What Were You Wearing When This Song Came Out?
[ 7 June 2008 ]
I went into a tiny vintage shop in the East Village yesterday, & the guy & the girl behind the counter were making pleasant banter. The guy, who was fiddling with an iPod, said, “I haven’t heard this song in years!”, & then these familiar opening notes came floating out of the speakers…
The girl standing next to him asked, “What were you wearing when this song came out?” He started to describe his wardrobe — corduroy trousers, a flannel shirt — & I thought, ‘Wow, what a great question’.
1979 by The Smashing Pumpkins was such an iconic song, & sunk into so many people’s lives, that it was the sort of song you could remember what you were listening when you listened to it.
I knew my own answer instantly. At the time, there was a brand of trackpants (yes, really), called Barkers which were… well, if you didn’t have them, you were totally uncool. Most people had them in a slate blue or charcoal, but of course, me & my incessant point of difference, insisted that I own a cranberry pair. (I’m sure it blew my mother’s mind that her excessively unathletic daughter wanted a pair of trackpants.) What else? I also had a selection of baby-doll cut t-shirts. One that stands out in my mind was white with a big silver star in the middle. (Thank god there is no photographic evidence of this ugly time.) I had a crush on a boy who liked The Smashing Pumpkins too, & I would listen to Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness & talk to my friends on the phone about him.
Thankfully, the Christmas of 1996 was the first time I got access to the internet, & that’s when my style started evolving. By mid-1997, I was the quintessential gothling! Long black drapey skirt with lots of layers of netting & lace, a corset (a real one, mind you), striped stockings, New Rock boots, a spiked dog collar… It certainly wasn’t haute couture but it was a definite step up from trackpants!
So, I turn it over to you! What were you wearing in 1996?
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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i heard this song the other day in the movie store and all i could think of was waking up last summer at 5:30 am with my ex-boyfriend. it was his ringtone. i don’t remember what i was wearing the first time i heard it, but now i am conditioned to think of him whenever i hear it. coincidentally, today would mark two years of us dating, had we stayed together. i only remember that because it was 6-6-06. what a way to remember it today with this post…so creepy :)
In 1996 I’m afraid I was 10 years old so it was probably along the lines of jeans and tshirts… not much has changed then, come to think about it!
But, Smashing Pumpkins….what a band!
I do believe in 1996 I was rocking jeans (bell bottom jeans were just coming back into style, right? Only they were called “flares”) and a baby doll tee. Unfortunately I think I was probably wearing a baby doll tee with Sailor Moon and the team on it. I was just that hardcore cool.
I was living in Bangkok in 1996, and the teen fashion staple at the time was baggy jeans – but in black, with white stitching. These were usually worn with an oversized webbing belt (the end would hang near your knees).
Anyone know if this trend extended into other parts of the world??
considering i was raving my face off in 1996, i was probably wearing some variation on this theme:
-baby tees
-absolutely gigantic tent-like raver pants that could house a village
-white platform sneakers
-massive in-your-face sterling silver jewelry (i had a favorite ring with a bell shaped like a sphere)
and probably a hoodie. :P
i was 21 at the time, so i think i get pass. :P
I was wearing black on black Nikes (because everyone had them), an ADIDAS jacket (again, everyone had them), jeans that were too short for me (because I was growing taller constantly, this was 6th grade) and a weird long sleeved plaid shirt. It was green, white and looked like it was inside out all the time, but it was just the way it was sewn.
I was obsessed with the Phantom of the Opera at the time. Shortly after that I was obsessed with Spice Girls and Leo DiCaprio, then there was my goth phase…
sigh Wow.
hahahahahahahah…. those baby tees …
that and sneakers or flipflops and flare jeans (there was this ONE pair…) and long braids or waves from the braids.
mellon collie is still good though.
1996… good lord. i was really young. young enough to not care about what i was wearing. although i do remember my favourite shirt being a tourist-y one from caracas with a big parrot-like bird on the front.
i probably had perpetual grass stains on the knees of any pants i owned because my neighbour friends and i lived across the road from a park with lots of swings. we used to jump off them and mark who flew the furthest, in some kind of competition. it was like an afternoon ritual.
good times.
Aww Smashing Pumpkins have the BEST music videos!!
In 1996 I was 13, wearing “carpenter” jeans or overalls (you know…with that awesome loop to hold your hammer in? haha), oversized t-shirts – I particularly remember one with reindeer from a Scandanavian festival in Michigan (which I never attended), and one with a yin-yang made out of sunflowers. I always wore a huge green, white and blue plaid flannel shirt, a bandana in my hair, and Converse One-Stars. Oh, and my half-yin-yang Best Friends necklace! I’m definitely PROUD of dressing that way, because I LOVED it and I was SO HAPPY to be a “grunge” kid! (especially since I was very nerdy & uncool).
However, I didn’t own/start listening to Mellon Collie regularly until I was 19 in 2002…and then I was wearing knee-length skirts with band t-shirts & old-skool vans, which I am also proud of!
When my boyfriend was a young teenager, he was the biggest Smashing Pumpkins obsessor ever, and he has all these awesome bootlegs & rarities…before I met him, I swore to myself that my next partner would be obsessed with Smashing Pumpkins. So it’s pretty neat that I made that come true! In 1996 he wore one of his two huge ZERO shirts every day and had orange spiked hair. I didn’t know him then but I have heard stories ;)
I was 12, and it was my neon period (yes, really). My favourite pants at the time were lime green jeans that I wore with a white sleeveless hoodie over some t-shirt. I also treasured a bright orange miniskirt. And I had lots of black plastic bangles on my wrists.
