Which Trend Are You Glad Has Disappeared?

Not every trend deserves a comeback.

For every brilliant bit of nostalgia Gen X remembers fondly, there’s another trend we’re perfectly happy to leave buried somewhere in the past next to broken fax machines and forgotten New Romantic haircuts.

Because while the 70s, 80s and 90s gave us amazing music, iconic films and some unforgettable TV, they also gave us some truly questionable ideas.

And somehow, at the time, many of them seemed completely normal.

Here are just a few trends Gen X is probably relieved disappeared.

Smoking Absolutely Everywhere

It’s hard explaining this to younger generations.

People smoked:

in pubs
on planes
in restaurants
in offices
in cars
and somehow directly next to children eating chips

Everywhere smelled faintly of cigarettes.

You could come home from a night out and your clothes would need quarantining immediately.

At the time, nobody even questioned it.

Now the idea of somebody lighting up in a supermarket queue feels like a deleted scene from another planet.

Giant Mobile Phones

There was a brief period where mobile phones looked like military equipment.

Huge aerials.
Massive batteries.
Tiny screens.

Owning one made you look incredibly important even if you were just calling home to say:
“I’ll be late.”

Then came the phase where phones became smaller and smaller until they were basically impossible to hold.

Now they’re giant again.

Human progress is confusing.

Shell Suits

Possibly the loudest clothing ever invented.

Bright colours.
Shiny material.
Enough static electricity to power a small village.

And the noise.

You could hear someone approaching in a shell suit from half a mile away.

Oddly enough, at the time they felt futuristic.

Now they mostly trigger flashbacks.

TV Aerial Problems

Gen X spent years adjusting TV aerials like NASA engineers.

One person stood by the television shouting:
“NO, YOU’VE MADE IT WORSE.”

while somebody else froze on a roof holding metal equipment during heavy rain.

Children today will never understand the emotional damage caused by trying to tune in Channel 5.

Frosted Tips

For a while, men voluntarily paid money to look permanently surprised.

The late 90s and early 2000s were full of spiky hair covered in enough hair gel to survive strong winds and minor explosions.

And somehow every boy band looked identical.

Nobody escaped.
Not even footballers.

Recording Songs Off The Radio

Actually… maybe this one deserves to return.

Yes, it was frustrating waiting hours for your favourite song only for the DJ to talk over the intro, but it also made music feel exciting.

You had patience.
Anticipation.
Commitment.

Streaming is easier, but it’s never quite recreated the thrill of finally getting a perfect cassette recording.

So maybe this trend gets partial forgiveness.

Tiny Towels In School PE

Nobody knows why school towels were approximately the size of a tea towel.

After PE lessons you’d attempt to dry your entire body using something barely large enough to clean a car windscreen.

Character building, apparently.

Calling The House Phone And Speaking To Parents

This required genuine courage.

You’d ring your friend’s house and immediately face an interrogation from their dad.

“Who’s calling?”
“What’s it about?”
“Hold on.”

Then you’d wait awkwardly while hearing muffled shouting somewhere in the distance.

Gen X learned communication skills through fear.

Fashion That Was Deeply Unsafe

Looking back, some trends now feel genuinely dangerous.

Massive platform shoes.
Inflammable shell suits.
Heavy metal jewellery everywhere.
Sunglasses that blocked approximately zero sunlight.

And somehow everyone survived school discos intact.

Mostly.

The Trend We Probably Miss Most

The funny thing about old trends is that even the terrible ones carry memories.

Bad haircuts.
Embarrassing clothes.
Awkward technology.
Ridiculous fashions.

They remind us of specific times, people and moments.

And maybe that’s why Gen X enjoys laughing about them so much.

Because even the worst trends were part of growing up in an era before social media documented every mistake forever.

Back then, terrible fashion choices simply existed in a few blurry photographs hidden in somebody’s loft.

Which honestly feels like one of the greatest disappearing trends of all.