"Like landlines, Polaroid cameras and Lisa Frank designs, yet another 1980s item seems to be making a comeback: metal braces. TODAY anchors Craig Melvin, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones and Dylan Dreyer discussed their own history with braces as well as the transformation of braces from geek to chic. "Back in the '80s and the '90s, Anthony Michael Hall had braces, right?" began Sheinelle on the Sep. 17 show. "And it almost signified teen awkwardness, almost like a prop. But now people are proud of them.""
""I had braces, and I think glasses at the same time," said Dylan. But then the anchors paused to "ooo" and "ahh" as a glamor shot of young Dylan with braces and big hair flashed across the screen. "You went to a mall in New Jersey for that picture for sure!" Craig joked. "How old were you there ... 26?" "I was only about 12," Dylan said with a laugh, "which is funny because I look about 35.""
""No, they just got some barbed wire and got a blacksmith to go in," Al said. Unfortunately, there isn't a photo of Al with braces "because they didn't have film then," he said. Craig said that he never had braces because his family couldn't afford them at the time. "Because they spent all that money on the violin," said Al as an iconic photo of young Craig and his violin flashed across the screen."
Metal braces have shifted from a marker of teen awkwardness in the 1980s and 1990s to a current fashion statement embraced with pride. Nostalgic images pair braces with era-specific looks like big hair and box perms, prompting playful reactions and teasing. Personal anecdotes include a sixth-grade child recently starting braces and recollections that some families could not afford orthodontics. Jokes and lighthearted commentary accompanied the throwback photos, blending humor with acceptance. Celebrity associations from past decades helped shape the braces' cultural meaning, while modern wearers display them as a retro-chic accessory.
Read at TODAY.com
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