The History of Claw Clips

Claw clips got their name because they have two rows of “teeth” that clamp down like a claw. (They’re sometimes alternatively referred to as “jaw clips.”) They’re typically made from metal, plastic, or cellulose acetate and have been sold mostly at drugstores since their inception. Claw clips are thought to have been inspired by the banana clips of the 1980s but had their own breakout moment in the 1990s. The claw clip trend continued into the early 2000s, but soon faded out of favor. Perhaps the claw clip’s most well-known association is Rachel Green’s now-iconic messy claw clip bun on Friends. Like many fashion trends from the 1990s and early 2000s, the claw clip has been steadily gaining popularity recently. In fact, the resurgence of the claw clip can be traced to Alexander Wang’s 2018 fall show, in which models walked the runway wearing large chrome silver hair clips with Wang’s name stamped on the clasp. Following the show, models and tastemakers began to wear the accessory, bringing it back into popular use for the first time since its heyday in the 1990s.