college I went to is where they shot some of the series, so strange that she made you watch it every morning. So, so strange.

Oh I wore my best friend necklace with such pride! I'd always take it off when I was made at her though, LOL. I can be so mean.

I hearted Dylan more so than Brandon...

Hhmmm...what else did I love back then, NKOTB probably and Mariah Carey was just making it big, strange that music is the thing that always takes you back.

LOL, are you still working on a reply to my email?

Megan Wolf said...

Ohhh Mmmm GEE! you are amazing for this post. Like I am falling in love with you for bringing all these up! Now and Then is the BEST movie. We used to watch it all the time when we were little girls and we all had our little roles as well. I was totally Teensy. so funny. and I'm pretty sure I died looking at the 1995 fashion, because I fersure owned that hat with the giant sun flower on it. think it was from limited 2 circa 95. lol true. and the heart throbs... sigh who didn't pine for some JTT and some Freddie Prinze? yum!

such a funny post, thanks for brightening my evening love!

xoxo

http://thediscerningfashionista.blogspot.com/

Imogen said...

Thanks for sharing this, it brought back lots of memories. I used to watch degrassi jnr high as well and many other 90s shows like saved by the bell and fresh prince. And I used to think those teen hotties were cute too.

Imogen said...

And how could I forget the best friend necklaces, I loved them.

Rachel @ The Haute Notes said...

I used to have so many best friend necklaces! I'm sure I still have some of them.

I never watched Degrassi when I was little. I started watching the newer episodes when I was in high school. It used to be one of my favorites!

Valeriesoh said...

oh myyyyy Freddie and michelle... my fav... what happen to them now?

Phoebe Rose said...

Haha Freddie! I love the 90's mostly for plaid shirts and Nirvana :) but not for curtains...never a good hairstyle! Great post!

http://flowergirlfashion.blogspot.com/

Keith said...

Great photos. I was an adult by the 90's, but I do remember many of these things.

cupcake♥trash said...

how I loved devon sawa.

http://cupcaketrash.blogspot.com

Camilla said...

Thank you for the lovely comment !, Nice pictures xxxx Camilla

rainbowpavingstones.blogspot.com

Cafe Fashionista said...

Ooh, I was obsessed with Blossom. I used to wear those big hats with the huge flower in the middle - like her best friend Six did. I am mortified to think back on that.

And you are so not the only one embarrassed by your celebrity crushes. I thought I was going to marry Nick Carter from the Backstreet Boys. Is it just me, or did they make male, teenage celebrities pose in the most effeminate ways back then? :/

Claire said...

AHHHHHH best friend necklaces and mini-backpacks!!! Had both! Friendship bracelets, candy necklaces, Nerd sweets... awesome.

FASHION CHALET said...

Ah what nostalgic memories.. I was super obsessed with JTT way back when, plastered my walls with his pictures (and Elijah Wood) haha. I also adored Now & Then, still do now. ;)


I know what you mean Gabby is so perfect in every way, she's beautiful. I'm not attracted to Carlos at all though, I found Tom cuter.. lol.. and I think the new kid on the block, Danny Bolin is pretty nice on the eyes too. My favorite/most-relatable housewife after Lynette is Suasan. ;)


x

starbrained said...

OMFG I love Now & Then. I haven't seen it forever though.

Chelsea Talks Smack said...

now and then was my favorite thing ever and seriously, i want to bring back the bff necklaces!

Sophia said...

OMG I LOVED THIS POST.

i never saw Now & Then -- i now feel the need to rent it asap.

i distinctly remember my BFF necklace. my friend lost hers, and i thought it was symbolic of our friendship. i was devastated for days. :(

Beth Dunn said...

OM gosh. I've never heard of that jr high soap--sounds like a nightmare!!! xoxo

SC

Unknown said...

The good ol' times! Haha! So lovin' those... :)

Iva Messy said...

LOL!!! ummm yeah I totally had (umm and actually still have it lol- just not actually on me) a best friend necklace with my BFF -since we were 10 ;)

michelle_ said...

hey . thx for visiting my blog :)
i remember my days dressing something like that when I was a kid . lol

my mom used to put me in pigtails and wear oshkosh jumpers.. haha

glistersandblisters.blogspot.com

Liya said...

omggggggggg nostalgia
i adored this post
and can you say EVERY SINGLE 90'S BAND?
and i still love em :)

thanks for the well wishes!!!

myglitteringcreation.blogspot.com

Dansvogue said...

oooh!!me too!!!

Syed said...

Hahaha I remember girls wearing those best friend necklaces, and a few fights that broke out as a result! How have I never watched Degrassi Jr. High? May need to check it out. I still remember oversized flannel shirts, baggy jeans and long, long hair. Hope you're having a gorgeous day :)

Cesc said...

I was born in the 90s so I never quite got to experience much of it. All I remember is Britney Spers and the Backstreet Boys.

Arushi Khosla said...

OMG! I recognize the guy from Beverly Hills 90210 (Brandon!!! *swoon*) ANDANDAND the last guy is from that movie...with the girl with the short hair...Freddie somethingortheother Jr.

I've never watching any of those movies :( This needs to change!

Etrapar said...

The Best Friend necklaces are so cool...I don't have but I would like ^.^
kisses

Patty Ann said...

omgg the 90s were hilarious
i always laugh (in a good way)
about the 90s
ahhhh
xxx

AlphaBetaChic.blogspot.com

chic femme said...

Ok, I loved Now and Then what a great movie. :) And I had the biggest crush on Devon Sawa. I had posters of him in my room. Wow, that seems like ages ago. :)

Chocolate Lover said...

Now I'm nostalgic!
Visiting from SITS

Anonymous said...

AHhhh. Now and Then is one of my favorite movies. It gets better every time i watch it.