I probably lost all style cred here ^^
Let’s see… I was a jr in high school… my basic oufit was jeans that were far too big for me, a pajama-szied concert t-shirt, topped off with a flannal work shirt (yes, even in the summer). Oh, and my blue doc martins. I was really stylish.
Seeing that I was about 4 years old, I was probably wearing what was my uniform back then: long, colorful t-shirt with a big ruffle at the bottom, colorful cotton bike shorts, and jelly sandals. Also, some of my then-very-curly hair on top of my head in a little ponytail I called a “fountain”
In 1996 I was heavily into NIN. I wore my hair bright red with heavy eyeshadow, Black satin Pants, old band-shirts circa 1989 (jane’s addiction/depeche mode/ nin) with dock martens laced up, black sun glasses and a cardigan (no matter what the weather) — or Dickie’s…which were actually my dad’s work pants at the time!
in fact, lumivalkoinen and i went to high school together so were would hang out in a group of glittery gothlings…wow 1996—over 10 years ago! sigh!
I was 14 at the time, a rebellious teenager. I was a big fan of Oasis (yes my room was full of posters), Pulp, Suede all the Britpop bands even Blur :) I remember hearing the song ‘Oh Yeah’ from Ash the first time that summer, mmh <3. I had a babytee with the Union Jack wich was my proud, i think it was from Miss Selfridge.
I had a lot of vintage clothes (wich my mom hated) mostly flare jeans or cords and fake-adidas jackets. I remember buying this magazine called Topmodel wich inspired me to put on eyeshadow beneath my eyes.. (blue! blue eyeshadow lol) I think some schoolfriend introduced me to the Smashing Pumpkins, i fell in love instantly to the album Mellon Collie & The Infinite Sadness.
I miss them, the old Smashing Pumkins.
In 1996 I was a little grunge kid! I mean I lived in Seattle and everything. I was 6 at the time and I always wore these second hand legging-blouse/t-shit outfits. I must of had like 10 of them. I didn’t start listening to Samshing Pumkins until I was older, and by that time I was just wearing jeans and t-shirts. very average.
Like Theremina, I was a junior in high school when this came out. My two major outfit combinations were: Black combat boots and carpenter jeans with a velour striped shirt and an army jacket, or my spiderman kid’s shirt with skin tight lycra flare bottom leggings and a chain for a belt. I can’t remember if this hit in the summer, but if it did I was wearing cut off jean shorts and chambray men’s button up tops, always with the combat boots!
Let’s see, in 1996 I was finishing up freshman year of college, and had entered my raver/wanna-be-a-homeless-club-kid phase. Neon green baggy pants, tight little T-shirts, shiny baby blue platform sneakers. Hee hee.
HAHA! What a great post! I belive in 1996 my mother was still in charge of dressing me so probably something in the way of a pink dress,((Shudder)) and knowing her it probably matched my older sister’s!
Oh dear, I was only five back then. I remember wearing lots of polka dotted pants under bright jumpers — with stick-on earrings…
Hee, good question.
I second/third the raving chic.
Likely something like:
-black platform laceup Swear shoes
-stiped black and white vintage t shirt that buttoned up the sides(God, I loooved that shirt)
-dyed pink camisole(how do you spell that?)
-navy wide wide wide pants
-tiny hair barette
-chunky beads
-glazed expression…
I was 9 and my favourite clothes were this really ace waistcoat and skirt my mum made for me. She makes the best clothes and this skirt was a proper full circle so I spent most of my life spinning around the place…
I was also totally obsessed with Calvin and Hobbes!
:)
In 1996, I was nine years old. My favorite outfit for like, three years, was a denim dress with little denim straps, under which i would wear a button-up, collared denim shirt, and all-white Keds with no socks. I had blonde hair down to my butt and wore that outfit as many times a week as my Mother would let me for probably a year. Occasionally, the Keds were replaced a pair of bright orange platform sneakers which I thought were my TICKET TO COOLTOWN for sure. Then came the terrible days that I began to grow out of my favorite things…
This is awesome. That was such a wierd time for fashion! :)
In 96 I was a sophomore in high school. All of my clothes came from Goodwill or the army surplus store. I wore loud polyester shirts and pants- old man golf pants, they were great- corduroys, fatigues, Ben Davis overalls and baby doll tees.
I had a large assortment of plastic barettes and lunch boxes. Pretty much everything I owned was covered with glitter at this point in my life. I think my room still has glitter stuck in the carpet from back then! ...I did way too much acid in high school.
I always, always wore my 20 hole, steel- toe Doc Martens (from when they were still made well). I thought those were the epitome of cool. In fact if I still had them I’d still wear them!
I thought I looked cool and unique, but really I just wore the typical alternateen uniform. Oh, well.
I’ve never lost my love of thrift shops so at least there’s that!
Well if you are talking November 1996, specifically the 23rd, I was wearing a long white a-line dress with poofy sleeves and pretty beads all over the front of it.
Other than that it was very likely you’d find me in jeans from the Gap, with a tshirt and maybe a flannel on top. I was in my last year of college, and working part time for the police department on campus, so several days a week I was wearing a white polo with a blue “badge” silk-screened onto it, while I snapped photos for student IDs and took fingerprints for background checks. Good times.
