12 Products From 2016 That Are Suddenly Cool Again Among Ohioans in 2026
A shopper digging through the racks at a Cleveland-area consignment shop stops on a pair of leggings covered in a loud purple paisley print, the LuLaRoe tag still stitched into the waistband.
She pays five dollars for pants that cost three times that when they were new a decade ago.
She’s not digging alone.
Ohio thrift shops, closets, and Facebook groups are turning up the same decade-old finds.
These are the products from 2016 that are suddenly cool again among Ohioans in 2026.
1. Choker Necklaces
Choker necklaces had a moment in 2016 that felt impossible to top, with sales rising 120% that year alone as many Ohio teenagers added one to a going-out outfit.
Then they all but disappeared.
Chokers are one of the pieces fashion writers are still revisiting as part of that same 2016 wave in 2026.
Ohio mall jewelry counters, the kind tucked inside Easton Town Center and Crocker Park, are carrying sculptural metal versions instead of the plain black cord everyone wore a decade ago.
The style changed.
The appeal didn’t.
2. Bomber Jackets
Bomber jackets had their own breakout year in Ohio in 2016, when style searches jumped 500%.
Fast-fashion racks from Columbus to Cincinnati carried a version that same year.
The silhouette faded once puffer coats took over Ohio winters.
Bomber jackets are back in style for 2026, paired by stylists with lace slip dresses the same way they were the first time around.
Ohio shoppers are finding it looser, often in suede or leather instead of the thin nylon shells that sold out in 2016.
Bigger fit.
Same jacket.
3. Wired Headphones
Wired headphones were common in Ohio classrooms and cars back in 2016, right up until wireless earbuds took over seemingly overnight.
That reign is coming back.
Wired headphones posted a 20% jump in sales in the first six weeks of 2026 alone, the sharpest increase in five years, according to industry tracker Circana.
Part of it is nostalgia.
Part of it is practical: A cord never runs out of battery mid-shift at a warehouse job or mid-workout at the gym.
4. Vans Old Skool Sneakers
Vans Old Skool sneakers were everywhere in Ohio hallways in 2016, checkerboard stripe and all, back when the shoe felt like the default pick for anyone who skated or just wanted to look like they did.
Bulkier dad sneakers had their run after that.
Vans is calling it a skate-shoe revival in 2026, rolling out new checkerboard colorways through the year as the Old Skool lands back on shelves at Ohio mall stores.
Old shoe.
New line out the door.
5. Skinny Jeans
Skinny jeans defined Ohio denim in 2016, tight from hip to ankle on many teenagers at the state fair or the football stadium that year.
Wide-leg and baggy cuts pushed them out of the closet entirely after that.
Slim, skinny-adjacent cuts are back in favor for 2026, the tailored opposite of the wide-leg styles that pushed them out.
Abercrombie, the retailer headquartered right in New Albany, Ohio, has them back on shelves too.
Not identical.
Close enough to feel familiar.
6. LuLaRoe Printed Leggings
LuLaRoe printed leggings turned into a full phenomenon in 2016, the loud florals and paisleys selling through home-based Facebook parties across Ohio.
The brand’s sales grew toward $2 billion in just four years.
Lawsuits and a 2021 documentary cooled LuLaRoe fast.
The leggings never fully left Ohio closets.
They’re turning up again at consignment shops in Columbus and Cleveland in 2026, bought half as a joke and half out of genuine affection for the prints.
Five bucks a pair.
Worth the story alone.
Why Not Every 2016 Item Holds Its Value
Not every product from 2016 gets a second act like LuLaRoe’s leggings.
Hatchimals prove it: The robotic toy egg sold out across Ohio before Christmas in 2016 and resold online for triple its retail price that winter.
That resale value never carried past the holiday season.
Hatchimals now turn up in Ohio thrift-store toy bins for a few dollars, not a markup.
Fashion items resurge because people want to wear something familiar again.
A toy only holds its resale value while supply stays scarce.
Once the shortage ended, so did the demand that came with it.
7. UGG Boots
UGG boots owned Ohio winters in 2016, sheepskin worn with leggings to school pickup lines and tailgates alike.
The classic style all but vanished from Ohio closets for the better part of a decade after that.
UGG is back on shelves in 2026 with sleeker, slimmer silhouettes than the boxy 2016 version, and the brand is expanding fast as shoppers chase down every new style.
DSW, the shoe chain headquartered right in Columbus, has the classic boot back in its own aisles too.
Same brand.
Slimmer boot.
8. King Kylie Lip Kit
The King Kylie Lip Kit was the product that launched Kylie Cosmetics in 2016, selling out in under a minute the first time Kylie Jenner offered it online.
Kylie Cosmetics discontinued the King Kylie Lip Kit once newer collections took its place.
Kylie Cosmetics brought it back for a 10-year anniversary, reissuing the original Matte Lip Kit in its 2015 packaging and shades.
Ulta and Sephora counters inside Polaris Fashion Place have kept it in stock through 2026.
Same matte formula.
Same waiting-list energy.
Psst! How much do you know about Ohio’s biggest 2016 moments? Take our quiz and see how many you can get right.
Quiz
2016 Ohio Rewind
Answer these questions on Ohio’s biggest 2016 moments. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
Which Cleveland team ended the city’s 52-year wait for a professional sports championship in June 2016?
9. Backless Loafers and Mules
Backless loafers had their defining moment in Ohio in 2016, when Gucci's fur-lined Princetown mule became the shoe every fashion editor wanted.
Sneakers and chunky dad shoes crowded them out of the rotation for a few years after that.
Mules are back in rotation for fall 2026, the kind of classic silhouette stylists keep returning to.
Resale racks at Columbus's Clothes Mentor are turning up the backless flats and loafers people packed away years ago.
No laces.
No trouble finding them again.
10. Fringe Ankle Boots
Fringe ankle boots hit their peak in Ohio in 2016, the swingy tassels showing up on many pairs of booties at back-to-school shopping trips that fall.
Plain, fringe-free boots took their place for years after that.
Western-style boots are the strongest category in one of fall 2026's biggest sales, and fringe is riding back in right alongside them.
Nordstrom at Beachwood Place, outside Cleveland, has fringe and western boots back on its own boot wall.
The tassels returned.
Ohio shoppers didn't skip a beat.
11. Carhartt Barn Jackets
Carhartt barn jackets moved beyond job sites and into everyday Ohio closets in 2016, when the brand's workwear look crossed over into mainstream fashion for the first time.
Sleeker puffer coats and cropped jackets pushed the boxy canvas look aside for a while.
Carhartt is back in heavy rotation for 2026, and Gear Patrol's coverage counts the brand among the workwear labels still turning out hit after hit this year.
Tractor Supply stores in small Ohio towns like Wooster and Chillicothe never stopped carrying the jacket, and now it's selling to people who've never set foot on a farm.
Still boxy, still warm.
12. Lace Slip Dresses
Lace slip dresses defined dressed-up Ohio nights out in 2016, worn under a cropped jacket to make the delicate fabric feel a little tougher.
The style faded once bodycon and midi dresses took over for a few years.
Lace slip dresses are turning up again in 2026, with stylists calling lace trim one of the defining pieces of the season.
The boutiques lining Columbus's Short North are carrying them again for 2026.
Back in rotation.
Stylists are pairing the dress with the same style of cropped jacket, or a plain white tee underneath, instead of the strappy heels that made the 2016 version feel more formal.
The slip dress that once needed a going-out reason now works for a Tuesday, and Ohio shoppers are buying it exactly that way.
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