Wait, I Definitely Wore These 2018 Trends as a Kid

It can't just be me—I'm seeing the 1990s fashion trends that I actually wore in the decade popping up everywhere I look, including in my own closet. I love the '90s mostly because I was born halfway through the decade, so I get to look back nostalgically on my earliest days. The '90s have never been more relevant than they are now, but it hasn't been until recently that 2018's fashion trends have hit so close to home. Clear bags, rainbow jewelry, color clashing—fashion's giving me free reign to dress like a kid again, and I'm not mad about it. Not mad at all.

Apparently, every other '90s baby is feeling the same nostalgia as I am, so I enlisted the help of my sister and another Who What Wear editor to make sure I wasn't the only one feeling like 6-year-old me predicted the best trends of 2018. It turns out that we were all way ahead of our time (or maybe we're all just really nostalgic these days). Anyway, all I'm saying is that there is a reason it feels like we've seen this summer's most stylish items before.

Go on to see how we wore the trends then and now. Warning: Cute-slash-embarrassing baby photos lie ahead.

Trend #1: Clear Bags

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(Image credit: @kristenmarienichols)

How cute is Who What Wear's associate editor, Kristen Nichols, as a kid toting around a clear bag? Any other Little Mermaid fans in the house?

Trend #2: Bucket Hats

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(Image credit: @jenlaplaca)

Here's my older sister, Jennifer, sporting a bucket hat that she styled with a multicolored choker necklace. So weird—it's like she knew both of those would be huge in 2018.

Trend #3: Rainbow Jewelry

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(Image credit: @annaflorencelaplaca)

Here I am sporting two multicolored beaded anklets. Even though I wear an anklet every summer, it's only recently that I've begun to crave whimsical rainbow jewelry again.

Trend #4: Color Clashing

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(Image credit: @annaflorencelaplaca)

Here I am in the present day wearing not one but two trends that I was definitely a fan of at the age of 6. I tested out wearing seemingly unexpected colors together, and it reminded me of the first few years I was allowed to pick out my own clothing and I went overboard with all my favorite colors.

Trend #5: Smocking

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(Image credit: @sorayabakhtiar)

I love this trend because it can be so subtle and yet it is such a playful top for the summer months.

Trend #6: Barrettes

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(Image credit: @maria_bernad)

All those colored and bejeweled hair clips you used to wear? Well, they're back and better than ever.

Now you're sure which 1990s trends to resurrect.

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Senior Editor

Anna is an editor on the fashion team at Who What Wear and has been at the company for over five years, having begun her career in the Los Angeles office before relocating to New York, where she's currently based. Having always been passionate about pursuing a career in fashion, she built up her experience interning at the likes of Michael Kors, A.L.C., and College Fashionista before joining the team as a post-graduate assistant editor. Anna has penned a number of interviews with Who What Wear's cover stars over the years, including A-listers Megan Fox, Issa Rae, and Emma Chamberlain. She's earned a reputation for scouting new and emerging brands from across the globe and championing them to our audience of millions. While fashion is her main wheelhouse, Anna led the launch of WWW Travels last year, a new lifestyle vertical that highlights all things travel through a fashion-person lens. She is passionate about shopping vintage, whether it be at a favorite local outpost or an on-the-road discovery, and has amassed a wardrobe full of unique finds. When she's not writing, you can find her shooting street imagery on her film camera, attempting to learn a fourth or fifth language, or planning her next trip across the globe.