153. The 90s Called... and They Want Their Trends Back: 90s Trends Making a Comeback

Anyone else feel personally attacked when something from their childhood gets labeled as "vintage"?

In this episode of Burnt Pancakes: Momversations, we're taking a trip down memory lane and talking about all the 90s trends making a comeback. From Birkenstocks and baggy jeans to hacky sacks and Labubus (which are basically troll dolls with better marketing), it seems like everything old is new again.

Join me as I reminisce about growing up in the 90s, share some of my favorite trends from back in the day, and laugh about watching our kids discover things we thought had disappeared forever.

In This Episode:

•  Why Labubus remind me of troll dolls 
•  The return of Birkenstocks and baggy jeans 
•  Hacky sacks and other 90s activities making a comeback 
•  The accessories, toys, and fashion trends that are suddenly cool again 
•  Which trends I'm happy to see return—and which ones should stay in the past forever 
•  How trends spread differently today than they did in the 90s 

Let's Keep the Conversation Going!

What 90s trend are you excited to see come back? And what trend do you hope stays in the 90s forever?

Send me a message on Instagram and let me know!

📺 Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOpw5ui4uxJHx0tLFVtpnfSkpObfc4d-K

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Email: katie@burntpancakes.com

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Transcript

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Burnt Pancakes podcast. I am your host, Katie Fenske, mom of three, reminding moms that everyone burns their first pancake.

Now, recently, I took my 12-year-old son clothing shopping.

And I definitely can say he has acquired his own fashion sense. He has a taste in clothing that I did not influence at all. I'm actually quite surprised. He's, he's like an athlete, but.

that's not what he picked out. Like, I thought he was gonna pick, like, Nike shorts and stuff. We went shopping, and he's looking at some pants.

And then his eyes, like, locked in on these pair of sweatpants that are covered in…

like, design. Um… he also saw a sweatshirt that he loved that had, like, skulls, and it was black with, like, gray prints, and…

Like crosses from affliction.

And he got a pair of pants that were true religion, a belt that was true religion, and I was like, oh my god.

these clothes are coming back. Like, this is what guys…

from my high school college days war, and now he is super into it. So I I told I told someone for his birthday that when I was looking for a sweatshirt to get him. I also got him an affliction sweatshirt. I tried to pick the one that was the like.

most, like, the gaudiest, like, most detailed, ugliest-looking sweatshirt, because when I gave it to him, he was beyond excited, and he was like, this is so cool, thanks, Mom! And I'm like, okay, would I have ever.

ever picked that out and thought, this looks cool? No. But I've learned Affliction, True Religion, um, Zoomies Store, all of those are back in.

I also recently heard, and I've heard multiple people talk about this, that Pizza Hut is planning on remodeling a bunch of their stores and making or restaurants and making them like old school looking.

where they're gonna have, like the checkered tablecloths, the red cups, the lights that have the stained glass on them.

and, like, arcades. They want to make it more of a dine-in experience, um, and they are bringing back, I just heard this this summer, they're bringing back the Book It program, where you read books and you get your free pizza that you can.

redeem at the store. So all of this stuff just inspired me.

To create this podcast today. Today we're going to take a little trip down memory lane because apparently everything from my childhood is cool again. I keep telling my kids.

hey, like, I know what that is, I know what true religion is, I know what affliction is, I'm so hip. They still don't believe me, but it's all coming back, you guys. The 90s are in.

One minute, I'm packing lunches, and the next minute, I see a teenager wearing the exact outfit I wore in 7th grade.

Baggy jeans, they're in. Birkenstock shoes are in. Tiny backpacks are in. All of these Labubu dolls that everyone's collecting, they're giving major troll doll energy. And I need someone to explain to me how.

This is all coming full circle again.

The most shocking part isn't that the 90s are back, it's that our kids are spending money on the exact same things we begged our parents to do 30 years ago. So today, we're talking about all the 90s trends making a comeback, and why this is both really exciting to see.

And also slightly alarming for those of us who actually lived through that time. But nostalgic all at the same time.

So let's jump in.

