The History of Friendship Bracelets

It’s thought that friendship bracelets can be traced back to the Indigenous peoples of Central and South America, particularly the Maya, who had a rich weaving tradition. Macrame friendship bracelets were later made and worn by American hippies in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1990s and early 2000s, American schoolchildren often made knotted bracelets and shared them among friends. The friendship bracelet trend cooled for several years, but was revived during the massive Taylor Swift Eras Tour that ran from 2023 to 2024. Fans began making beaded bracelets to exchange with one another at shows after being inspired by a lyric in one of the artist's songs, “You’re on Your Own, Kid.” Since then, the trend has grown beyond Taylor Swift concerts and friendship bracelets are now exchanged regularly, especially among Gen Z’ers and Millennials. It’s thought that the trend has caught on so readily not only due to the power of nostalgia, but also because friendship bracelets offer a genuine sense of in-person connection in today’s technological world.