33 Accessories on Every 90s Kids’ Wishlist

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Last Updated on April 8, 2023

Every Christmas wish-list in the 90s was packed with fad-like accessories to go with your platform sneakers and denim overalls. From scrunchies to Charlie perfume, a 90s kid was nothing without a cluster of accessories from head to toe. 

Here are our favorite 90s accessories…

1. Scrunchies

Scrunchies in all colors, patterns, and textures were a must-have. Kids wore them to school, grown-ups wore them to the gym, to the club, and on the grocery run. Scrunchies had a bad rap for a while there, but they’re back in action today. Kids are rocking velvet scrunchies with their chokers and Mom jeans…we are “retro” already?!

Read: 7 Best 90s Hairstyles Scrunchies Styles from TV, Movies, and Music

2. Brimmed hats

Hats with big, upturned brims in felt fabrics and jewel tones such as deep green or burgundy. Worn with spaghetti-strap dresses over plain tees. 

Check Out: A Tribute to All Those 90s Hats We’ll Never Forget

3. Faux flowers

Faux flowers, most often sunflowers, were pinned to brimmed hats or tucked behind the ear (like Drew Barrymore’s fresh daisies). 

4. Charm bracelets

The goal was to have as many charms as humanly possible! Charms were given to celebrate birthdays and milestones, or as holiday souvenirs. 

Read:Nineties Jewelry Trends: A Complete List of Items by Style

5. Patches

The distinctive patches allow you to personalize your outfit. Patches can be used on jackets, backpacks, and hats in a variety of ways. Personalize it in a way that you can have your own patch. GS-JJ.com has a wide range of personalized patches, such as custom embroidered patches, woven patches, vintage patches, iron-on patches, and more. Make a patch with your favorite logo or pattern, it’s very popular!

6. Stick-on tattoos

The best stick-on tattoos came inside gum wrappers or from the dollar store. It was always so heartbreaking when they didn’t stick properly and turned out as a splotchy mess. 

Read:

A Tribute to All Those 90s Hats We’ll Never Forget

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7. Yin and yang necklaces

Yin and yang signs were everywhere in the 90s. You may have had yin and yang school book cover, or a yin and yang charm on your leather choker, or even a yin and yang stick-on tattoo. 

8. Peace sign charms

Peace signs were all the rage, especially in the form of choker pendants or as embroidered patches on our denim overalls. Peace sign silver rings were the jackpot. 

9. Sun, stars, and moon jewelry, clothes, and bedspreads 

I had sun, moon, and stars mobile hanging in my room, a prized possession. The original sun, moon, and stars print was navy blue with mustard-toned celestial motifs and was popular for bedspreads. 

10. Fanny packs

Fanny packs in neon colors and adorned with iron-on patches were worn over denim rompers or Dad shorts with Hawaiian shirts. No family entered a theme park without a fanny pack in tow. 

11. Small sunglasses with colored lenses

Round or oval sunglasses with metal rims and colored or deep lenses were, and still are, cool. Jennifer Aniston wore them, the Olsen twins wore them, Halle Berry wore them. Say no more. 

Recommended: 90s Sunglasses: Keeping the stars in the sun

12. Mood rings

Remember the movie ‘My Girl’? (Excuse me while I go and cry for an hour!). Anna Chlumsky’s character had a mood ring and naturally, we all wanted one too. Why did they go out of fashion?

13. Anklets

Silver anklets, preferably with little bells and charms, were all the rage. You were extra cool if you had a toe ring on the same foot. This was part of the “hippie chic” styling of the 90s that ran into the ‘00s peasant-skirt boho phase. 

14. Choker necklaces

Quite possibly one of the most recognized 90s accessories, and the most revived one today. Choker necklaces came in many styles from rugged leather to shiny satin with a crystal pendant. They were just as appropriate for the prom as they were for the grunge show. 

15. Backward baseball caps

Backward baseball caps were rocked by Will Smith on the Fresh Prince, Tyra Banks, and Uncle Jesse to name a few. Schoolboys had their go-to hat they wouldn’t part with, wearing it backward from dusk till dawn. 

Read: Oh You Thought all Those 90s Style Hats Had Disappeared? No Way!

16. Bandanas

Christina Aguilera, JLo, Dionne (from ‘Clueless’), and Aaliyah favored the bandana headband. Others wore it as a top, (Shakira and Mariah Carey, we see you). You would polish off the look with hoop earrings and dark lip liner, Chola style. 

17. Slap bracelets

Remember these? They were rigid until you literally whacked them onto your wrist so they would curl around to form a thick and rather uncomfortable bracelet. Glow-in-the-dark or sun, moon, and stars varieties were sought after. 

Read: 13 Absolute Best 90s Gifts for Adults

18. Bucket hats 

LL Cool J made the bucket hat cool in the 90s, with chunky chain necklaces and track suits (or no shirt at all, with baggy pants and exposed underwear). Britney Spears also adopted the bucket hat, but in a far more candy-coated, blonde-lock way. 

Read: What Everyone Ought to Know About Styling a Bucket Hat

19. G-shock watches

Casio G-Shock watches were the timepiece to own (along with Swatch watches after the 80s frenzy). Chunky and colorful, with gummy straps and digital faces. Baby-G watches were the daintier option. 

