From Wet Seal to dELiA*s, 10 Totally '90s Fashion and Accessory Brands You May Have Forgotten About

If you’re a millennial, you probably vividly remember what it felt like to spend a Saturday at the mall: the smell of pizza in the restaurant, the fun of flipping through CDs, and the rush of anticipation before stepping into your favorite store.

Malls have changed dramatically in recent years and, with their evolution, many of the brands that shoppers once knew and loved have disappeared.

Below, we’ve rounded up some of the clothing and accessories labels you probably remember from your days at the mall (or, as is the case with some of these brands, from the catalogs you once received at home).

Claire’s Accessories

Claire’s Accessories.

Tim Boyle/Getty

This jewelry brand aimed at children and teenagers has reinvented itself in recent years, after filing for bankruptcy in 2018. In the 1990s, the brand’s namesake stores were the place to go for ear piercings or colorful jewelry — think mood rings, sunflower charms and bracelets.

Claire’s was also known for its hair accessories, such as scrunchies and headbands, and its very popular five-for-$10 sales.

Targeted employee risks dreams of fashion design. Years later, her collection is available in stores (exclusive)

Also limited

Also limited.

Michael Seamans/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty

The teenage offshoot of the adult brand, The Limited, Limited Too launched in the late 1980s but reached its peak in the mid-90s. The store was aimed at pre-teen girls, with an aesthetic marked by rhinestones, neon colors and cartoon illustrations of flowers.

In 2008, the brand name was briefly discontinued (although it was later revived, with the sale of the trademarks and the launch of new collections online), and most of the Limited Too stores were converted into locations for the cheaper clothing brand Justice.

Caché

Caché.

Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty

This clothing brand was launched in the 1970s, and by the 1990s it had become almost synonymous with American malls, where at its peak it had more than 200 locations. Caché was best known for its dresses, which were aimed at grown women with a passion for satin, sequins and the like.

In 2015, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and announced it would liquidate all of its stores.

Hot topic

Hot topic.

Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty

A more alternative brand, Hot Topic was best known for its licensed band t-shirts (along with other music-related items such as posters). Throughout its evolution, the store has marketed to numerous subcultures, from emo and goth to manga and anime. The company went public in 1996 and was sold to a private investment company in 2013.

Woman emerges from eyebrow wax with burns. Why Her Acne Medications Are to Blame (Exclusive)

Wet seal

Wet seal.

James Leynse/Corbis via Getty

A fast fashion retailer with locations mostly in malls, Wet Seal targeted trendy teenage girls with a passion for fashion. The brand was known for the fun atmosphere in its stores, which played loud music and often hosted concert ticket giveaways for groups like No Doubt.

In its later years, the company struggled to compete with fast-fashion giants such as H&M and Forever 21. It eventually closed 60 percent of its stores before filing for bankruptcy in 2015 and shuttering all locations.

Bongo

Bongo.

Jordan Strauss/WireImage

Although the Bongo brand still exists, and has expanded into categories including footwear, the company’s jeans had appeal in the ’90s — when low- and mid-waisted denim reigned supreme. The founders of Bongo, Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman, are icons in the world of denim, who also created Lucky Brand Jeans. In 1998, they sold Bongo to another label loved by millennials, Candie’s.

Without fear

Without fear.

Alamy

Founded in 1989, No Fear popularized a line of T-shirts featuring quotes and slogans about team sports, but with a bit of an existential edge (think, “If it was just an attitude, everyone would have one”). The company also branched out into motocross gear and energy drinks before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2011.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The ghost

The ghost.

Jerome Favre/Bloomberg via Getty

Originating in the late 1960s, Espirit saw its most dramatic growth in the 1990s, when it became synonymous with funky, colorful, patterned clothing. Although Espirit still exists, it experienced many corporate shakeups in the 2000s and closed several outlets in international markets. It has recently re-emerged, focusing on casual sportswear and large clothing collections for men and women.

Roxy

Roxy.

Alamy

This fashion brand was an offshoot of men’s surfwear brand Quicksilver (its logo was actually just two Quicksilver logos placed together to resemble a heart), aimed at women who surfed – or just wanted to look like one.

Today, Roxy exists, although the brand offers general leisure collections rather than exclusively surf-focused clothing and accessories.

dELiA*s

dELiA*s.

Delia

dELiA*s has created a niche for its clothing for teenage and college girls with catalogs. The direct-to-consumer catalog was almost a precursor to influencer culture, featuring models that customers recognized in each issue and photos that looked more like a lifestyle magazine than a mail-order catalog. Modern typeface, fun clothing descriptions and gifts that often accompanied the catalogs added to the fun.

The company was bought by Alloy Inc. in 2003. for 50 million dollars per Fast company.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education