Return of the Flannel Shirt: Recession Kids Get Their Grunge On

The year was 1991…Nirvana and Pearl Jam owned the airwaves, stocks and the economy were shaken by the Savings and Loan Crisis, and a young Chris Farley taught us how to laugh every Saturday Night.

And oh yeah, we were all wearing flannel shirts.

The flannel shirt trend came out of the Seattle thrift store culture and it accompanied the Grunge music wave that swept the nation.  It seems that pre-Starbucks, Seattle only had one other employer of note, Boeing, which was having a tough time of it’s own back then.  When the dismal state of Seattle’s employment picture combined itself with our national hangover from eighties excess, the stage was set for the emergence of Grunge as nineties teens sought to own their moment, recession and all.

Two recessions later, it appears that the flannel shirt is coming back (see below):

Today's Grunge Comeback

The children of the the eighties and early nineties are now grown up homeowners and they’re cutting back on the allowances they give their now-teenage children.  With teenage unemployment in the 20 percent range, what once was old is new again as that grungie feeling is coming back.

The kids of this generation are being offered the flannel shirt look from just about every teen-focused retailer in their rapidly-deteriorating local shopping mall.

Below are some examples from Gap, Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Eagle Outfitters and Hollister…I probably could’ve found many more but then my eyes and ears started bleeding from prolonged exposure to these websites.

Take what you’re being given while I call a few hospitals:

Aeropostale

Aeropostale

American Eagle Outfitters

American Eagle Outfitters

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch

Hollister

Hollister

The Gap

Gap

The cool kids will hit the vintage and thrift stores like mommy and daddy did back in ’91.  The rest will take mommy and daddy’s maxed-out credit cards to the mall and miss the point of grunge fashion entirely.

Oh well, I have other things to worry about.


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What's been said:

Discussions found on the web
  1. grungey commented on Sep 17

    hahaha this is NOT grunge. D: no no no not at all! agh!

  2. grungey commented on Sep 17

    hahaha this is NOT grunge. D: no no no not at all! agh!

  3. grungey commented on Sep 17

    hahaha this is NOT grunge. D: no no no not at all! agh!

  4. Greg commented on Oct 06

    Im from seattle and im 18, although I did stumble across this blog while looking for flannels online i have always bought my flannels from thrift stores. And i just wanted to say that the people who wear flannels in seattle get their shirts from thrift stores(or on sale) …. only the posers who are trying to fit in get them from the places mentioned above (although I have never seen people wearing flannel brands above) . Furthermore, I dont think you should so strongly associate clothes with a social group. Flannels are practical, expecialy for our seattle weather- but dont call me a grunge just because im wearing one, im just trying to stay comfortable.

    TRB: Rock on, Greg.

  5. Greg commented on Oct 06

    Im from seattle and im 18, although I did stumble across this blog while looking for flannels online i have always bought my flannels from thrift stores. And i just wanted to say that the people who wear flannels in seattle get their shirts from thrift stores(or on sale) …. only the posers who are trying to fit in get them from the places mentioned above (although I have never seen people wearing flannel brands above) . Furthermore, I dont think you should so strongly associate clothes with a social group. Flannels are practical, expecialy for our seattle weather- but dont call me a grunge just because im wearing one, im just trying to stay comfortable.

    TRB: Rock on, Greg.

  6. Nick Zero commented on Oct 08

    i mean i wear flannels because they’re warm and i dont always wanna be wearing a hoodie when i skate. not to mention i love the way they look. i never really left the grunge phase of the 90’s.

  7. Nick Zero commented on Oct 08

    i mean i wear flannels because they’re warm and i dont always wanna be wearing a hoodie when i skate. not to mention i love the way they look. i never really left the grunge phase of the 90’s.

  8. WELCOMETOHELL commented on Oct 19

    Спасибо вам огромное, пост действительно толково написан и по делу, есть что почерпнуть.

  9. WELCOMETOHELL commented on Oct 19

    Спасибо вам огромное, пост действительно толково написан и по делу, есть что почерпнуть.

  10. Frank commented on Nov 04

    Actually, I remember wearing Flannels in the 80’s as a punk rocker. Actually alot of the punker kids did. They were often worn tied around their waste. I know the Nirvana grunge guys were all ex-punkers from the 80’s anyway. Cheers Mate

  11. Frank commented on Nov 04

    Actually, I remember wearing Flannels in the 80’s as a punk rocker. Actually alot of the punker kids did. They were often worn tied around their waste. I know the Nirvana grunge guys were all ex-punkers from the 80’s anyway. Cheers Mate

  12. Smooth commented on Nov 29

    i have these shirts from hollister but i am not sure if i should iron them

  13. Smooth commented on Nov 29

    i have these shirts from hollister but i am not sure if i should iron them

  14. maria commented on Dec 01

    I’m a fan of the flannel comeback. It’s a somewhat prep look now.

  15. maria commented on Dec 01

    I’m a fan of the flannel comeback. It’s a somewhat prep look now.