Okay, I think one of the strangest things about getting older is realizing that things from our childhood are now considered vintage.

Um, but…

when I hear vintage, I think, like, my grandma's furniture, not my Lisa Frank folder.

Not inflatable furniture. I don't think vintage butterfly clips, but here we are.

My husband and I were listening to some music in the car the other day from, like, our high school era.

And we were like, oh man, this music is so good. And we were kind of comparing it to what the kids listen to now. And we're like, man, they don't make music like they used to. And then I was like, I've heard that line before. My parents said that about the quote unquote oldies that we listen to in the car.

Growing up. But now. Like. These songs that we're hearing that were like big.

In '99, when I graduated from high school.

Katie Fenske

10:20:12

are now considered oldies.

My kids will show me something and say, Mom, this is so cool and retro. And then I have to explain to him that I owned 3 of them, and got mine from the store down the street. Like…

How is this retro, vintage, or oldies? Okay, so let's talk about La Boo Boos. I was first introduced to these at Christmas time.

when.

Um, my kid wanted to put them on their list, and I looked it up, and I was like, what the hell is this? If you don't know what they are, they're these collectible little creatures with big eyes and, like, mischievous smiles that people are lining up and spending a lot of money on. Like, the one my son showed me was $60, so I'm thinking.

Santa's not bringing that. We've seen people with, um, like, keychains on the airport. My boys are like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, look it, there's a little b.

But every time I see them, all I can think of is.

Didn't we already do this? Because for those of you who grew up in the 90s, we had troll dolls, like those little plastic dolls with the neon hair, the fluffy hair that you would brush and, like, twirl around. We carried them everywhere, we had them on keychains, we had them on backpacks, they sat on our dressers.

and they were hideously ugly also. So apparently we've decided as a society that we really needed in 2026 a slightly more expensive, slightly creepier version of troll dolls. So.

Give me a follow if you own troll dolls in the past. Okay, here's another thing that I am seeing coming back, and I have mixed feelings about it.

Uh, Birkenstock shoes. Let's talk about it. Now, I totally remember wearing Birkenstocks in the 90s. Um, actually…

I owned the Costco version of Birkenstock shoes. They weren't the real things. I remember they were, they were green, like forest green Costco. But they like disappeared for a while and then they came back and they left, but they are like here.

To stay. Funny story. I met my husband in 2023. No, sorry, 22,003. Oh my God.

This is my brain right now. 2003, I just graduated from college. We met one of our very first dates. We went to the beach together. Now, he was — he had an internship from — was out here from Colorado on an internship.

So, it was kind of like this summer thing. Like, I was from California, he was out here for a couple months, so I was like, we gotta go to the beach. Like, this is a total California thing to do. So we show up at the beach.

And in 2003, Birkenstocks in California were out. Like, rainbow sandals? Cool. You… I've been wearing them ever since. But rainbow sandals? I was like, ooh, we don't really wear those anymore. So we showed up in Birkenstock shoes, and…

he had a bath towel with him at the beach, and, like, as a California girl, I was like.

Oh, we bring beach towels and rainbow shoes. Like, this guy is not from around here. But luckily, he had a great personality. He's a wonderful guy, and I overlooked those little tiny red flags. But anyways, I always joked about how.

he wore Birkenstocks on one of our first dates, and I almost made that a deal breaker, but luckily I didn't.

So now that they're coming back, they're actually kind of cute now.

They're coming out with plastic ones. I actually just ordered myself a pair of pink.

waterproof, like, Birkenstocks. They're super comfy. I remember they were comfy when I was growing up. But now that they're, like, totally back in, I feel kind of embarrassed. I bought a pair of these pink waterproof ones.

And I don't want my husband to say, like, hey, hey, you almost didn't make this work out because of my Birkenstocks, and now you're buying some. But anyways…

They're back. They're super adorable. And.

really comfortable. So, it's just funny that they're back in.

the funny thing is that when I was younger, we wore them because they were comfortable, and now people wear them because they're actually fashionable, like, you see them everywhere. And they're very expensive, like, I think it was 60 bucks for the cheapest pair of Birkenstocks.

Now.