This is AWESOME! So good to hear what you were all wearing. Especially because of the vast age differences & physical distance! The mid-90s were a pretty radical time for fashion…
tricia of bitsandbobbins.com — Hahaha. I love it.
xtina — I remember reading people’s journals online in 1997 & it seemed like the alternative high school girl’s uniform was pretty much a black dress with a babydoll band t-shirt over the top & a pair of boots. That is an image that has always stuck with me.
Amika — I had a pair of union jack Doc Martens! We could have been best friends!
molly — Ticket to Cooltown! I love that :D
Ruth — I think you were just ahead of my curve. I became crazy about lunchboxes & boots & glitter the next year. I blame Marilyn Manson!
Noel — I loved stick-on earrings so much! Ahhhh!
This is fun! Let’s see, 1996, that puts me at…13. I was a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. I hung around with lots of skater kids. I wore lots of 70’s inspired wide-legged pants…not Jncos. I also wore baby doll tees or tank tops and Airwalks.
I had this incredible pair of metallic baby pink Converse one-stars.
I wore my hair up a lot, and wore a ball chain necklace. That pretty much defined my clothing of choice, until I discovered indie rock and emo in 1998.
1996…nine years old…I don’t remember paying attention to clothing at all until I was eleven and got sent to the office at my new school for dressing inappropriately. So I wore whatever my mother or grandmother bought for me, meaning leggings and huge t-shirts. Or legging-shorts and small t-shirts. My favorite was a matching set, little blue shorts with orange swirls and a blue tank top with swirls and pair of turtles. I loved it because on the tag, underneath the care instructions, it said ‘p.s i love you!’ And that was the awesome.
I had some clothes that my mom made me, too. A pink sweatsuit with yellow suns on it that said ‘you are my sunshine.’ I didn’t like wearing sweatsuits because people laughed at me, but I cried when I outgrew that one.
This might be my favorite post ever.
In 1996 I was wearing a rainbow of all stars, often mis matched, black skinny jeans because i was way out of touch with trends (and this was before puberty and the realization of hips, so i could), shirts that I would cut, or if they were super long I would fold under and tuck the bottom into my bra so they looked like little baby doll tops, and lots and lots of half ponytails.
At the same time, i was desperately coveting some tall doc martens (still am in fact, someone sell me a pair!)
Ironically enough, my youngest brother graduated from high school last month and this song was his ‘class song.’ He’s 18 so in 1996 he was 6 years old, surely he has no idea what he was wearing, or that the song even existed yet somehow it stood the test of time.
I could shoot myself for forgetting my oversized LA Gear tshirt. It had LA Gear printed gigantic all over the front in different colors…I wore it several times a week.
1996?! I was in 3rd grade!
Totally rocking a perm (HORRIBLE. Sadly, there IS photographic evidence of this horrible hair. AT DISNEYWORLD. Esh) cutoff shorts my mother hemmed up for me, and t-shirts with big pink and neon green flowers on them and jelly sandals. Or sneakers that had lights in the heel and sparkled when you walked!
I was such a hardcore 3rd grader.
Jamie — I always wanted sneakers that would light up… Sigh!
Pink spandex shorts and a Lion King t-shirt. (I was 10 and VERY unhip haha.)
If I wasn’t wearing my school uniform, I was also kind of grunge…wearing Abercrombie and Fitch boys jeans, skater sneakers (I forget the brand, but they were ugly), my favorite light green baby doll with a flannel over it. God, I must have looked like such a freak.
I was in middle school and I remember Space Jam coming out and I became obsessed with Looney Toons, buying up clothing and jewelry with Sylvester and Bugs Bunny.
Also, for some reason frogs were really popular. I remember I had a giant pink prism ring with a frog in the middle. My friend and I shared Best Friend necklaces with little cartoony frogs.
The Limited Too opened that year at my local mall and it was my favorite store. I remember being obsessed with the 60s and hippie style. I had flowy, floral blouses and tshirts with rainbows and “Peace, Love, Happiness.” I also had big bell bottoms and track pants were a must!
oh my gosh, i was all over the pink spandex shorts and lion king t shirts! how funny… well, i was only in 3rd grade… i also had dorky bangs that i cut myself that were WAY too short.
I would have been 25 in 1996, and I must say it’s hard to pinpoint a distinctive look I would have been rocking.
Not really grunge since grunge kinda died when Kurt Cobain did. That was more of a practical look more than anything. I grew up in Vancouver in Canada, very close to Seattle and our music/fashion trends bled over a lot and honestly still do today. Layering with t-shirts and the flannels would keep you warm, and the boots would keep you dry in all our rain. For sure it was more about function than fashion!
I’d say I’d be wearing one of many many concert t-shirts(that I still have), jeans, converse or doc marten boots(I also still have the union jack shoes!).
A diaper.
1996..I was 11, and apart from my school uniform I was a bit of a tomboy, in fact a bit of a young feminist (hah!) and refused to embrace my femininity or wear skirts. I remember a pair of blue polycotton/lycra stripy flared trousers that I was so excited to wear to school on one of those long awaited non-unifom days, and a navy Ellesse zip-up fleece which I wore to death. I also remember a photo of me that year in some unflatteringly boyish jeans and a flannel shirt. I don’t recall being particularly aware of the grunge scene that young, but I guess something must have trickled down!
1996 Running a pub in an immaculate village in the English countryside, where I realised city life was for me.
Lovely skateboarder boyfriend celebrated my 25th birthday with me in the pub and then he cycled off to Amsterdam, with a delicious friend who has since passed on.
