Ultimate hair a-peel: yes, 1980s-style banana clips are making a comeback

The hair accessory follows the scrunchie as the latest vintage accessory to hit Instagram

The banana clip was a style staple for Deb (Tina Majorino) in 2004 hit movie 'Napoleon Dynamite' and they are making an Instagram comeback in 2020. Shutterstock

Someone call Gwen Stefani, because this trend is B-A-N-A-N-A-S!

Following in the footsteps of scrunchies and claw clips, the latest 1980s craze to be given the Gen Z treatment is the humble plastic banana clip, because the hair accessory of choice for a stylistically challenged generation is enjoying a modern resurgence.

Once the scourge of the playground, when even a light game of tag would dislodge it from silky schoolgirl hair, to be trodden upon with a shattering crunch by a passing boy, the clip 'n' go accessory has been popping up all over Instagram as new devotees discover the tress-taming adornment and put a modern spin on how it's worn.

This time around, hair isn't crimped to within an inch of its life as it was three decades ago, but rather given extra volume with plenty of blow-drying and spritzes of dry shampoo.

Tipped to be the big hair trend this autumn, purists will want to snap up a tortoiseshell version and team it with an overall fashion look that channels Napoleon Dynamite's Deb.

Claw clips were given a stylish makeover by Alexander Wang in 2018, and since then fashion's love affair with style nostalgia hasn't wavered, with autumn / winter 2020 catwalks filled with homages to ultimate 1980s style icon Princess Diana and her love of statement collars, blazer dresses and nipped-in waists.

Meanwhile, scrunchies hit their peak again last year when they became a must-have part of the uniform for teenage "VSCO girls", a preppy yet casual aesthetic that sprung up around the photo and video-sharing app VSCO.

And now that we've revisited scrunchies, claw clips and banana clips, savvy hair hipsters looking for the next big thing might want to consider stocking up on those tiny butterfly clips that were impossible for anyone without hands the size of a six-year-old's to grasp, one of those plastic cone ponytail holders that left you with a three-day ponytail headache, or an unfeasibly large taffeta bow that pioneer Madonna has a lot to answer for. But then again, doesn't she always ...