As a mom, I appreciate any trend that doesn't require me to suffer, so comfortable shoes coming back in, that's a win. I love it. And it brings up our funny story of how we met. Okay, another thing that I am seeing back is baggy jeans.

So how we went from skinny jeans and now we're back to baggy jeans, I can't explain.

I spent years squeezing myself into skinny jeans. It took me forever to get comfortable with, like, oh, there's something tight around my ankle. I just don't… I…

It took me a long time to get comfortable in skinny jeans. And then I did. And now we're saying we're baggy again. And I'm like, wait a minute. It takes me so long to catch up to these trends. But I'm like looking around and teenagers are walking around exactly like every boy band from 1998.

Katie Fenske

10:25:25

And what's really funny is the kids today think they like invented the style, but we're like, hey.

go back and look at my photo album. We were in these baggy jeans. I specifically remember, too, I have an uncle, he had two boys, and he used to always say, pull up your pants, stop sagging your pants, why are you sagging? And, you know, at the time, it was like, oh, my uncle, like, they were like.

Whatever, Dad. And now I have two boys.

Who insist on sagging their pants. So Jet and Ronan now think it's cool to sag. I mean, Ronan started it, Jet's starting to do it too. But I'm like, you guys, I don't want to see your underwear! And you're like…

butt hanging out of your pants. That looks so uncomfortable, too, because they have to, like, hold them up. But I was like, these are my cousins right here, like, Paul telling them to pull their pants up. Here I am now, like, boys, pull your p.

But anyways, baggy pants, sagging pants, very in. It made me think of Clueless, the guy, the skater guy in Clueless, like, oh my god, that style is totally in.

Okay, here's another fun one that is coming back, and I'm actually really excited about that. Recently, my oldest son, Ronan, came back from baseball practice, and he's like, Mom, Mom, we gotta get a hacky sack.

all the kids are playing it, we have teams now before practice, we need a hacky sack. And I was like.

Well, let me tell you a little history of the hacky sack. Um, high school, I was right there, like, watching these kids in groups playing.

If you grew up in the 90s, you know exactly what I'm talking about. There was always a group of kids standing in a circle trying to keep that thing off the ground. And there was usually like the skater boys or the surfer crowd. And for some reason, there was always that one kid that was really, really good.

So, the return of the hacky sack makes me really happy. Um, it just seems so, like, simple and basic, like, yeah, here you go, here's… we did order some online, gave them to my kid, I'm like, yeah.

when you're out with your friends, go for it. If you're at recess, I am totally on board with a hacky sack thing. This gets you off screens, keeps you playing. reminds me of my high school days. I actually funny thing. I'm scrolling Tiktok together today, and.

My high school.

has a page specifically for their, like, Hacky Sack Club, and they post videos of the kids in this Hacky Sack Club.

doing Hacky Sack. And one, I'm blown away how good they are. I'm like, wow, you're incredible, because I tried it. I, like, tried to play with my boys, and.

I'm terrible. We could maybe get, like, two, like, bounce it twice. Um…

But it's such a fun trend. I actually really enjoy seeing this one come back.

Um, let's see. Other trends coming back. Here's a few more that might surprise you. Tiny backpacks. Remember when backpacks got so small you couldn't actually hold anything in them? Well, those are coming back.

Butterfly clips. These were everywhere. If you were a girl in the 90s, there's, like, 99% chance you owned butterfly clips. I sure did. I remember going out one night.

I can't remember. I think I was…

I think this was college, but I remember having, like, a whole row of butterfly clips, like, in a crown across my head, and I thought, oh my god, I have, like, the best updo, it looks so good. So those are definitely coming back.

Um, platform shoes.

Regular height's not enough. We are now seeing… oh, gosh, I can't remember the name of the brand. The black…

Um, platform shoes that had just, like, the big black band, Steve Madden, I think. Those are totally coming back. I have seen those. I had a pair, and I wore them with every outfit to every event. Um, those are coming back. Um, let's see, vinyl records are coming back. They are actually trending on being very cool.

