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“Gauchos”: 50 Forgotten Fashion Trends That People Never Want To See Again
Interview With Expert
When I was in elementary school, I absolutely rocked a pair of blue sparkly gauchos. I also had a chic pair of pink camo detachable sleeves that I could add to any outfit, and I was a huge fan of wearing dresses over jeans. Now, I look back on those outfits and laugh. But fashion trends are constantly changing! And as many people have learned, the shame of wearing something embarrassing can haunt you forever.
Redditors have recently been discussing the popular fashion trends from their youth that they’d be happy to never see again, so we’ve gathered their most amusing replies below. Some of these hairstyles and clothing pieces are actually considered stylish again today, while others might never have another day in the sun. Enjoy channeling your inner Anna Wintour as you scroll through this list, and be sure to upvote the trends that bring back lots of memories! And keep reading to find a conversation with fashion expert Lorna Burford of Ford la Femme.
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#1
Super low cut pants with the thong sticking out on top.
RELATED:
#2
Guys wearing pants that dripped below their droopy boxer shorts, giving me a gigantic view of the top of their a*s crack. I mean, wear what you want, but that look is not my favorite.
#3
Mullet.
Fire Singer 6 months ago
I went to see my nephew in a high school play recently, mullets are back in this part of the U.S. unfortunately.
To gain some insight into this topic, we got in touch with Lorna Burford of Ford la Femme. The fashion expert was kind enough to have a chat with Bored Panda and discuss trends that were popular when she was younger that she'd be happy to never see again.
"Honestly is the low rise, baggy jeans! Those were so popular in the '90s, and I can’t tolerate seeing them, as they look so sloppy! I wore these all the time when I was younger, and I dread to think how bad it looked," Lorna said with a laugh. "Pairing them with a thick chunky belt is even worse!"
"Also 'pedal pushers' that are cropped skinny jeans, those are a trend that was huge in the 90's that I don't want to come back," she added.
#4
OMG, the rat tails! A kid in my high school had one that was outrageously long, and it ripped out when he tripped on it.
#5
Shoulder pads.
tiffy68 replied:
They're dangerous too. My aunt had a suit jacket with huge shoulder pads. She picked it up from the dry cleaners and wore it over a sleeveless top to church the next day. About halfway through the service, she started to feel an intense burning sensation on her shoulders. The shoulder pads absorbed the dry cleaning fluid and caused severe blistering on her skin!
Jumping Jellyfishes 6 months ago
I always removed the shoulder pads. Being a small person, they just looked ridiculous on me, even for that time.
#6
Polyester pant suits and leisure suits.
Next, we wanted to know if there were any fashion trends from Lorna's youth that she'd actually love to see a resurgence of.
"Pretty much everything has already come back in my opinion! I remember everyone wearing colored GAP hoodies when I was at school, which doesn’t seem to have returned," she noted. "Or really long, thick cardigans with thumb holes (think Avril Lavigne). Everything was pretty colorful back then, so I’d love to see really bold pieces come back. Brightly colored jeans, etc! I’d love to wear really cool printed and bright skinny jeans!"
#7
Socks with lace-trimmed ankle cuffs worn with high heeled pumps. Madonna could barely pull off the look but the 20-something girls at the mall looked like 6 year olds wearing Mommy's shoes.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 6 months ago
Glad to see BP hasn’t lost their touch with photo selection #sarcasm
#8
In the early '90s, it was popular for women to wear a 'wind suit.' This was a baggy nylon warm-up style jacket and pants made up of different bright colors.
#9
Overly tweezed eyebrows. I loved the 90s but so many of my sisters never got their full brows back.
Striking_Meringue328 replied:
I used to have a housemate who'd completely obliterated her eyebrows. It was always so weird seeing her in the morning before she'd drawn them back on.
And if you're waiting for a trend to return, have no fear. Lorna says it will come back eventually. "All that’s trending now is the '90s clothing! Baggy jeans are everywhere and oversized jackets etc."
