A scrunchie (or scrunchy) is a fabric-covered elastic hair tie used to fasten medium to long hair types. [1] The elastic hair tie is encased in loose fabric that forms a ruffle when twisted around a ponytail. [2] Large, elaborate styles and diminutive, unassuming forms are available in many different colors, fabrics, and designs. [3]
The scrunchie was invented during the 1960s, [2] but it was patented in 1987 [4] by Rommy Hunt Revson. She created the first prototype of the scrunchie because she wanted a gentler version of the metal hair ties used at the time. [5] Prior to this, Revson was a house sitter in the Hamptons. [6] She bought herself a $50 sewing machine and learned how to sew, developing the working prototype within weeks. [6] Revson was inspired by the design of the elastic waistband on her sweatpants [6] and named the decorative hair accessory the Scunci after her pet toy poodle. [7] After patenting the design, Revson spent most of her time in legal disputes, both with manufacturers and her own lawyers. [8]
The Scunci name became modified to scrunchie, reflecting how the fabric of the accessory is bunched up. [7] The term scrunchie has become a genericized trademark. The brand, Scünci, is owned by Conair. The company produces a number of products, including scrunchies, hair elastics, hair clips, and hair brands. Their scrunchie product is known as The Original Scrunchie.
Scrunchies were particularly popular in the 1980s and 1990s, including larger, more elaborate versions. Scrunchies regained popularity in the mid 2010s. [9]
Revson's scrunchies were extremely popular in the 1980s and 1990s. Scrunchies initially became popular in the '80s because they were a less damaging alternative for pulling big hair up. [10] Also, scrunchies came in many different colors and patterns, so they matched the colorful and over-the-top aesthetic of the 1980s. Well-known celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul, Demi Moore, and Sarah Jessica Parker were all seen wearing them. [5] Debbie Gibson in particular wore them; Madonna wore a large velvet scrunchie in Desperately Seeking Susan . [11] Scrunchies were also featured in popular movies like Heathers, being passed from one Heather to another based on popularity shifts. [12] The popularity of scrunchies continued into the 1990s as well. This time, scrunchies made an appearance in shows such as Friends, Full House, and Seinfeld. [5] The scrunchie's popularity was not limited to celebrities and television, however; many female astronauts used them to secure their hair while they were on a mission. [5]
The early 2000s marked a fall in the popularity of scrunchies. Carrie Bradshaw in an episode of Sex and the City mocked the fashion, saying "No woman … would be caught dead at a hip downtown restaurant wearing a scrunchie." [13] [3] [9] [14] This comment represented the decline in popularity of the scrunchie during this time period, sparking a decade's worth of negative views and distaste. [13] The scrunchie became a faux pas in the sense that wearing it around was embarrassing. [5]
Even after its loss of popularity, the scrunchie made a comeback in the late 2010s. [15] It was seen all over runways making its way back into fashion. [15] In 2017, scrunchies appeared at the New York Fashion Week as part of Mansur Gavriel's fall 2017 collection. [2] It was an event that fashion publications like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar would mention in their own articles; scrunchies were coming back but as low, loose ponytails rather than on top of the head. [2] A Vogue editor even included the scrunchie in a "can't-live-without hair products" list coining it as an essential accessory for makeup-removal time at the end of the workday. [16] The scrunchie has expanded on its popularity, with even Balenciaga getting involved, selling an "XXL" silk scrunchie for $275. [16]
Scrunchies are no stranger to the public sphere, making their way into the hair and on the wrists of celebrities. [15] Famous women such as Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, Gigi Hadid, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, [17] and Selena Gomez have all been seen wearing them again. [5] Singer Lizzo generated news when she wore a $100 scrunchie with jewels on it backstage at MTV's Video Music Awards. [15] It was featured in the popular Netflix original movie To All the Boys I've Loved Before as a symbol of power struggle between main character Lara Jean and her former BFF, [12] and the character Eleven on Stranger Things was seen wearing them in the third season of the show in 2019. [10]
Scrunchies are often exchanged between tweens and young teens as a sign of an emerging romance. Generally, a girl will give a boy a scrunchie as a sign of affection or to say that he is "cute" or that he is her "crush", and the boy will wear the scrunchie usually on his wrist. [18] [19]
Scrunchies are also an integral part of the VSCO girl aesthetic, which is a trend that is discussed greatly on TikTok. The VSCO girl is seen as a teen aesthetic among Gen Z culture, and the most prominent addition to the look is an armful of scrunchies. [2] The re-surge in popularity is partly attributed to the rise in nostalgic culture at the end of the 2010s. [10] Another reason cited for its rise in popularity in the late 2010s is an increased emphasis on hair health, the scrunchie is gentler on curly, coarse, or kinkier hair than normal hair ties. [15] They also add volume to buns without having to use hair bun inserts to create a doughnut shape, and they help to avoid creating dents in the hair. [13]
There have been over five hundred different designs of scrunchies since its invention. [5] There are many different brands and stores that sell them. [5] In the US, almost every major store sold some sort of scrunchie in 2019. [5]
Scrunchies made of towelling can be used to help speed up the drying process for wet hair and protect the hair, which is more fragile when wet. [20] [21]
A ponytail is a hairstyle in which some, most, or all of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and secured at the back of the head with a hair tie, clip, or other similar accessory and allowed to hang freely from that point. It gets its name from its resemblance to the tail of a pony.
A choker is a close-fitting necklace worn around the neck, typically 14 inch to 16 inch in length. Chokers can be made of a variety of materials, including velvet, plastic, beads, latex, leather, metal, such as silver, gold, or platinum, etc. They can be adorned in a variety of ways, including with sequins, studs, or a pendant.
A cocktail dress is a dress suitable at semi-formal occasions, sometimes called cocktail parties, usually in the late afternoon, and usually with accessories.