As to what I was wearing. By day and night the clothes of a provincial pub runner, on the off time, the clothes of woman who dates a skateboarder and trawls charity shops and high street shops.
I remember getting a bag of Ian Banks books for 10p each and being astounded.
I remember 3 amazing guys, one a hairdresser, one an army major and one an alcoholic plumber coming in every night and cracking every daily crossword together. Endelessly fascinating.
This video makes me have rude feelings about the Billy Smashing Pumpkin.
One night in Yokohama, a crazy man told my brother he looked like him.
Gala!!
I love you even more for this post.
In college I wrote a 7 page paper about this song. Sheer brilliance if you ask me.
I am a crazy Pumpkins fan. This song is the soundtrack for every summer that I can remember.
(For me it was all about the jelly shoes!)
Love, Rae
Like a few other people on here, I was also only 10 years old!
So… I think I was in a leggings and dresses phase at that point. Which is funny because that’s the phase I’m in right now as well!
when this came out, i was in childrens clothes! when i saw it live was a different story though. :p
man, sp.
Oh my gosh, I was five at the time. So this puts me in my “stuck in the 80s” phase. I wore bright pink spandex leggings under denim frilly dresses and sneakers. I also wore overalls that were red and made out of that loveable material we all know as corderoy. I rocked pig tails and a side pony, and wore rain boot A LOT.
Wow! I was 9 then, but I remember it very well because 1. We were preparing to move from the ghetto to suburbia! And I remember buying anything was ridiculously hard for me…
Why you ask? Because I was the only 9 year old that was 5’3 wearing a size 8 in juniors clothes and I was wearing a B-cup geeze … No I am not joking. I hit puberty way early…
I think I wore big flannels all the time. Sometimes a dress but I felt so uncomfortable at 9 with a body like that. I also went to a private school so it was uniforms during the school year.
There are pictures out there I’m sure of me at that age, but I think they’re almost obscene because the school jumpers were always too short and too tight. I looked like a baby prostitute sigh
In 1992, I was four and my favorite outfit was purple leggings and a velvet shirt with flowers on it. Lovely, right?
Well way back when in 1996, i was of the ripe old age of 6, and had yet to appreciate A.A. Milnes thoughts on this age, though i was very happy to be it (although if the song was released before September i was still only 5 and however many quarters :).
Well at school during this period i wore either my school dress (one of those white with blue check, with a zipper down the front ones)or my blue school skirt (bright blue, netball style) with either my bright yellow school polo, or the schools 90 yr commemorative Tshirt (it was made while i was in pre-primary, the year before, and had everyone in the schools signature on it, including mine!!)
Out of school i was incredibly daggy! I was unfortunate enough to be the daughter of a single dad with absolutely zero fashion taste, he’s 39 now and only just getting some! So i wore lots of oversized dresses with flowers and what not on them (my parents where of the belief that you buy your child clothes the size of their age, but they failed to counter in the fact i was a rather short and skinny 6 yr old, and would have better fitted a size 3-5). and i wore lots of overalls. i also have very strong memories of these awful check shorts my dad bought, which even then i thought were hideous. But i did have a very gorgeous pair of sunglasses (tortoiseshell with gold diamonte things) one of my dads girlfriends got me. i had sneakers with velcro straps, and some sandals which i had to be convinced not to wear with socks in winter cause i didn’t want to have to start wearing sneakers. (though sadly they were not jelly ones, the only pair of them i ever got we lost the day after we bought them at the beach).
And of course it can’t be forgotten that this was still when i had blonde hair in a bob, with a fringe (and i wasn’t aloud to get rid of this haircut till i was ten, though sadly the blonde hair faded to brown sigh)
In 1996 I was two so…I don’t remember. Probably little pink dresses and frilly little socks. I never should have let my mother dress me.
1996. I was 15 and in love with this kid named Fred and we used to ride around on his bike together, and get cappuccinos from the gas station :) And I wore what he liked girls to wear, in fact, he helped me pick out the outfits I remember best:
32 inch leg jncos, blue converse with pink laces, and a super tight white Billabong t-shirt. When it was cold, I would throw on a long sleeved work uniform shirt of my dad’s that had his name ‘bob’, stitched on it. I thought it made me look like Jordan Catalono, which I guess I thought was cool for a girl. Also, tons of band t-shirts (TYpe-O Negative, The Cure, Flaming Lips, and obviously, the Pumpkins).
The Smashing Pumpkins, when this album came out, were my first ever concert. My best friend and I went with dates and we ended up ditching them because they wanted to leave the concert early! As if! :)
After fred slept with my friend though, I started dressing pretty goth and am still recovering ;)
I listened to Smashing pumpkins when I was in middle school, wearing flared old navy jeans and open button down shirts over camis. Probably sketchers too. What a wondrous idea!
I was 6! Limited Too was the place to be! Lots of pink and green plaid, and dresses with flower prints on them. Headbands were a must.
I believe my soundtrack when I was 6 was the Lion King cassette. It would be about 2 years before I was introduced to the Spice Girls, my first favorite band!
I love hearing about what everyone was wearing then! I was 7. about half the time my mom dressed me – short leggings (like bike shorts without the padding) and huge t-shirts. I see kids in that today and wonder how it’s still happening, and how I can forgive my mom for doing that to me. When I dressed myself though I was in the phase where I would only wear skirts and dresses. I had this floral mini that i loved so probably that.
