Fad
A fad, also known as a craze, refers to a fashion that becomes popular in a culture (or subcultures) relatively quickly, remains popular, often for a rather brief period, then loses popularity dramatically. However, some fads may come back if another generation finds out about it and gets interested in it. For example Dayglo paint and clothing was a minor fetish or fad in Europe and the USA the late 1970s. Then Dayglo accessories and clothes (such as cycling shorts and Dayglo socks) had a come back in 1987–1989. It is arguable that a fad that remains popular for a significant amount of time typically loses its significance in current popular culture as it evolves and becomes accepted into a society's everyday culture (e.g., television, Internet).
2000s fads
- 1980s Retro Movement
- Beyblade spinning tops – 2002
- Bratz Dolls
- Bungee Balls – 2003
- Capri pants
- Cha Cha Slide dance
- Electroclash
- Flash mobs
- Happy Bunny merchandise
- Internet cafe
- iPods
- Livestrong wristband
- Napoleon Dynamite phrases
- N-Gage – 2003
- Neopets – 2003-2005
- Patriotic shirts; spawned from the aftermath of the September 11th terror attacks
- Pink clothing for men
- Ponchos for girls – 2003
- Razor scooters
- Reality TV programming
- Scoubidou; returned in 2000s
- Sudoku
- "Wassup"; from the Budweiser ads
- Yu-Gi-Oh!
1990s fads
- 1940s Retro Movement
- Baby Doll Fashion
- Barney
- Beanie babies
- Boy bands (Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC) and "kiddie style" Pop artists (Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore)
- Caesar Haircut
- Cargo pants – late 1990s
- Chat Rooms
- Chicken Soup for the Soul books
- The Club
- Crystal Pepsi
- Digimon – 1998
- El Nino
- Fanny pack
- Furby
- GoGos
- Grunge Music
- Harry Potter books
- Heroin chic style/fashion
- Hypercolor, continued from the 1980s
- Lambada dance
- Macarena – 1996
- Moviefone
- Nintendo Gameboy; 1989, but gained enormous popularity through the 1990s
- One-length haircut in Japan (hair worn straight down, cut to a straight line across the shoulders or back, and not layered)
- Pacifiers for teens
- Pager
- Pogs
- Pokémon
- Power Rangers
- Psychic Friends Network
- Rave
- Rollerblades
- Sherbet Straws; these small tubes full of confectionary experienced a massive boom in sales during the 1990s
- Snap bracelet
- Soccer moms
- Tae-Bo
- Tamagotchi
- Thighmaster
- Tickle Me Elmo
- "Whatever" & "Talk to the hand"
- Wallet chains
- Wonderbra
- Y2K bug
- Yo-yo — 1930s, but returned in the 1990s
- Zima
- Zubaz
1980s fads
- Baby On Board car window stickers
- Big Johnson T-shirts
- Bola Ties
- Cabbage Patch dolls
- Calculator wristwatches
- Chia Pets
- Choose Your Own Adventure books
- Clackers
- Designer jeans
- Game & Watch
- Garbage Pail Kids
- Hair Crimping
- Hair metal
- Intellivision
- Keytar
- Parachute pants
- Pogo Balls
- Madballs
- Members Only jackets
- The Mullet
- Rubik's Cube
- Slap bracelets
- Shell suits – UK (especially Merseyside and North of England) and Europe
- Swatch Watches
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Telephone Party Lines
- Valley Girls
- Video Game Crash of 1983
- Wacky Wall Walker
- Yuppies
Other fads
- Atari – 1970s
- "All your base are belong to us" – late 1990s to early 2000s
- CB radio – 1970s
- Coonskin caps – 1950s
- Devil sticks
- Disco – 1970s
- Drive-in theaters – 1960s
- Droodles – 1950s
- Fifteen puzzle – 1870s
- Flagpole sitting – 1920s
- Hula hoop – 1950s
- Lava lamp
- Loose socks – in Japan
- Mood ring – 1970s
- Pet rocks – 1970s
- Puka Shell Necklace – 1970s
- Quiff
- Roller disco – 1970s
- The Clapper
- Tie-dye – 1960s
- The Twist – 1960s
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |
See also
- cult following
- food faddism
- mass psychology
- bandwagon effect
- pop music
- tulip mania
- herding
- Internet phenomenon
- Economic bubble
External links
- Top 10 Web fads, by Molly Wood (cnet)
- Bad Fads in history