Read: A Blast From The Past: The 90’s Most Popular Watches

20. Eyebrow, nose, and lip rings 

Guys would try to be Travis Barker (Blink 182) and girls would try to be Fairuza Balk (from ‘The Craft’) with fake lip, nose, and eyebrow piercings. Add dark purple lipstick, or baggy tees and extra-low Dickies shorts. 

21. Brown lipstick 

A matte or frosted brown lipstick was a must-have beauty accessory for 90s women. It was worn with frosty, pale blue eyeshadow and gelled hair strands hanging over the face.  

22. Rainbow socks

Striped rainbow socks had a huge moment in the late 90s and were worn with platforms and denim minis. They reached to the knee and were kept up by elastic garters your Mum sewed you. 

23. Glow in the dark sun, moon, and star room stickers

Was your bedroom covered in posters of Leonardo DiCaprio and glow-in-the-dark sun, moon, and stars stickers? Mine, too. If you could see a skerrick of wall, you were doing it wrong. 

24. Fairy nets above the bed 

Another home accessory, the fairy net over the bed (also less glamorously known as the mosquito net) was a key component. The perfect haven in which to read your Babysitter’s Club books. 

25. Crystal necklaces 

Crystal pendant necklaces on waxed cotton strings were popular among the bohemian kids, worn with plaid shirts, chunky boots, and baggy khakis. The goal was to find your birthstone and to layer it up with a leather choker. 

26. Charlie perfume 

Charlie was one of the most iconic perfumes in the 90s (though it was released in the 70s). Check out this promo video featuring Cindy Crawford in a red Herve Leger bandage dress with big 90s hair and matte smoky makeup. 

27. Ralph by Ralph Lauren

How reminiscent is that blue and clear bottle? This had a home on the dressing table of millions of girls in the 90s. That scent brings me right back to my first boy-girl parties, having Mom drop me off at the movies, and reading Top of the Pops magazine (real paper!).

28. Beaded hair wraps 

Did you or a friend ever come home from a family holiday with a resort tee, tie-dye sarong, shell necklace, and beaded wraps in your hair? You could also get these at the mall on a Saturday morning after drinking Starbucks frappuccinos.

Read: Cringefest Time: ’90s Hairstyles You Secretly Love

29. Hair Gems

How could we forget these little stick-on hair accessories? Hair gems were the cherry on top of any 90s hairstyle and with good reason! 

You basically did whatever you wanted with your hair and then added the stickers as highlights in the shape of stars, dots, flowers, or butterflies. They looked magical and so ethereal! They were also quite perfect to combine with barrettes, pastel hair colors, or clips. 

They were also one of the most lowkey and understated hair accessories of the decade. I sooo wish they would come back!

30. Crystal Craze Headbands

Anything crystal, gem, or sparkle-related is almost certain to have trended during the 90s. 

Crystal headbands were a result of the bedazzling craze where you added a little bling to anything you owned. Headbands were the most used hair accessory so it was unavoidable that they would end up being decorated as well. 

The most perfect headbands for the job were the puffy, thick ones that Blair Waldorf would later wear on Gossip Girl and that we have recently seen on Kate Middleton’s head!

31. Barrettes

Hair or french barrettes are little hair slides or hair clips that have a clasp for holding hair in place and can keep bangs to the side, secure a bun, or hold stray hairs from a ponytail.

They can be made of metal, plastic, resin and they can be decorated with paper, fabric, gems, beads, and whatnot. They are designed with a hole on each end for attaching stuff too. The most elegant ones can have Swarovski crystals glued on the top! Very Chanel!

32. Blue Eyeshadow

Blue eyeshadow was a staple on any pop-loving gal’s 90s makeup pouch. I remember that Barbie and the Rockers: Out of this World movie where Barbie is transformed into her singing persona while floating out of space with a little blue eyeshadow on her eyelids.

This was only one of the iconic appearances of blue eyeshadow that set the tone of the massive trend during the 90s. It goes without saying that we all wanted one!

Blue eyeshadow has been considered tacky by some people whereas others think of it as glamorous and provocative. It is all in the way you use it really since blue eyeshadow can make a pair of blue or green eyes pop and shine like a million watts or look sad and bruised if lacking the proper shine and sparkle! 

So, adding a little lighter highlights or glitter liquid eyeliner might be the ace you need to make this look work for you for Friday night partying!

33. Pajamas

Oh well, pajamas and going to a pajama party was what we all wanted to do with our friends.  Of course, the type of pajamas you chose was paramount! 

Cartoon pajamas and matching sets with tops and bottoms with the same print were preferred by most people, but a white t-shirt with a logo and printed pants was also very popular.

34. Stationery

I think I still have my collection of stationery printed papers stashed somewhere. Teddy bears and whimsical fairy designs were my favorites but there was plenty to choose from. Lisa Franks’s stationery was also very popular, well, anything Lisa flew of the racks instantly so it is no wonder, really. 

Among the favored items were plastic pencils in crazy colors, food-shaped and scented erasers (who can say they didn’t have a watermelon eraser?), marvelous invisible ink pen, glitter tapes, stamp markers, glitter pens, or fluid/correction pens. Oh, we also had correction tape and multi-colored pens. I guess looking back is no wonder my notebooks looked so colorful!

Read Next: The Essential List of 90s Food: 30 of the Best 90s Food Trends