Scrunchie (pronounced skruhn-chee)
An
elastic band covered with gathered fabric, used to fasten the hair, as in a
ponytail (usually as scrunchie).
1987: The construct was scrunch + -ie. Scrunch has existed since the early
nineteenth century, either an intensive form of crunch; ultimately derived from the onomatopoeia of a crumpling
sound or a blend of squeeze + crunch. The suffix -ie was a variant spelling of
-ee, -ey & -y and was used to form diminutive or affectionate forms of
nouns or names. It was used also
(sometimes in a derogatory sense to form colloquial nouns signifying the person
associated with the suffixed noun or verb (eg bike: bikie, surf: surfie, hood:
hoodie etc). Scrunchie is now used almost
exclusively to describe the hair accessory.
Historically, the older form (scrunchy) was used for every other purpose
but since the emergence of the new spelling there’s now some overlap. Never fond of adopting an English coining, in
French, the term is élastique
à cheveux (hair elastic).
Mean Girls (2004) themed scrunchies are available on-line.
The Dinner Scrunchie
A more recent evolution is the enlarged version called the Dinner Scrunchie, so named, the brand suggests, because it's "elevated enough to wear to dinner". They're available from MyKitsch in black and designer colors and, covered with semi-sheer chiffon, they're eight inches (200mm) in diameter, about the size of a small dinner plate. Breakfast and lunch scrunchie seem not to be a thing but those gaps in the market are catered to by the Brunch Scrunchie which while larger than most, is smaller and cheaper than the dinner version; it appear to be about the size of a bread & butter plate.
Rita Ora (b 1990) in fluoro scrunchie, New York City, May 2014.
The most obvious novelty of the bigger scrunchies is of course the large size and because that translates into greater surface area, in the minds of many, thoughts turn immediately to advertising space. There are possibilities but because of the inherent scrunchiness, they're really not suitable for text displays except perhaps for something simple like X (formerly known as Twitter) although Elon Musk (b 1971) probably thinks whatever else X may require, it's not brand awareness or recognition. Where a message can be conveyed with something as simple as a color combination (such as the LGBTQQIAAOP's rainbow flag), the scrunchie can be a good billboard.
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