From spaghetti strap crops and tiny coloured sunglasses to ankle bracelets, velvet headbands, butterfly hair clips and scrunchies; the 1990s were the days when fashion was born and bred.
Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake were dating, Charmed, Friends and Sabrina the Teenage Witch were on our screens and Mary-Kate and Ashley launched their careers. Times were good.
What was one of the many gifts the Olsen Twins gave us? Hair bandanas, of course. In paisley print, to be precise.
The bandana is officially the nostalgic hair accessory making a major comeback this summer, and we're rejoicing from the throwback heavens.
Back in 1999, the world and it's mother was donning headscarves from Christina Aguilera to Dionne in Clueless. The paisley print was where it was AT.
Fast forward a couple of years, and the accessory has been spotted on the high street once more. Vintage stores are also stocking up on the style staple.
Brands and designers from JW Anderson, Kate Spade and Max Mara are using scarves for their bold catwalk looks, with signature printed ensembles and monogramming included for SS19
One perfect reason for sporting the look is that it can cover up a dodgy hair day, or unwashed hair with enough grease to cook a double cheeseburger. Unwashed tresses are concealed with ease.
Fold your square scarf diagonally in half to create a triangle, place it over your hair and tie at the nape of your neck. Fix with some bobby pins or hair clips to secure it all day, and voila. You're fierce.
Image: Instagram/@thelegendaaliyah
You can even wear the scarves as a crop top if you tie it correctly at the back, which blew our minds. An accessory and an item of clothing which embodies a past era of our lives? Sign us up.
Bad Gal RiRi even used one for her Wild Thoughts music video, looking out of this world incredible as always. We all know that anything Rihanna touches turns to gold, so it's time we joined the trend.
Image: YouTube/Wild Thoughts
The humble headscarf bandana wasn't just graced on the heads of 1990s royalty like Lauren Graham from Gilmore Girls. Male celebrities like Justin Timberlake and Tupac even wore the edgy accessory.
While some of the trends from the nineties have earned their spot on the World Dressed lists nowadays, we simply must throw our support in for the bandana kerchief. It's both lazy and hip at the same time.
If you need us, we'll be hunting Temple Bar's vintage shops for more old-school baggy sportswear, coloured hair clips and tiny sunnies for festival season. Wear your bandana with pride, ladies and gents.
R&B singer R. Kelly has just announced a worldwide tour, despite the extensive abuse allegations against him going back three decades.
The world's most notorious musician's alleged predilection for engaging in sex acts with underage girls is the subject of a new documentary, Surviving R Kelly.
The series has rocked the entire world, watching the sheer scale of claims made against him over such an extended amount of time.
Kelly has consistently denied all the accusations of sexual misconduct, rape, emotional, physical and sexual abuse and holding women captive in a sex cult. He has also threatened to sue Lifetime for airing the docu-series.
The singer has an album, Trust, coming out soon and has dropped new music for his 'Day One Fans' on January 1.
Streams of his music has shockingly increased since more allegations were released to the general public, with numerous celebrities slamming his actions and treatment of black women.
R Kelly's alleged abusive treatment hasn't been a secret for the music industry; he even went on trial for child pornography back in 2001 but was acquitted of all charges despite a large amount of evidence against him.
It was also rumoured that he physically abused R&B singer Aaliyah, and it's been reported that he married her when she was just 15-years-old by forging legal documents.
Time will tell whether the tour will sell tickets, but reactions have been incredulous;
R Kelly – found not guilty with statutory rape, assault charges, child melestation… Releases banger after banger… Surviving R Kelly basically exposes everything to be true… Announces a tour… Makes my blood boil the front of this man. https://t.co/Ub3MXeAOEZ
How can you have the audacity to tour when you have held women against their will? Actually I rephrase, you have brainwashed women so they think your predator treatment is ok? Sri Lanka? S. Africa? Good luck with that tour
The six-hour docu-series premiered on Lifetime and shocked its audience with its graphic and emotionally harrowing stories from dozens of accusers.
