1990s

Posts tied to 1990s culture, media, or trends

  • YA Paperbacks Every ’90s Teen Had in Their Backpack

    ByLiza Hawkins

    Before BookTok or e-readers, there were backpacks stuffed with paperbacks, traded, borrowed, and loved until the spines cracked. Between math homework and mixtapes, my backpack always had at least one paperback tucked inside, worn at the corners, swapped with a friend, or borrowed from the library. This isn’t a definitive list or a ranking. It’s…

  • What It Meant to Work at the Mall in the ’90s

    ByLiza Hawkins

    Between 1992 and 1995, I spent more weekends than I can count folding tiny T-shirts at GapKids in Montgomery Mall in Bethesda, Maryland. It wasn’t glamorous, but working at the mall was its own rite of passage: equal parts paycheck, hangout spot, and backstage pass to the social hub of the ’90s. The Mall as…