Photo: Courtesy of Topshop.Out of all the '90s trends that have recently made a comeback, there's one crucial item we haven't seen pop up with a high-fashion makeover. Remember the tattoo necklace? Sold for two quarters (or a handful of tickets at the roller-rink arcade), these udon-thick coils of plastic rope adorned every cap-sleeve-wearing, Chun Li-bun-sporting, loose-glitter-sparkling girl with a neck in the '90s. Of course, these things had their pitfalls — they snapped after a couple of weeks of wear; they'd inevitably leave a sweaty, itchy rash around your neck; and they'd be so stretched out by the time they made it over your massive head that they'd dangle more like a chain than a choker. (This had to have happened to someone else, right?) But, since it cost the same amount of money as a stretchy sticky hand toy or a yin-yang temporary tattoo, we didn't care much if they fell apart.
But, if we paid, oh, say, $12 for one, we'd have expected that necklace to last for the entire decade. Topshop, high street's biggest proponent of time-traveling clothing, is selling a basic version for a dozen bucks, and the retailer's chokers don't even come with the iridescent seed beads, gecko charms, or mood-ring stones. The pink one (which would have definitely cost at least two extra arcade tickets) also sells for $12 but is unfortunately out of stock (!!!). So, to the entire generation of folks figuring these out for the first time: One, good luck; two, don't wear them to gym class; and three, ask your older sisters to dig around and see if they have a "vintage" one lying around — those are free. And, you can say you got it from hitting the lotto at Cheap Skate in '96.