On-camera interviews with women who claim to have been held captive in incredibly abusive situations with Kelly provided upsetting testimonies, and now an investigation will officially take place.
TMZ reports that Georgia investigators received hundreds of calls once the episodes started airing in the US on January 3, and they are still aiming to speak with accusers.
The district attorney's office has yet to publicly comment on its investigation, but in Illinois, State Attorney Kim Foxx urged members of the public to come forward with relevant information.
Despite this, she stopped short of opening up her own criminal investigation, but said in a press conference that; "Listening to survivors and giving survivors a platform to tell their stories was heartbreaking,"
She also told reporters that she was "sickened" as both as a mother and as a prosecutor by the sexual abuse allegations made.
Kelly's manager has shockingly been accused of threatening the parents of Jocylen Savage, one of the alleged predator's abuse victims, in an attempt to dissuade them from appearing in the documentary.
Timothy Savage told an officer the day the series aired that Don Russell, the R&B singer's manager, texted him to say it would be best for his family if the documentary never aired.
Savage claimed himself and his wife were both involved with Lifetime's harrowing series.
NEW: Timothy Savage, father of alleged R. Kelly victim Jocelyn Savage, has filed this police report in Henry County claiming R. Kelly’s manager Don Russell is threatening his family for speaking out in the docu-series #SurvivingRKelly, @BrittanyEdney will have more on @cbs46 at 9 pic.twitter.com/XZoiisW9PV
Surviving R Kelly was created by feminist author and filmmaker dream hampton, and also includes celebrity appearances from John Legend and Chance the Rapper, who said collaborating with the Ignition singer was a "mistake."
Chance came under fire for admitting that he didn't listen to the women's testimony or value their stories "because they are black women".
A BBC Three documentary about the singer is also available to stream now. R Kelly has strenuously denied 30 years of abuse allegations made against him, including those made in the latest miniseries.
Warning: this article may be upsetting for anyone who has experienced sexual abuse, assault or harassment.
In case you've missed the drama surrounding R Kelly following the release of a six-hour length Lifetime documentary regarding his sexual predation, the explosive TV episodes have one again brought the dangerous rapper to light.
Horrifying allegations have been made against singer R Kelly for three decades, including an upsetting trial involving 21 counts of child pornography.
The six-part documentary made by Dream Hampton, Surviving R Kelly, retraced reports of the R&B artist's consistent manipulation and abuse of underage girls and sexual misconduct going back 30 years, for which he has never faced any consequences.
Lady Gaga is now being sufficiently ROASTED for declining to appear in the documentary, despite having collaborated with him back in 2013 on the (ironic) track Do What U Want.
Twitter users are calling her out on her debated hypocrisy, as she plays a large role in the #MeToo movement and declared that she has had her own abuser, though won't name him, yet works with known paedophiles.
Her silence in 2019 on the issue has allowed the public to instead retrace a damaging 2013 interview, where the Shallow singer DEFENDS him while in Japan;
"R Kelly and I have sometimes, very untrue things written about us, so in a way this was a bond between us." Whoa, whoa, whoa. This doesn't look good for Gaga, we have to admit.
I'm confused how #LadyGaga can be so vocal in her support of #MeToo yet remain silent about R. Kelly who by the time she collaborated with him was a well known pedophile and sexual predator. #SurvivingRKelly
She is choosing to remain silent for the moment, though more than a dozen victims who claim to have been raped, enslaved and abused while underage by Kelly have spoken out in the documentary.
Gaga was one of many celebrities who declined to participate in the Surviving R Kelly series, as well as Jay-Z (another collaborator), Dave Chapelle and Mary J Blige.
The move has angered many Gaga fans, given her public history of supporting sexual assault victims.
