Walking down the high street this week my eyes were tempted by a world of purple and glitter. A shop that holds literally every tween memory I can recall. Hello Claire's Accessories. I still remember getting my ears pierced in the window, and I'm not the only one - even Brooklyn Beckham headed there for his piercing. I spent most Saturdays circa 1995 - 2001 poking around all 15 square ft of the shop, usually in a gaggle, buying hair mascara and devil horns for school discos.
But once inside I realised these days you can still pick up some cool stuff that you want to wear now - from Cara-esque ear cuffs to stackable rings and palm jewellery.
So consider this our ode to Claire's Accessories, and the awesome stuff we still have kicking around our bedrooms from the days when our greatest concern was how many gummy bracelets we could fit on one arm, and where we should put our next glitter tattoo.
BFF Heart Necklaces
Necklace, £7
Ahh, the BFF necklace that united so many of us and also caused screaming arguments over who we had given our other half to. I had about six different versions, all with the same friend, and we totally felt like we were in our own club. Emphasised by the fact we had matching light-up trainers. These days Claire's has had the common sense to invent a necklace that splits three ways. If you're a group of four, you're still scuppered, sorry.
Tattoo Chokers
Choker, £4.50
OMG how grown up did we feel wearing one of these? Our mothers hated them. They itched. They must have cost about 1p to make, but we loved them so.
Gummy Bracelets
Gummy bracelets, £4.50
Gummy bracelets caused a small armageddon in my school circa 2001, whereby we would all own about 200 and compulsively swap them at break time, which resulted in UN level negotiations over the value of ten skinny brights compared to a chunky glitter. This was serious commerce, which prepared us for sticker-gate.
Hair Spinners
Despite the fact that these were universally impossible to remove from your 90s chignon, we were obsessed with putting tiny glitzy springs in our hair. In hindsight, it was a bit weird. But we felt so damn chic putting them in.
Magnetic Earrings
Magnetic earrings, £3.50
As a kid I wasn't allowed to have my ears pierced, I'm not sure when the ban lifted, because by that time I had lost interest. So as a tween, I relied on the genius that is Claire's magnetic studs. Of course they sometimes fell off, tears ensued, as did another pleading session over whether you could get actual holes, and then you were appeased by being taken by to Claire's to buy new magnetic ones. But when I did eventually get around to getting them pierced, aged 19, where did I go? You guessed it.
Glitter Hairspray
I would still wear this every day if I could. The powdery smell and tiny twinkly particles of glitter hairspray still remind me of Xmas parties and birthdays. Good times.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.