Things from the 90s/00s you don’t see anymore?

[Firebird83]

What are some things you remember from the 90s or early 2000s that don’t exist anymore?

I remember old ladies used to wear headscarves or those plastic rain bonnets

Lucky heather sellers in town centres

In my gran’s rural village she used to get a mobile library van and also a man selling soft drinks in glass bottles

Any more?

Of course a lot of these things existed before that era too, I just don’t remember seeing them anymore after the early 2000s.

Doc Martens where you put three beads at the bottom row of the laces.

Not as Brits know it, though! Sells very cheap tat and clothes, random confectionery items and, weirdly, alcohol. Spirits miniatures right at the till!

Lovely soaps from the body shop and satsuma and liquorice bubbles. My sister’s b day is in January and I was always so jealous that she had such nice presents that people had got in the sales.

Hologram necklaces on a black cord. I think they often had an eye in them.

Sunsilk shampoo

Shell suits

having spare cash!

People walking around without staring at phone screens in their hands.
I really, really miss that.

Me too, 90s colour lipsticks are back in, TikTok is full of videos of people swatching them.

This makes me really miss the 90s.

Making a mix tape for a friend
Sending postcards & letters
Happy people
Less pressure on students to pass exams
Blockbuster
Phone boxes & home phone
Teen magazines
Different styles - not all teens wanting to copy an influencer
People just having fun & not filming it or continually taking photos

Remember Woolworths pick and mix?

But house price surge followed by recession meant thousands went into negative equity in the 90s, living in misery unable to move..?
And young women have dreams and aspirations now.
You are misremembering a fairly miserable decade.

I thought this until we started feeding our dogs raw and now they have white dog poo. We’re bringing the 80’s/90’s back in our house!

I still buy lots of CDs and DVDs, they haven't totally disappeared!

They are on the way back in.

Short hair on young women, they all have long hair these days.

You can use the regular post boxes the same in conjunction with the royal mail app, provided you wrap the the right size. Jumpers and shoes I can't fit in tho.

I know this still does happen but it’s rare but people reading books on the train. You would know the popular books because so many people would be reading the same one.

And stencilling.
I stencilled anything and everything in my home which had a flat surface.
Changing Rooms was my favourite programme!

I really miss new stuff being released on dvd because there was usually loads of extras with them, particularly the commentary from the actors/director involved (Hugh Grant continually bitching about Colin Firth on the Love Actually one is a highlight). Outtakes, behind the scenes video diaries stuff does go up on YouTube sometimes but there's been a few recent films and telly shows I'd love to have a proper extra packed dvd of. The recent Gavin and Stacey finale is another one.

Or perhaps people just experienced it differently depending on their ages 🤷.

Computers are no longer the helpful "dumb" servants they used to be: in the 90s and 00s, they did what you told them: no more, no less. Now, we are oppressed by computers: they keep updating when your back is turned, are constantly trying to sell you things, and worst of all, the error messages have now taken on an informal tone: "Let's get you back online, the internet isn't the same without you", or "Windows has encountered an error and needs to close :( ". Sometimes, I long for the Blue Screen of Death: no frivolities there. And you have to be "online" for so many everyday things, which I see as a significant change for the worse, especially with computers quickly becoming "obsolete by design", so you have to keep making Bill Gates rich buying more and more of them.

It's rare to see staff in smart uniforms now, except at very posh places. Postmasters and postmistresses (a fancy word which is still in use, and notorious for the wrong reasons) usually wear a T-shirt with a name badge or lanyard. I think this change is good, though: I favour practical clothing over smart and uncomfortable. Now we need to do similar with school uniform: make it comfortable and practical, instead of the blazers and ties as a nod to the past.

Here is a change for the better: you hardly ever see children being smacked in public now, which did happen in the 90s, and maybe even early 00s.

Do you remember Bros doing that with Grolsch lids

Like a lot of people I loved it when the contestants hated it and didn't hide it.

Oh god, do you remember the couples bedroom that their next door neighbours and Laurence Llewellyn Bowen made over and the lady was devastated because she said it looked like a brothel?(she wasn't wrong IIRC). All I remember is there being loads of zebra print involved.

Oh yes that was a classic car crash TV moment 👍🤣🤣🤣

My brother knew that couple, they ran the local chippy. The wife was apparently quite fame hungry and has been on a few other shows since then. I think they subsequently divorced. Not sure if LLB’s boudoir was cited as a reason.