From evocative scents to decades-old songs, reminiscing can reintroduce us to inner worlds of wonder. In our Shondaland series The Magic of Nostalgia we’re diving into a multitude of joy-sparking practices that involve looking back. Prepare to be transported.
I recently saw one of my best girlfriends for the first time in more than a year and presented her with a kids’-style BFF necklace. It was half of a broken heart, complete with a matching pink stone, a silly gift with a deeply felt sentiment from my recent shopping trip to Claire’s.
At 42, I’ve experienced the highs and lows of adulthood, tackling traumas and everything else that comes with being a grown-up. I still enjoy occasionally browsing the aisles at Claire’s, a simple practice that quietly tends to my inner child in many ways.
In the mid-1990s, I was a typical teenager growing up in New York City. A big part of my expression came through piercings. Many of them were done by the vendors of St. Marks Place in the East Village. By the time I was 16, much to my mother’s dismay, I’d acquired piercings along each ear, lining them up like chips on a poker table.
Technically, the earring holes are still there but haven’t been used in years. My ears have strangely become more sensitive over time, perhaps because of everything I put them through in my teens. Now, the only piercing from that era is a barely noticeable, small stud in my nose that I just can’t give up.
When I had to find a replacement for it a few years ago, I rediscovered Claire’s. I walked into the store to pick up a nose ring and was hit with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. It was almost as if nothing had changed. Instantly, I was whisked back to a different time and place where the only stressors of life were what lip gloss to wear and whether or not to ask permission for yet another ear piercing.
My teenage spirit leaped out of my body as my fingers caressed the racks of butterfly clips and fuzzy hair bands. The faint smell of Lip Smackers filled the air. I oddly felt safe inside this time-warp bubble and realized that a brief jaunt into my youth from time to time was exactly what the adult me needed.
As a young girl, my friends from the suburbs envied my freedom as a city kid, but a certain jealousy resided inside me for their wholesome experiences that seemed to spring from the pages of Sassy magazine and the Delia’s catalog. Growing up, I rarely got to hang out at full-fledged malls, so every chance I had to spend a weekend at a mall was special and exhilarating. It’s perhaps why, more than 25 years later, I still get a thrill from a Claire’s shopping trip.
I’m fully aware that I’m in an age group that graduated as the essential Claire’s consumer long ago. Still, I find it oddly soothing to surround myself with their dizzying array of trappings. I don’t visit to buy classic accessories or long-lasting essentials. I go for a playdate with my inner child, whom I nurture with evocative lip glosses, bedazzled journals, and stuffed animals.
When I enter Claire’s, I feel transported back to a time when I was still uncovering parts of my identity through makeup and accessories, an innocence waiting to be explored. Now, it’s like a mini version of playing dress-up. I teleport to 1995 when, at 15, I first glimpsed Cher Horowitz twiddling her trademark furry pink pencil in Clueless.
This over-the-top accessory (also used in Legally Blonde and Gone Girl) symbolized a feminine mystique. Simultaneously sexy and innocent, it exuded girliness but was a device of distraction from the intelligence or awareness of the female characters who possessed it. For me, a fuzzy writing implement is a way to wield power, bridging my past and present.
While Claire’s has always been considered an emporium for young girls, it actually continues to be on the underlying cusp of what’s cool. Nostalgic accessories are having a comeback. In 2023, Balenciaga is unapologetically selling hair clips for $300 and scrunchies for $295.
Clearly, I’m not the only one who knows something special exists within Claire’s. The magic continues to reverberate across generations. Last year, Claire’s performed 3.5 million piercings. As a result of the brand’s resurgence in recent years, the company recently announced a new partnership with Macy’s, adding pop-up Claire’s shops within 20 department stores in the U.S.
During my last visit to Claire’s, the one where I purchased that BFF necklace, I also picked up a tulle scrunchie, a fun notebook, and a lip-gloss ring for myself. I contemplated getting my inner ear — the cartilage part — pierced for the first time. As an adult, such a decision comes without repercussions or scolding. I have the freedom to fully express myself how I desire. However, over the years, I have learned other ways to practice reinvention.
Fortunately, Claire’s continues to allow me to embrace the quirky, young spirit that still resides within me. Zero apologies. The store is urging a new wave of young women to do the same. As a grown-up, I now know I didn’t really have to buy those sparkly bracelets or get those extra holes in my ears when I was a teen. It turns out that self-acceptance was all I actually needed. But I still might get that inner-ear piercing.
Blake Turck is a New York-based writer who has contributed to The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, NBC, Insider,Well + Good, and StyleCaster.
Get Shondaland directly in your inbox: SUBSCRIBE TODAY
