Scrunchies make fashion comeback at Olympics

London, Aug 3 (ANI): Olympic gymnasts have brought back in vogue, the most debated hair accessory in history.

The scrunchie, usually resigned to laughable images from the Eighties and Nineties, is a traditional hair accessory for the gravity-defying sport.

The put-together Olympians, with their clean and slicked back ponytails, always complete their outfits with a matching scrunchie.

Popularised during the mid-Eighties, the scrunchie, patented by Rommy Revson in 1994, quickly became the most fashionable hair accessory of that time.

Available in a range of colours and fabrics, they were simultaneously the most fashionable and hair-friendly accessories on the market.

But after a good run, the scrunchie ultimately became passe as an accessory indicative of an era when side-ponytails and fingerless gloves were considered the height of style.

Even Hilary Clinton made headlines earlier this year for her scrunchie-wearing ways.

Defying her staff's request in a recent issue of Elle magazine to 'ban her scrunchies', the Secretary of State sported the frilly accessory.

Making a scrunchie statement, while in Cambodia at the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Policy Dialogue, she upgraded her usual cotton style to evening-ready metallic paillettes.

Now, after a decade of battling a bad rap, the pinnacle of which came during a 2003 episode of Sex and the City, when Carrie Bradshaw famously insisted that 'real' New York women would never wear a scrunchie, the accessory's ruffled glory is again capturing the attention and hearts of millions.

When the U.S. women's gymnastics team took the gold in London earlier this week, two of the seven-team members were seen sporting scrunchies.

Viewers quickly noticed, taking to Twitter to discuss it.

"I've noticed many things while watching late night gymnastics. Most notable: the scrunchie is alive and well," the Daily Mail quoted ESPN broadcaster Samantha Steele as writing.

Another user tweeted: "Gymnastics: single-handedly keeping scrunchie manufacturers in business."

Gymnast Lindsey Green told Today, that it isn't the aesthetic, but function that are key to their popularity in gymnastics.

"I don't know what they make these things out of but they just hold your hair so much better than a regular elastic," she said.

"It's so solid and you could literally do 100 back-flips and your hair would really not come out of the scrunchie. If your hair is in your face and you're trying to balance on a beam you've got a big problem in front of you," she added. (ANI)