Disposable cameras are coming back, so the younger generation is kind of discovering the excitement of not knowing how a picture turns out until later. So, like, remember when you would take all these pictures and have to turn it in, and a week later you get them back and be like, my eyes are closed in…

30% of them, 50% of them. Um, I've also heard, too, of, like, camcorders, like, old-school camcorders are coming back, where people are, like, filming themselves on camcorders.

I have also heard that landlines are becoming a thing. So, there's, um, a company, I think, called Tin Can, where people are doing just, like, a tin can. You have a couple numbers, and this, like.

handheld phone. But also I'm hearing that.

Companies are coming out with, like, actual phones, like, the real phones from our childhood, and you connect your cell phone to it, so that, like, if someone calls, you can answer through the handheld phone, which is so…

so funny that, like, we're just coming full circle. Um, so I'll have to look into that. I know that was kind of fun. Scrunchies are coming back, that trend that…

You just throw your hair up in that little scrunchie. I used to wear one around my wrist all the time. That is coming back.

Katie Fenske

10:30:30

Now, what is different this time?

here's what's fascinating. When we were kids, trends kind of spread because someone cool at school did it, and then it spread that way. Now trends spread because somebody on TikTok had something.

the trend may not be the same, um… like, these trends may not be the same, but the way they spread are completely, completely different. Like, uh, my kids are into Nidos now, and I feel like everything that they're into, they see on YouTube first. And I think that's where my son must have gotten his, like, style…

look, because I don't see a lot of his friends dressing the way he is, with, like.

I will tell you. He, um… I was at the store the other day. I saw a pair of jeans, and I'm like, oh, these might be over the top. Like, I really don't know, because he was telling me, Mom, I really like stuff that has, like, big crosses on them.

And I'm like, okay, like, we don't go to church, but okay, cool, you have big crosses. Um, so I saw a pair of jeans. Okay, if you are on… if you are on YouTube, you can see this picture on my phone. Um, these jeans with a.

ton of, like, I think they have, like, eight crosses up and down the legs, like, sewn on. So I took a picture and later showed him, I'm like, are these too much or do you like those? And he's like, oh, mom, why didn't you get those for me? So later we went back to the store and got them.

But I'm like, oh, wow.

you are… you really are into this style, but I think it's because he sees it on YouTube.

Because I don't see any of his friends wearing it. Anyways, some things that I hope never come back.

Let's talk about that. Some things from the 90s not to come back. Super low rise jeans. They got about as low as they could go in the 90s and we do not need to return to that, especially with our mom bodies. Like, please, can we, can we keep like mid rise?

Not quite, quite low, low rise. Um, let's see. I remember, like, tiny, tiny sunglasses were in that had no sun protection. I think we'll leave those behind.

Um… someone was talking the other day about inflatable furniture. I don't really remember that from the 90s, but I'm like, I think we'll… we'll leave that there as well, so…

Anyways, at the end of the day, I kind of love seeing all these trends come back.

I think it's just nostalgia for how things used to be, like, just going back to a time when it was simpler, when cell phones didn't rule our lives, when, yeah, we met…

a family at Pizza Hut and played video games while the parent… or arcade games while the parents hung out and talked, like, I for sure, if that opened up in my neighborhood, I would go do that too.

Maybe it's because you're getting older, and it just feels like I want to return to a simpler day, or to my youth.

Or maybe it's just fun seeing the next generation discover that the things that brought us joy, the things that we enjoyed are coming back. I keep telling my kids how cool I am because I was around when hacky sacks were invented and I like knew the ins and outs of that.

before my older son even had a chance to tell my younger sons what a hacky sack was.

I do laugh every time somebody acts like they've discovered some amazing new trend, and I'm over here thinking, oh, sweetie, we already did that in 1997.

But anyways, if you have some trends that you see from the 90s that are coming back.

share them with me so we can both walk down memory lane together, or if you have some that you think definitely need to come back, I think we need to open up this discussion. Which trends should we see more of?

I would love to know. What trends are you excited to come back? What trends do you want to leave in the past? Come visit me on Instagram, let me know your thoughts. Um…

And share with me just a little bit of reminiscing about our childhood.

flipping.