RIP to These ’90s Retailers

Let us paint a picture: You’re wearing a black plastic choker, platform sneakers, and a light pink cardigan set. You park your car and are now attempting to stuff your fuzzy keychain into your mini satin baguette purse. As you make your way to your friend group circled up by The Limited, you take in the smell of Sbarro pizza and movie theater popcorn, you hear someone winning big in the arcade, and you decide that even if you buy those tiny sunglasses from the kiosk, you will still have enough to rent a movie from Blockbuster. If you know what we’re talking about, you’ll enjoy taking this trip down memory lane, reminiscing about stores that are, unfortunately, no longer.

dELiA*s

(image via buzzfeed via cookies and sangria)

We took this loss pretty hard because dELiA*s had the coolest clothes, from baggy pants and babydoll tees to bucket hats and overalls in every color! While we remember the catalogs with fondness, many people forget that the brand also had stores in malls all over the country. The store officially declared bankruptcy in 2014.

Wet Seal

(image via buzzfeed via naturesjoyny)

You know all those brands people are pining over right now (like Mudd and L.E.I.)? They were all available at Wet Seal! But the competition kept growing, and with the rise of internet sales, brick-and-mortar Wet Seal just couldn’t keep up.

Wild Pair

(image via ebay)

Even though Wild Pair shuttered all of its stores in May 1999, with the current ’90s fashion revival, we think it could be pretty successful today. This was practically where every pair of chunky platforms came from!

Rave

(image via pinterest via bonaarchitecture)

If you were a little too colorful for Hot Topic, Rave was your place. You could nab oversized jeans with chains hanging from them, but instead of your basic black with orange flames, you could get tie-dye ones.

The Limited

(image via the wardrobe oxygen)

The Limited is wREmove ones below?here you shopped once you aged out of Limited Too. Basically, it was a ’90s teen world selling jumpers and satin pajama sets. After years of decline in sales, the brand officially filed for bankruptcy, closing all of its stores in 2017.

Blockbuster

(image via the jakarta post)

You couldn’t actually buy clothes at Blockbuster, but the hold this video rental store had on us in the ’90s was understandable. Streaming services weren’t a thing yet, movie theaters were expensive, and the entire store visit was an experience. If you are really feeling those nostalgia pangs, you can visit the world’s last Blockbuster, which is still in operation in Bend, Oregon.

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