I didn’t know the song back then, and I only fell in love with it last year, probably wearing old jeans and a t.
I don’t know considering I was 3 years old…but I do remember the time I first heard it. I was driving back from the grocery store with my sister, probably when I was 11 or 12. I was probably wearing my purple Life Is Good t-shirt that I wore to pieces that summer, and my cut-offs.It was a hot night and I remember how good the breeze felt through the window and the orange glow of the streetlamps. I remember I was trying to catch what the lyrics were saying so I could look it up later on, but that was hopeless since the wind was rushing through the car and you couldn’t really understand it anyway..
I have been playing Grand Theft Auto 4 for the last two weeks (I’m SO productive!) and I was BEYOND THRILLED when I discovered that this song was on one of the in-game radio stations. I have been listening to it ever since!
i was 9 years old in 1996. i was probably wearing my ‘i love bugs’ shirt, blue jeans & running shoes.
In 1996, I was five years old. For Halloween I had one of those pumpkin costumes that you were supposed to stuff with paper to make it puff up, but for some reason my mom didn’t do that. I remember going to school on costume day with that giant orange sack with the big yellow jack-o-lantern face, green tights, and a green tendril headband. They played some song and told me it was by the Smashing Pumpkins… I ran and hid by the cubbies.
Other than that I was stuck dressing myself in hand-me-down ballet costumes and probably a windbreaker. I think I learned that year that underwear had to be put on a certain way, otherwise it would be too big in the front; I’m pretty sure that revelation changed my life completely. Haha. Oh and let’s not forget the bowl-cut hair I had… along with my brother and sister. shiver
I was 8 years old…wearing a long-sleeved green plaid button-up I was in love with (and accidentally burned a hole through that summer). I wore my brother’s old green high-top converse even though they were too big. Jean shorts. A grin full of holes, thrice-scraped knee, sun-soaked skin and glasses that verged on aviator-style.
Gala! This is such an amazing post! That really is the absolute best question; my (long-distance) friend Becky and I are all about things like this, we’re always talking about our sartorial reference points, telling little stories about our lives through what styles we’re into, what characters and looks we’re obsessed with at any one time so I sent her a link to this, she said:
“i loved that song. i was nine and i was wearing my dad’s old plaid shirts and my brothers old ripped jeans. i wanted to dye my hair green but my mom wouldn’t let me. i ended up trying to do it myself that summer with lime kool-aid but i just ended up with a cloud of flies around my head. what about you?”
me:
“i totes missed out on the whole grunge thing when it actually happened, i never heard it til i was in my mid-teens and it used to be on the kerrang tv channel every hour, i first heard about them from a girl in my ceramics class, she and her boyfriend were obsessed with them and had just been to their farewell tour. one day in history i told my friend sarah i wanted ‘tonight, tonight’ played at my wedding (i know, right) and she said she wanted ‘this i promise you’ by n’sync. it was lol. anyways, around that time i would have been eleven and in my last year at primary school; the only clothes i remember from around that time were this fluffy pink babydoll jumper thing that i used to wear with a knee-length marshmallow pink denim skirt (I KNOW, RIGHT) which, actually, is so courtney love-ish but i didn’t even know who she was til i was 15. also my mum gave me three of her skirts, they were cotton and ankle-length and they buttoned right down the front and one was black, one was black with white flowers and one was white with black flowers. i l-o-v-e-d them and i used to wear the black flowered one with this bright turquoise denim jacket; i wore it to a school fayre one day and i felt so awesome til i got there and suddenly freaked out in my head that everyone would think i looked ridiculous and nearly gave myself a heart attack over it. i used to wear a scrunchie around my right wrist every day to match my outfit, my bff’s mum made a little jibe to me about it one day and i said something about how it wasn’t functional or anything, just for decoration cos i wanted to, IZ FASHUN, DAHLING, etc. in other words, i was pretty awesome.”
:D
I was seven years old then, so I was probably wearing hot pink denim shorts and an oversized grey sweatshirt!
Cranberry Barkers trackpants!!! Oh honey, I know exactly what you are talking about! The idea of YOU in them is blowing my tiny mind . . .
In 1996 I was teaching high school and for work I had about 8 different big-collared white shirts, a wide selection of longline fitted waistcoats, and heaps of wide-leg drapey palazzo pants. Lovely. (I mean that sincerely!) And hair in a bun, or French roll with a claw-clip, day in, day out. (Eventually my S.O. changed my evil hair-bunning ways by the simple method of saying something like “I always like it when you wear your hair down.” Haha!) I know there were excessively huge tightly belted jeans, body suits, flannel shirts, and oxblood boots for off-duty.
I actually love what I wore in the 90s! Bring it back!
I was 9 years old and probably wearing floral leggings with a long tunic and sparkly unicorn jewelry that I bought at the roller rink. I had these “shark” brand shoes that I had to buy because all the cool girls had them.
In 1996 I was 6 and wanted everything to be purple. Purple top, skirt, tights, shoes, bag and even a purple hat. I loved it! Then me and my best friend discovered Grease and started wearing pedal pushers and colourful jackets. God I miss being 6!! ; )
I was 8, i loved the carpenter jeans and baby tees. Usually they had mickey mouse on them, but my absolute favorite shirt at the time was one that had a kitty on it, and it said ‘Cool Cat’. Haha and can’t forget the platform tennies:). Lots of Icingish jewelry too. Hair was french braided pigtails.
