a dedication to the girls that aren't quite 90s girls

  Recently in a conversation with a few of my friends we came to reminiscing about our favourite toys when we were growing up. It all stemmed from a comment that an 11 year old had asked for Top Shop vouchers for Christmas and an 8 year old had asked for an iPad. Crazzzy! What can an 8 year old practically do with an iPads capabilities apart from play games.. and do Topshop even supply clothes for 11 year olds?
     We came to remember our favourite dolls, such as Bratz and Betty Spaghetti. Even the days of pushing our baby-borns around in pram. I myself may have been a little guilty of being overly attached to my doll Naomi. Feeling a little nostalgic, I began to think about all the small things that have changed since I entered my teen years (the time we thought we were super cool obviously). Since I don't think being up to 5 years old in the 90's, spending my life in nappies and crèches really gives me the right to say that I'm a real "90's kid".. So I had a bit of fun compiling a list of things that every girl born in 1995-1997 especially will awkwardly remember about truly growing up in the noughties.
I know this post is now sort of highly generic, but these all apply to myself strongly and it was a great way to pass the time!

Enjoy :-)

1.) You remember the Pop Party and Pop Princesses CDs, but the first editions! Away with your twelth edition! Sweet Dreams my LA Ex and Sk8r Boi on Pop Princess were my jam. Also, the free DVD with music videos on it was the best excuse for inviting friends, lets copy the dance? Better than Youtube.

2.) The Gameboy colour was the greatest handheld console in creation and the models came in loads of different cool colours! Many childhoods hours were spent playing Pokemon, Tetris or Crazy Castle when I should probably have been reading or doing something more academically stimulating. Dare I say Gameboys were indestructible? I'm almost sure mine is still at home somewhere.

3.) When people ditched their bikes and used those Razor Scooters to get around everywhere. I have no idea why, they were small and always collapsed in on each other. Thus adding a new shiner to your shin and making you look like an idiot in front of all your friends you were showing off your one wheel spin to.

4.) Most girls had a Rara skirt from Tammy Girl...
 
5.) All the cool kids had Heelies, those trainers that were also hidden roller skates. Well until school found out and held a school assembly saying they were banned, spielling off the generic student about how a student at another school fell and cracked their head.

6.) Your friend didn't really have a holiday abroad somewhere unless she came back with her hair like this, come on, you ALL know someone that put up with having their yanked in order to get this fetching look.

7.) Your first walkman cassette player, a trusty companion for long journeys and probably your mum's method of keeping you quiet. I don't know about anyone else but I used to buy blank tapes and record the top 40 off the radio, the excitement for new music every week was unreal. I know, I was young and a cheapskate.

8.) Remember that phase when everyone owned and wore ponchos? I think that one deserves to stay where it is. In the past. Hopefully a trend that will never be revived. What were we thinking??

Now, moving on to those things that affected those who entered their awkward teenage years in the noughties, especially in the first couple of years of high school...

9.)  MSN, every day after school nearly without fail. When the most important task was getting your crushes "addy" and subtly messaging hey, whilst showing off your cool as hell emoticons. Also, dont get me started on the cringy display names and the need to find that song lyric that REALLY described your tough life situations.

10.) Your top 16 on Bebo was extremely important. It could even be the source of fallouts. Enough said.

11.) Every girl either had the pink or the blue Britney Spears perfume, because the bottle was so fancy.

12.) Limewire and Bearshare were lifesavers, as you always wanted to be the first with a new song on your phone. "Pleaseeeee can you Bluetooth me Justin Timberlakes new song??"

13.) Getting blonde highlights in your hair made you instantly prettier. People were also secretly jealous that your mum either forked out £50 for you to get it done or you obviously had decent pocket money.

14.) You played the Sims 1, for hours on end, making your enemies and killing them in every way possible. Then making a male Sim and forcing them to fall in love with you.

15.) Everyone had a pay as you go phone and the phrase "sorry ive ran out of credit" doesn't have people hysterically laughing at you like it would today. Although not to worry, i'll just borrow a pound from o2...

16.) Remember that phase when everyone started to get trampolines? Yeah.. what was that about by the way? Was there some sort of major Argos clear-out?

17.) Every girl had secretly checked out Judy Blume's "Forever" out the library because it taught all our innocent minds everything we needed to know about sex. Also that Erica was a psycho.

18.) Jane Norman or River Island bags were the only acceptable plastic bags to keep your PE kit in. It meant you had style.

19.) Week nights were spent "street ratting"i.e walking about the streets/park in either a Helly Hansen or Mackenzie jacket and fake Uggs.
 

Sorry this post ended up being so long.. this is even the edited version! I just had far too much fun laughing at the stuff we used to do.
xxxx