pictured: wearing three vintage barrettes circa 1990s. See full post.

The 1990s are one of the current decades of influence when it comes to both runway trends, and street style trends. One of my favorite trends in the 1990s was to wear big girl barrettes. It is such an easy way to pull back your hair; especially coming off the big hair trend from the 1980s and very early 1990s. At that time, we wore lots of hairspray to create hair-styles which were quite high maintenance. While barrettes can appear to be a lot of effort, they are really easy to put on, and adjust throughout the day; unlike big hair finished with half a can of hairspray. Three cheers for ditching hairspray in the mid-1990s!

Since I knew this trend was hot and current, I decided to bring a few barrettes I kept from the 1990s. I spent money on them back in the day, and since I loved them so much, and they are small, it was easy for me to keep them tucked into the back of my jewelry box. I have found over the years, if you love something, and it goes out of style, but you can’t bear to part with it; just store it! Everything old becomes new again, and there is nothing more fabulous than your own vintage items. That being said. . .let’s get back to talking about barrettes!

Big girl barrettes were everywhere on the streets of New York Fashion Week. While you didn’t see them on the runways, they were a runway trend from 2017, they have finally caught on and hit the streets. The most popular way to wear 1990s-style barrettes on the streets of fashion week, was far from the way we wore them in the 1990s. In the ’90’s we wore one to three barrettes on one or both sides of our head, up high towards our part; side part to be exact. In 2019, the barrettes are being worn down low, just above the ear. Instead of wearing them on both sides, this time around only one side of your head should have a barrette.

The barrettes must match! The most popular barrette style was to wear two matching barrettes side-by-side, just above the ear. In the 1990s we wore coordinating barrettes that played well together. Now, in 2019, if you wear more than one barrette they need to be exactly the same. I guess I missed the mark on that one since I blended three different barrettes together; hey, at least I wore them above my ear! So, I was only 50% wrong. haha If it weren’t for my friend Laura from Have-Need-Want, I would have worn them ’90’s style, close up to my part. She schooled me right away. haha, thanks Laura!

Here are examples of how to properly wear big girl barrettes:

Of course, you can wear one barrette by itself too. It must be worn just above the ear; no-where near your part. Another option is to wear a low ponytail and fasten it with a barrette. This is a vintage hairstyle which became popular in the 1970s and lasted through to the 1990s. Of course, in the 1980s, if your ponytail was fastened with a barrette, there was a giant bow attached to it. haha So many bows in the 1980s! But I digress. . .

The types of barrettes worn on the streets of New York Fashion Week included sparkling rectangles, oversize snap barrettes, circles, and barrettes adorned in pearls. So, if you are looking to find the perfect barrette to wear right now, these are the styles to look out for! I found a few fabulous ones which evoke NYFW street style vibes online and assembled them into the shopping widgets below. I hope you love them!

What do you think of the big girl barrette trend to wear right now? Will you be rocking it?

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

Cathy