So glad my style has changed, but it was fun at the time.
Hahahahahaha, picturing you in Barkers (cranberry ones, no less!) just made my morning! ;P
The really sad/scary thing is… I was probably wearing my CHARCOAL PAIR OF BARKERS WITH A BLACK BABY DOLL T-SHIRT WITH A BIG SILVER STAR IN THE MIDDLE! No joke! Was yours a Glassons t-shirt? I’m pretty sure mine was.
I think I got the Internet for the first time in 1996 too. I wish that resulted in my style evolving but all that happened was I turned into a little emo kid (before emo was EMO — god, I’m sooooo old skool ;D). For shame. Hehehe!
I was 8 at the time so probably lots of ribbons in my hair.
I was only 6, but I remember that I had a pair of grey cord trousers with little white Westies with red bows on them.
I did love those things :)
1996…I was in fifth grade. I got to appear on a local TV show and I remember specifically deciding to wear my new denim overalls, which were the latest trend in my area. I thought I was so cool and fashionable!
The Smashing Pumpkins are my most favourite band of all-time and 1996 was the year that I started listening to them. In 1996, I recall wearing mostly jeans and Smashing Pumpkins t-shirts, of course! Oh, and either silver or blue lipstick. During that time I also wore bindis a lot and coloured strips of my hair with markers because I wasn’t allowed to dye my hair at the time. ha
I don’t remember where I was when this song came out but I do remember when you were totally uncool if you didn’t have barkers. Sadly I was one of the charcoal wearers. hah!
I was 6. So I’m thinking I was wearing… purple sweatpants with foot straps on the bottom (which may have been cut off), and some sort of holiday sweatshirt, being that the song was released in January.
I wish I remember when I started watching Much Music. I watched that all the time and remember hearing this song a lot. It’s one of the songs that has stuck with me since childhood. It’s always wonderful to hear it.
What a wonderful post, Gala.
At four years old I wore one of my extreme collection of dresses (32 total!) and probably leggings, white leather sandals and ribbon headbands. I also had an adorable red coat that my mom took tons of pictures of, and we always went out searching for more consigned childrens dresses for me. :]
When I actually got into Smashing Pumpkins I was eleven and wearing cheap black dresses, flannel workshirts, striped tights and rainbow woolen beanies with earflaps. So SeattleYouth™.
So tragic i did the barkers trackpants too…....charcoal! I was hideously overweight aswell soooooooooo flattering x
OMG Barkers Trackpants!!! I’m guessing they were a totally NZ thing. I also had the zip up Barkers hoodie with the silohette(?) of the 4 Barkers men on it. I also remember lots of baby doll tees, particularly a baby blue Esprit one; dungarees/overalls; and a short sleeves satin shirt. Damn I was stylish, lol.
It makes me wonder when the fashion world will bring in the revival of these fashion pieces…..as we all know it eventually will.
I LOVE THIS QUESTION!!!
I was 6 and LIVED in leggings and doc martens with big baggy t shirts.
Anything with a horse on it was definately cool.
OH and i had a Barbie lipgloss that my grandpa bought for me which smelt like cherries.
A red poppy, vintage, 1950s wiggle dress with a boat neck. Gorgeous dress! Alas it got mixed up in the wash and shrank to a children’s size. I still dream about that dress. I was also wearing these black, flare, Mary Tyler Moore looking pants.
lee — AAHAHAHA, I almost choked when I read about your friend with a cloud of flies around her head! AMAZING!
Nadine — I love palazzo pants! Oh, the 90’s. They were awesome, though! Harem pants are the next big thing on my fashion radar. I can’t wait to wear them!
Felicity — OH MY GOD. Yes! My t-shirt was from Glassons!!!! We were outfit twins!!!!! I would put money on the fact that my t-shirt came from the Glassons in Queensgate, down that end where the bus stops were… Oh, wow!
Tamara — I PRAY Barkers trackpants will never come back in! So terrible! Though they still sell them according to their website for anyone who wants to relive the anguish!!
I was completely OBSESSED with the Smashing Pumpkins at that time.
I was a 15-16yr old grunge-ish girl.
I wore big dark blue jeans, black converse one stars, old slim-fit t-shirts that I stole from my dad – he used to wear them in the ’70s, grandma cardigans, an old brown suede blazer and coloured streaks in my hair.
1996…i was 10
airwalks, ftw
no doubt, spice girls band shirts, baby tees
jeans, jeans, jeans…
I got my first pair of flairs that year for $5 at the G+G…ROCK.
my brother went to his prom that year and for the pre-party i wore bright purple tights with a white tee tied up at the side. my mother begged me to change, but i thought i was stylin
I love 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins! I was born in 1979 so it’s an extra-cool song….so that makes me 16 in 1996. I loved the front cover of Mellon Collie. and the Infinite Sadness and the pink & blue CDs inside. This was around the same time as my Courtney Love obsession where I used to wear baby-doll dresses, patent black leather Mary-Janes,white stockings, red lipstick and draw pictures of dolls in art class. I LOVED the girl bands like Bikini Kill, L7, Veruca Salt, Babes in Toyland, HOLE, Free Kitten and the list goes on!
1996 was a great year! Great question Gala!
xx
At 7 years old I often got mistaken for a boy because all I wanted to wear was blue.
I vividly remember a time when I was 7 that we were at the airport, going to New Zealand to visit family…and I wore blue sneakers, a red and blue t shirt, denim shorts and a blue cap with all my hair shoved up.