"Every single decade comes back around, and I’m sat here waiting for the mid 2000s," she added with a laugh.
#10
I was in my teens for this, but stirrup pants.
#12
Acid-washed high-rise jeans with a puffy tummy area.
#14
Short shorts - particularly cut off jeans - on a man.
I have seen stuff that I have had absolutely no business seeing.
LooseSeal's $10 Banana 6 months ago
We're called Never-Nudes and there are dozens of us. Dozens!
#15
Super low jeans that only Britney Spears could pull off with the abs and not show butt crack.
Karen Bryan 6 months ago
I'm still trying to figure out why anybody would want rips and holes in BRAND-NEW jeans. Maybe I'm just too old.
#16
Mullets, or the chili bowl cut.
#18
Crimped hair.
StrangeOne 6 months ago
Crimped hair looks like someone with very curly hair just washed their hair, let it air dry and brushed it and called it a day.
#19
The huge, sometimes starched/sometimes floppy bow-neck blouses that were supposed to be the female equivalent of shirt-and-tie with women’s business suits.
Olivia_Bitsui replied:
Called, unironically, the p***y bow.
#20
Bright sport jackets with wide lapels. I cringe whenever I see a show about the ‘70’s.
#21
Oversized suits with huge shoulders. Oversized shirts where the shoulder seam was on your bicep.
airckarc replied:
I recently found an old shirt I’d used to protect something in a box. It was a Guess shirt I used to wear to clubs. I put it on and it was ridiculously large. And still smelled like cigarettes.
#23
Neon colored everything.
Annik Perrot 6 months ago
Never loved néon colors, but at least they were colors. Now it's beige, grey, and taupe. Neutral everything.
#24
The preppy style, especially the polo shirts with the collars flipped up.
krfq7mk8j9 6 months ago
Argyle sweater vests were popular in my high school. I burned the photos
#25
Dorothy Hamill haircut...on women or men.
2PlasticLobsters replied:
I got that haircut when I was 10 or so. My head was the same shape as a toadstool. So glad when it grew out. But at least I was cured of misguided celebrity emulation at a young age.
#26
I don’t remember what they called them, gauchos? Wide leg ‘pants’ that come to mid calf. That and what we called capris, which were mid calf too. I see things called capri pants now and they seem like just above the ankle. Those are fine. It’s the ‘clam-digger’ length I hate.
Shoulder pads. I have strong square shoulders. I look like a line backer with shoulder pads. Easy to cut off in fast fashion, but a complete PITA to remove from a high quality jacket. HATE them 😡.
Child of the Stars 6 months ago
I much prefer the mid-calf to the ones just above the ankle. Those just look like they're too small.
#27
(M70). For a very short time, some Men, including myself, wore full-length sweaters. I have a polaroid of me wearing one. Don’t recall the fashion name, but to describe, they were like a cross between a men’s suit coat and a bathrobe. Imagine a guy wearing a suit coat design but it’s a sweater with a quilt blanket texture to it, and came with a robe tie around, like a smoking jacket! Does anyone remember those? It started growing in popularity then soon died off, perhaps the trend lasting for about a year or so. I guess the social message of it was that these guys were laidback cool guys that women could feel comfortable being around—-but not gay?
Ace 6 months ago (edited)
Like these, you mean? https://ae01.alicdn....Sueter-Knit.jpg Seems to be loads of them all over the internet.
#28
Platform shoes...
StrangeOne 6 months ago
They're making a comeback. I've seen some gals with platforms recently. Brings me back to the Spice Girls rage.
#29
Parachute pants.
#30
I see bodysuits being sold again. I told my 15 year old niece to learn from our mistakes and don’t put a pin in the c****h.
Fire Singer 6 months ago
I never heard of there being a pin on these, they were always snaps. Just like a babies onesie. Did I miss something with this trend?? Sounds like I lucked out if that's the case!
#32
Flared, low rise jeans.
brandi_theratgirl replied:
I don't mind flares. Hate low rise with a passion.