While Lady Gaga is getting ready for the #GoldenGlobes…she is still silent on R. Kelly…
Jay Z, who during that time did a collaboration album with him, also choose to stay silent…
Is this your pop queen? Is this your Hip-hop king? #SurvivingRKelly
The rage online is palpable, as numerous fans have pointed out that this exact silence is how Kelly has been left to his own enabled devices for years.
In reality, he has had a support system around him who helped him with his predation.
Despite his child pornography trial taking place in 2002, hundreds of high profile celebrities have collaborated with him since, and are potentially only appearing regretful now because it is damaging to their brand.
Here some of the people who have collaborated with R Kelly since his 2002 indictment:
-Jay-Z
-The Game
-T. I.
-T-Pain
-Ludacris
-Kid Rock
-Usher
-Keri Hilson
-2 Chainz
-Lil Wayne
-Jeremih
-Nick Cannon
-Snoop Dogg
-Ciara
-Bow Wow
-Chance the Rapper
A conversation has also arisen surrounding the notion of sexual assault victims and race, with many pointing out that if these women had been black, their stories may have ended differently.
Chance the Rapper has apologised for collaborating with the singer, but upset many people by admitting that he didn't care about the women because they were, in fact, black.
"Making a song with R. Kelly was a mistake. I didn't value the accusers' stories because they were black."
His honesty may be important in continuing this important talk, but the words have understandably hurt millions of women of the black community, who face oppression daily in America.
He later apologised for the quotes, saying they were taken out of context and explaining that the focus should be on the fact that those young black victims were never cared for.
Jada Pinkett Smith is among the celebrities who are asking the same imperative question; Do young black women matter?
“It was incredibly difficult to get people who had collaborated with Kelly to come forward." Heartbreakingly, even friends such as Questlove declined to appear, despite believing the accusers' words.
John Legend was the only high-profile person who appeared in the film, writing on Twitter that it was an "easy decision":
To everyone telling me how courageous I am for appearing in the doc, it didn't feel risky at all. I believe these women and don't give a fuck about protecting a serial child rapist. Easy decision.
R. Kelly has continuously denied the allegations and was acquitted in 2002 of child pornography charges, yet the evidence to the contrary is overwhelming.
The documentary is massively upsetting to watch, with woman after woman telling stories with paralleling patterns of his behaviour.
Families of young women are still claiming that their daughters are being held captive by R. Kelly as 'sex slaves.'
Chicago reporter Jim DeRogatis made a report in July of 2017 in which he asserts that Kelly keeps his victims captive in Chicago and Atlanta, and two victims (Joycelyn Savage and Azriel Clary) remain in his captivity.
Human rights organisation BlackWomensBlueprint tweeted,
"The sad truth is survivors still face push-back from naysayers who question their stories or dismiss the crisis of sexual assault- especially against black women and girls. It's a terrible burden to have to endure."
Jerhonda Pace, a survivor of R.Kelly, said, “I felt like a prisoner. I didn’t have anyone to talk to. It was just me. I went into a depression. I was mentally drained, because he would break me down, then build me up, then make me feel like sh*t again, then do it all over again."
"He would really manipulate my mind. The breaking point for me was when Rob slapped me, and he choked me until I blacked out," she concluded.
Let's not forget that when the singer was 27-years-old, he forged then 15-year-old R&B sensation Aaliyah's documents to claim she was 18 in order to marry her.
The Princess of Urban Pop later died in a plane crash in the Bahamas in 2001 after the unlicensed pilot had cocaine and alcohol in his system.
The documentary's film-maker Dream Hampton claims she hopes "Surviving R. Kelly" serves as a starter tool to "shift culture" and "talk about rape culture and organise against patriarchy, which harms us all."
Non-for-profit advocacy organisation Color of Change tweeted the "strength of black women & girls is determined by how much suffering we can endure. The women in #SurvivingRKelly are our heroes."
Let's hope the conversation will finally spark action and justice for these women.