People thought I was my 6 year old brother’s twin.
Gala – I could almost guarantee you that’s EXACTLY the store I got mine from too! Haha :D
I was 4 at the time (5 for the last week of the year, so basically 4). I wore my younger brother’s old white shirt as a dress(he was big, I was small) and orange and white polka dot leggings.
I remember when I was 4 I only hung out with boys and when I received barbies as gifts from relatives, I would mutilate them and recreate scenes of people getting devoured by dinosaurs from Jurassic Park, which drove my mom insane.In 1996… I was 14, and wearing my school uniform most of the time. I have vague recollections (from sketches I drew of my friends and I) of wearing long skirts, baby tees and chokers (the short dresses must have taken over my closet at 15-16), and at least one piece of photographic evidence of me in my dad’s very oversized flannalette shirt and my own jeans.
Oh my god, I loveeeee this song! Aw, I feel so nostalgic. I was only 2 when this song came out, but I remember my aunt being very much into the grunge scene (from the music, look, attitude, etc.) and always listening to Mellon Collie with her as I was growing up.
I was probably wearing some delightfully tacky, floral 90’s dress and my then-signature Converse.
:D
Great question! In 1996 I was only five… So I didn’t have much fashion sense! However, my Dad back in the 70’s was a fully-blown hippie, complete with his own self tie-dyed shirts. So, because I was (And am!) a Daddy’s girl, I took to wearing just his hippie shirts for the longest time. They looked like dresses on me. And I was so happy wearing them because I wanted to be just like my Dad…! Of course, I don’t think I’d be caught dead in a tie-dyed shirt now, but those were some good times. I was five, I could look cute in anything, right?! ;D
In 1996 I was 9 and I’m pretty sure everything I owned had some form of mud or something on them. But my sneakers lit up, it was pretty much the highlight of the year.
But the first time I heard this song was in high school, I was wearing a tanktop with shorts (it was summer and I was painting so I was barefoot to boot) and that’s the moment I instantly fell in love with the Smashing Pumpkins
oh jesus. doc martens and berets. possibly overalls. i was young!!!
oh yeah, and brightly coloured leggings under the overalls. i blame claudia kishi.
I was wearing flared jeans and corduroys with baby tees, my favourite tee being a dark blue crushed velour shirt. Oh sixteen!
I was rocking bright orange hair in plaits, and probably demin shorts & sneakers. shudder
But 1979 will always remind me of my gorgeous friend Aaron playing it to me on guitar when I was upset. He is beautiful and I secretly adore him.
Aaaaah! This excites me so much. The Smashing Pumpkins are my favourite band, and well, they’re unappreciated in Australia… I wasn’t expecting to see them here. It was a nice start to my morning to see this. =)
When MCIS came out, I was about to turn five, so I’m not sure what I was wearing, so I’ll say what I was wearing when I saw it live this year — an oversized white shirt with a The Smashing Pumpkins Zero shirt on top, wide black studded belt, and combat boots.
Well I was 16 at the time and have to say a huge Smashing Pumpkins fan. I was in my really grunge stage. I was probably wearing guys jeans a tank top and a flannel shirt of some sort. I had a ton of those! And not to forget my black Converses. I can still remember listening to that song over and over again! Its amazing how a song can just take you back to the very moment you heard it. I think I’m going to have to pull out the album, I’m feeling nostalgic….
oh, man! ha ha. i was in year 3, and had stolen my grungey older brothers clothes that didn’t fit him anymore. huuuuuge flannel shirts and tshirts with my own jeans.
brilliant.
1996.
I was in my last year of primary school (God that seems so long ago now… _) I was 11. Lets see I would have been in the trend of trackpants (they where a part of my school uniform the following) it was the start of the stage where I wouldn’t (won’t) wear skirts. Cargos. though I never owned them I always wanted a pair of tearaway pants. (those button up pants?)
haha i like this post!
96’ was the start of my goth phase. long velvet, tattered skirts with homemade pentagram pendants whilst reading books on witchcraft.
i was 11 (in grade 6) and was wearing something that would be totally in fashion right now… a green plaid playsuit with a white tshirt underneath. my favourite outfit ever. i wore it to death that summer.
also… i have that album (mellon collie disc2) in my car stereo right now! coincidence much? such a brilliant album. 90’s rock forever!!
x
ah. The Smashing Pumpkins. My favorite band since forever. lol. Well…at the moment I was going through VERY hard teenage ears. I had this one hoodie. It had bear ears on it. I was like a security blanket I could wear. So I would wear my red hoodie by yumpop and carry my cds around with me @ school…..everyday! lol then…to make me feel all cozy, a pair of hightop black chuck taylors on my feet.
hmm, so in 1996 i was going into 6th grade. I wore leggings and over sized tshirts and in the summer i wore shorts that were about the same length as the t-shirts. i remember one time at recess a girl i knew told me that my style reminded her of Clarissa from Clarissa explains it all. That was the ultimate compliment! I had these sandal/sneaker things that were wedges and bright teal and they were made out of canvas, but they were open toe. I also wore a lot of head bands.
not style related, but my friend and i used to tell people we were from different planets (i was from saturn) and i think we really annoyed half our friends with our random, outter-space talk. i call that year my “identity grade crisis” oh to be 12 again…
In 1996, I was eight. So, I was wearing whatever my mother made me wear. Tshirts with bike shorts, dresses[or at least she tried], etc.