In clothing for men, a dickey is a type of shirtfront that is worn with black tie (tuxedo) and with white tie evening clothes. The dickey is usually attached to the shirt collar and then tucked into the waistcoat or cummerbund. Some dickey designs have a trouser-button tab, meant to secure the dickey-bottom to the waistband of the trousers, and so prevent the dickey from becoming untucked.
A headband or hairband is a clothing accessory worn in the hair or around the forehead, usually to hold hair away from the face or eyes. Headbands generally consist of a loop of elastic material or a horseshoe-shaped piece of flexible plastic or metal. They come in assorted shapes and sizes and are used for both fashion and practical or utilitarian purposes.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Japanese street fashion refers to a number of styles of contemporary modern clothing in Japan. Created from a mix of both local and foreign fashion brands, Japanese street fashions tend to have their own distinctive style, with some considered to be extreme and avant-garde, with similarities to the haute couture styles seen on European catwalks.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
The fashion of the 2000s is often described as a global mash up, where trends saw the fusion of vintage styles, global and ethnic clothing, as well as the fashions of numerous music-based subcultures. Hip-hop fashion generally was the most popular among young people of both sexes, followed by the retro-inspired indie look later in the decade.
Fashion of the 1960s featured a number of diverse trends, as part of a decade that broke many fashion traditions, adopted new cultures, and launched a new age of social movements. Around the middle of the decade, fashions arising from small pockets of young people in a few urban centers received large amounts of media publicity, and began to heavily influence both the haute couture of elite designers and the mass-market manufacturers. Examples include the mini skirt, culottes, go-go boots, and more experimental fashions, less often seen on the street, such as curved PVC dresses and other PVC clothes.
Fashion in the years following World War II is characterized by the resurgence of haute couture after the austerity of the war years. Square shoulders and short skirts were replaced by the soft femininity of Christian Dior's "New Look" silhouette, with its sweeping longer skirts, fitted waist, and rounded shoulders, which in turn gave way to an unfitted, structural look in the later 1950s.
Western fashion in the 1920s underwent a modernization. Women's fashion continued to evolve from the restrictions of gender roles and traditional styles of the Victorian era. Women wore looser clothing which revealed more of the arms and legs, that had begun at least a decade prior with the rising of hemlines to the ankle and the movement from the S-bend corset to the columnar silhouette of the 1910s. Men also began to wear less formal daily attire and athletic clothing or 'Sportswear' became a part of mainstream fashion for the first time.
A hair tie is a styling aid used to fasten hair, particularly long hair, away from areas such as the face. This is usually done as part of a hairstyle such as pigtails, bunches, or ponytails for straight, wavy, and loosely curled hair, and referred to as afro puffs, bunny tails, and "pineapples" for highly curled and highly textured natural hair. Two common types of hair tie are the scrunchie and the elastic. The term can also include a fixed tie or rubber band which is placed through or around strands to hold specific parts of hair together, rather than tie it or clasp them together like a hair clip.
The 2010s were defined by hipster fashion, athleisure, a revival of austerity-era period pieces and alternative fashions, swag-inspired outfits, 1980s-style neon streetwear, and unisex 1990s-style elements influenced by grunge and skater fashions. The later years of the decade witnessed the growing importance in the western world of social media influencers paid to promote fast fashion brands on Pinterest and Instagram.
Hairstyles in the 1980s included the mullet, tall mohawk hairstyles, jheri curls, flattops, and hi-top fades, which became popular styles. Amongst women, large hair-dos, puffed-up styles, permanent waves, and softer cuts typified the decade. Big hair that was "often permed to achieve the desired volume" is especially associated with women of the mid 1980s as well as male rockstars of that era, especially of the glam metal genre. Television shows such as Dynasty helped popularize the high volume bouffant and glamorous image associated with it.
Soft grunge was a fashion trend that originated on Tumblr around the late 2000s and early 2010s. Beginning as an outgrowth of the 2000s indie sleaze fashion trend but with a greater influence from the 1990s, particularly grunge fashion, the style began as a reaction against the glamor fitness culture which was dominant in popular culture at the time. It is characterized by its merger of cute and aggressive fashion hallmarks like chokers, tennis skirts, leather jackets and boots, flower crowns, distressed denim and pastel colors. Soft grunge reached its peak popularity around 2014, by which time it had been embraced by high fashion designers including Hedi Slimane and Jeremy Scott and been worn by celebrities including Charli XCX. Its internet-based merger of subculture, fashion and music made it one of the earliest examples of an internet aesthetic. In the early 2020s, the style experienced a minor resurgence due to videos posted on the video sharing application TikTok.
The fashions of the 2020s represent a departure from 2010s fashion and feature a nostalgia for older aesthetics. They have been largely inspired by styles of the late 1990s to mid-2000s, 1980s, and late 1960s to early 1970s. Early in the decade, several publications noted the shortened trend and nostalgia cycle in 2020s fashion. Fashion was also shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had a major impact on the fashion industry, and led to shifting retail and consumer trends.
An Internet aesthetic, also simply referred to as an aesthetic or microaesthetic, is a visual art style, sometimes accompanied by a fashion style, subculture, or music genre, that usually originates from the Internet or is popularized on it. Throughout the 2010s and 2020s, online aesthetics gained increasing popularity, specifically on social media platforms such as Tumblr, Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok, and often were used by people to express their individuality and creativity. They can also be used to create a sense of community and belonging among people who share the same interests. The term aesthetic has been described as being "totally divorced from its academic origins", and is commonly used as an adjective.
Rommy Hunt Revson was an American nightclub singer and creator of the scrunchie.
A claw clip, also called a jaw clip, is a hair accessory with metal or plastic teeth that clamp into the wearer's hair.
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