OOTD: Every party should be a ’90s party

Back when I was in college, ’80s parties were a big thing. I was never that into ’80s music or style, but the ’90s were everything to me, so I was really glad when they started coming back in the past year or two. I had a ’90s party a few years ago, and decided to have another one recently, because why not?

Shirt, lunchbox, slap bracelet, necklaces, silver rose ring, and baby barrettes: actually from the ’90s (or in some cases, early ’00s), earrings: Claire’s, slipdress: from either a clothing swap or the Big Thrifty, socks: Domino Dollhouse, Mary Janes: L.L. Bean, tiara: KMart, studded wristband: PacSun, bangles: Deb and Torrid, yellow flower ring: The Big Thrifty, tattoo bracelet: came for free with a Lisa Frank tote bag that I bought from an Etsy shop (but you can also find them really cheap on eBay)

Oh, lunchboxes. I was so into them in high school–I had a whole collection, and used a different one for my lunch every day.

And this shirt….this shirt is the second-oldest item of clothing I own. (The oldest is a t-shirt my best friend got me in Puerto Rico when I was 9, a year after I’d gone on a trip there with her. It’s full of holes and I never wear it, but I can’t bear to part with it.) I got it in sixth grade from a store that was literally called Booger’s–it sold band t-shirts, skater clothes, and random stuff like fuzzy picture frames, and was my favorite store ever.

I had my mom alter the shirt to be sleeveless and more form-fitting–and it’s a miracle that it still fits, 17 years and about 100 pounds later. For reference, this is what it looked like when it was new (or at least new-ish–judging by the bangs, this was seventh grade):

What could be more ’90s than a velvet leopard cardigan? I think I got this at a thrift store, but I’m not sure.

I meant to wear a bunch of butterfly clips, but when I dug through my old stash, I could only find one broken one:

I also put out a ton of jewelry and accessories for my friends to borrow. As I said to them, “This is where never getting rid of anything comes in handy.”

Steve, of course, wore plaid. And I lent him my Pikachu shirt!

I also put out an old Seventeen magazine, a bunch of Delia*s, Alloy, and Girlfriends L.A. catalogs, and two Lisa Frank coloring books.

And my old Gelly Roll pen collection.

We had fun taking the quizzes in Seventeen–a bunch of people noted that they were the ’90s version of Buzzfeed.

My friend Autumn brought a Polaroid camera!

We also had ’90s-themed food:

And Steve and Autumn played Steve’s guitar. (I just enjoyed posing with it, like the riot grrl/ska princess hybrid I always wanted to be.)

The music…the music would be a whole other post. ’90s/early ’00s music brings me right back to that time period, in a way no other era of music does.  It hits me on a deeper, rawer level than music I got into as an adult.

I have a theory that the music we listen to as teenagers feels particularly meaningful–even the songs that, in hindsight, weren’t very good–because it got wired into our brains at a time when everything was so intense. My friend Red and I compared our ’90s playlists, which led to a good, long conversation about music and memories (and some head-banging to Limp Bizkit).

All in all, it was both a blast and a blast from the past. And now I want to have ’90s parties all the time.