Sure, our parents had it pretty great growing up in the 60s and 70s.
But those of us who can still remember the 90s know that it was a pretty damn good decade too.
With that said, here are 90 – yes, 90 – things that defined the 1990s for young professionals:
1. Reebok Pumps…and the fact that we thought the pump actually made a difference.
2. You didn’t get the jokes at the time, but Seinfeld was a favourite to watch with the parents.
3. Bleached hair; better yet, frosted tips.
4. Neon windbreakers…that just had to be Sun Ice.
5. Friends on Thursday nights.
6. Backstreet Boys (and replicating the dance moves).
7. Phat Farm made uptown kids feel a lot more badass than they really were.
8. The Babysitters Club books gave you your first glimpse into young entrepreneurship.
9. Saved By The Bell was a reason to race home after school.
10. Multiple Baywatch inspired Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra posters.
11. Mr. Sketch Scented Markers…and laughing at the kids who got in trouble for tasting them.
12. Buffy The Vampire Slayer. The girls wanted to be her and the guys, well….
13. Tommy Hilfiger…the bigger and more obnoxious the label the better.
14. Dawson’s Creek made you question whether you were in love with your best friend.
15. Any kid who got a Power Wheels was the coolest kid on the block.
16. The Fresh Prince of Bel Air…and its theme song.
17. Overalls with one strap hanging down (admit it).
18. Beverly Hills 90210 and the resulting – clouded – vision as to what high school would really be like.
19. N64 and its hours of Super Mario Cart entertainment (when you were allowed to play).
20. The rise and fall of Notorious B.I.G and Tupac.
21. The start of the digital music era.
22. The grunge defining early 90s, aka: weekly visits to thrift shops.
23. The start of the mainstream rave movement = lying to your parents.
24. RL Stein’s Goosebumps series of books meant quality summer reading.
25. Some of the earliest and best hip-hop emerged in the 90s…exactly why you think it’s gone downhill since.
26. The Spice Girls empowered young females globally and gave the guys a mixed bag of women to oogle.
27. Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill; each song represented a different issue in your junior high life.
28. Green Day’s Dookie put the band on the map, where they’ve steadily remained.
29. GT Snow Racers that were so much more fun than that wooden toboggan.
30. Radiohead was one of your first CDs. “Fake Plastic Trees” remains an open mic favourite.
31. Jurassic Park was one of the first Hollywood blockbusters you were allowed to see in the theatre.
32. Oasis’ “Wonderwall” was released and it remains an iPod fixture to this day
33. Discman headphones worn around your neck (not to mention the DISCMAN).
34. The Cranberries. Until the CD got scratched…
35. Kris Kross had you “Jumping” at your first school dances.
36. Slap bracelets drove your teachers crazy.
37. Salt-n-Pepa.
38. Bandanas helped on those bad teenaged hair days.
39. The Simpsons.
40. AND South Park.
41. Starter jackets were the way to support your team.
42. Airwalk…all the cool skater boys had them.
43. Turtlenecks…especially poking out from the top of a Roots sweatshirt.
44. Guess and the veteran Guess models.
45. Hyper-colour t-shirts and their multi-coloured heyday.
46. Hush Puppies. The brushed pigskin shoes made a huge comeback in the later 90s.
47. Baggy jeans that exposed a boxer-covered butt.
48. Middle hair parts, especially after films like Dazed and Confused.
49. Spiked hair that made getting ready for school just as much of a process for the guys.
50. The Gap…once the grunge trend fizzled out; most notably, their denim shirts.
51. Wayne’s World inspired Halloween costumes.
52. Sweaters tied around your waist.
53. Jansport…especially after Mountain Equipment Co-op became passé.
54. Flannel; the grungier the better.
55. The backwards cap…and those guys who wore it on the top of their head.
56. Air Jordans: the 90s are when your collection started.
57. “The Rachel”: at least half of the girls in homeroom did it.
58. Club Monaco sweatshirts with the huge, iconic logo.
59. Neon everything – from bicycle shorts to T-shirts.
60. Titanic offered lessons in love and history.
61. Mrs. Doubtfire was a sleepover staple.
62. Hacky sacks.
63. Devil Sticks were even cooler than hacky sacks – for a while at least.
64. Power Rangers: the show, the figures…everything.
65. Silence of the Lambs made you sleep with the light on for weeks.
66. Cell phones were a rarity…and your mom or dad were suddenly cool when they got one.
67. Forest Gump inspired some of your first voice impressions.
68. American Pie broke the ice in many high school situations.
69. Micro Machines…and that guy in the commercials.
70. The Lion King… and singing the soundtrack in the shower.
71. Chris Farley.
72. Jennifer Lawrence was born (sorry, we had to).
73. Dumb and Dumber…and you still recite every line to this day.
74. The WWF (and names like The Big Boss Man, Hulk Hogan, and The Undertaker) provided hours of entertainment…and your mom hated it.
75. Dazed and Confused…tempted you to try weed and you played its soundtrack all summer.
76. Digital answering machines meant you’d never miss a birthday party invite.
77. Office Space was hilarious before you even understood the 9-5 grind.
78. Super Soakers offered hours of summer fun.
79. Clueless…a whole new pre-teen dialogue.
80. Skip-It’s second round of production in the early 90s had every girl rushing to Toys-R-Us.
81. Pogo Balls (released in 1987) remained a driveway staple well into the 90s.
82. Rollerblades were your main mode of transportation.
83. Dunkaroos were the best part of your lunch. How do you do your dunk?
84. Call waiting was the coolest thing ever…until three-way.
85. Five Star school supplies were a September necessity.
86. Now and Then was a pre-teen girls’ must.
87. Joe Carter was every kid’s hero when the Blue Jays won two back-to-back World Series.
88. The first cloned Sheep, Dolly, terrified us all about the future.
89. Joey Lawrence…and who could do the best “whoa!” impression.
90. The start of the dotcom era. Yeah, that was kind of big.
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