Though if I had it my way, I wore hand me downs from my brother. Sweatshirts, tshirts, jeans. I was a tomboy, still am I guess.
Back then I was obsessed with Nirvana. My oldest brother[15 at the time], got me into NIN, Alice in Chains, Marilyn Manson, etc…
Sometimes, when Joe had nothing better to do[being grounded, mostly], we would hang out in his bedroom and listen to music.
Sometimes I wish I could go back to that time.
well, i only discovered the smashing pumpkins in 2001-2, and never totally appreciated them until this last, believe it or not!
however, as for what i was wearing in 1996 … i was 12 and being dressed by parents who coincidentally stopped paying attention to popular culture circa 1979 and were eccentric at the best of times. we all wore hand-me-downs and random things my mum found at second-hand shops that she thought were beautiful. let’s say i was a vintage shopper years ahead of my time :P
i wore black leggings or unwashed straight-leg blue jeans, various LOUD button-up shirts, oversized sweatshirts on top with metallic pictures of kittens printed onto them, and black patent leather shoes with huge coloured socks or white leather sandals with no socks. my hair was as long as my knees (!!) and always pulled back into a plait or pony tail with some lovely scrunchy or other. and everything was covered with cat hair <3
fast forward a year later, i moved schools and discovered the spice girls/5ive, body glitter, supre (australians know what i’m talking about), and mum’s infinite supply of 60’s white flares (she bought new ones whenever the old ones got dirty and she didn’t feel like washing them, haha) ...
in 1996 i was 11 years old. my parents weren’t big on clothes, so my wardrobe consisted of hand-me-downs from my older cousins. bicycle shorts, printed leggings, baggy t shirts, denim overalls and my hair kept off my face in a boring but serviceable pony. bleargh.
hahaha oh man. i think i was in barkers (the grey ones), docs, and ripcurl t-shirts. oh dear :| also i think i may have had a pair of forest green jeans.
modrobes! my cousins second hand shirts. god i love this song, i listen to it often =)
What did I wear in 1996? I had a pair of silvery-shiny converse shoes that I wore because another girl had them in black and I thought they were the coolest. I think everything I wore was from The Gap or American Eagle. Oh my. I don’t wear things from either of those stores anymore. Being a teen is hard, and sticking to an unspoken uniform seemed easiest for me. I wish I had let myself wear more variety back then!
I was a huge Pumpkins fan back then, as well. I have the boxset of ‘The Aeroplane Flies High’. I love 1979 and I probably first heard it in my walkman earphones, laying in bed at night before bed.
Oh the Barkers track pants – I’m afraid I stuck to the slate and I had this huge sense of disappointment as once I’d bought them I realised that despite being the epitome of cool they do absolutely nothing for a girl with short legs and a big butt!! Was rocking the too-long blonde hair, eek, and definitely tight little tee-shirts.
And the “HAIR MASCARA”!!! I had it in dark blue with glitter, to match my dark blue with glitter lipstick for all the discos oh boy.
Dark blue lipstick with light blue eye shadow. How could anyone resist?
oh dear, i was into brown at the time. paired with cream and sometimes even with orange -eeek!
I’m pretty sure I was wearing Ann Taylor suits to the office. And my first pair of Prada shoes, which I still have.
Oh, god. I was 9 in 1996 & used to shop solely in one shop! (Tammy Girl for those UK-ers) A typical outfit would have consisted of a hideous concoction of the following: hotpink denim hotpants, a pink velour round-neck tee, a silver v-neck tee, a black tee with “Babe Magnet” (how ironic) written on it, a red tee with “Play by the girls rules, girls know best” emblazoned on it and some good old ill-fitting jeans. And of course magnetic earrings. Oh, and hair mascara. And a few years later, me & my friends all bought identical platforms, a la Spice Girls.
Good times!
baby tees and barkers. aw, takes me back to the 90s. those were the days – where baggy trackies brought you the ‘cool’ vibe.
In 1996 I was in year 3 and probably running around in jumpers, floral leggings and maybe even one of those delightful hats with the flap at the back. Oh dear.
Was 1996 the year of the fluorescent bike short or was that wonderful clothing item yet to come?
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y276/x__usexme/5-4.png
haha. i was wearing this!! it was one of those short dresses with the long bit around the outside, what were they all about!? haha.
and lots of leggings and jumpers!
note the fake tattoo on my arm!
well, i was 8 at the time so i don’t blame me but most probably i was wearing a huge hot pink jumper and these awesome leggings which were stripy and looked like licorice allsorts. and i was trying ot grow long hair but given i had baby hair til i was 3 i was still wayy behind the 8 ball.
I was 7 and I was wearing my backstreet boys and spice girls-shirts, frilly skirts, flare pants and my authentic spige-girls platform shoes, the shoes had a 15 cm platform bottom that had “spice girls” written on them! :)
I also had pink streaks in my hair and occasional press-on nails.
I was a weird kid…
Like Terhi I was a fan of the fake nails which looked bloody awful, they were way to big for my nails.
I was also wearing a sky blue long skirt, it was tie-dyed white and blue so looked like clouds…. yuck. But I loved it.
The top I wore to death was black with a red chinese symbol on the front. I thought I was so hawt in that.
Also, silver and white HUGE platform spice girls trainers, or light up LA Gear trainers.
Also my best friend and I would never leave the house without our Shawn the Sheep purses-first experience of a handbag me thinks.
Those were the days huh?
x
hi :)
in case u a