#33
Whale tail. Geebus.
If someone already said this, I missed it and will gladly bow out. Still though-UGH.
Lady Eowyn 6 months ago
Wish there was an explanation for a lot of these, I'm too tired to google everything.
#34
Tramp stamps.
#36
It’s already cycled around again but I could have lived my whole life without seeing long jean skirts become a thing again.
#37
Perms or 'permanent' waves. They were so awful.
Salt-N-Vinegar-Lover replied:
The smell of fresh perms, too, absolutely noxious.
Kim Kermes 6 months ago
If you have fine, thin hair they're great. I can't afford a root perm every 8 weeks so I resorted to a lady combover. A good perm by a good stylist is rarely damaging or cheap.
#38
MC Hammer pants. I actually made a pair and wore them 😬.
zububonsai 6 months ago
I kept the black and white one one my dad wore in 1990/91. I'm a circus teacher for kids and youth and they are regularly chosen by kids as part of their clown outfit 😎❤️🔥✌🏻
#39
Colorful, huge plastic earrings!!😅.
#40
1980s shiny track suits. Tulle or flouncy mini skirts with capri leggings (a la Madonna). Leg warmers and stilettos. Anything worn by Cher.
Jill Rhodry 6 months ago
I was mid to late teens - had it all - loved it all - we had so much fun!
#41
Dolphin shorts on men. Suspenders, shoulder pads, and little ponytails on men.
Bored Sailor 6 months ago
I think they are referring to over the shoulder suspenders that clip to the waste band. Think Robin Williams on Mork and Mindy.
#43
Sharp angles in clothes and big gaudy earrings.
SchadenFreudian Psychology 6 months ago
Yes, that was the style in the 80s when I was a teen and 20-something.
#45
Permed hair, McHammer pants, neon colored shorts, Farrah Fawcett feathered hair (looks great on her though), shoulder pads, and the Miami Vice Don Johnson look.
#46
Nehru jackets.
Duane Ringlein 6 months ago
As a teenager in the mid to late 60s thought they were so cool and jealous of my friends that had one.
#47
Leg warmers.
Damned_Cat 6 months ago
I wish they would start making them again for those of us at an age to have worn the originals. Only now, we need them to warm our creaky knees.
#48
Around 2003-04 everyone was wearing bootcut jeans - and they would be too long. They would get all worn and frayed on the ends particularly around the heel. I couldn’t stand it then and I can’t now.
Child of the Stars 6 months ago
I wish they'd go back to long pants. I hate the way they now only come to my ankles. My pants always feel too short.
#49
Wife's vote is sundresses with Doc Marten's.
zububonsai 6 months ago (edited)
Guilty as charged. Come on, it was the "riot girl" time and New Model Army and Reamonn's "Supergirl" was our background music. On a not so funny note, we wanted to look cute but needed to be able to outrun the Neonazi dumbasses in rural Eastern Germany in the 1990-ies. Our lookout once yelled "They're coming!" and we went upstairs, out of the roof window, into the next houses roof window, down and out through its back yard while our guys literally put their backs against the metal enhanced front and back doors of our youth club. These dumb as nails "Faschos" never understood how and where 40+ people vanished into thin air. 👻👻👻↘️🕳️
#50
Bell bottoms and sideburns.
What do you think ?
krfq7mk8j9 6 months ago
Plastic shoes called jellies. Everyone I’ve spoken to that wore them agrees they made your feet sweaty and blistered.
Sue 6 months ago
HATE HATE HATE "cold-shoulder" shirts. They have to fit EXACTLY right to look good. I worn one once & I kept feeling like my bra strap was falling down my shoulder.
Load More Replies... krfq7mk8j9 6 months ago
Plastic shoes called jellies. Everyone I’ve spoken to that wore them agrees they made your feet sweaty and blistered.
Sue 6 months ago
HATE HATE HATE "cold-shoulder" shirts. They have to fit EXACTLY right to look good. I worn one once & I kept feeling like my bra strap was falling down my shoulder.
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