Ovarian cancer wrist band

Stretched thin, this trend's about ready to snap

It's official. Those ubiquitous, rubber "message bracelets" have become the lapel ribbons of the 21st century. Remember when virtually everyone at the Oscars and Grammys wore a ribbon to signify finding a cure for AIDS?

Red ribbons were everywhere in the early 1990s. The craze peaked by the mid-1990s, marked by a 1995 episode of "Seinfeld" in which Kramer refused to wear a ribbon for an AIDS walk. (Ribbon bully: "But I am wearing the ribbon. He is wearing the ribbon. We are all wearing the ribbon! So why aren't you going to wear the ribbon!?" Kramer: "This is America! I don't have to wear anything I don't want to wear!")

You won't see ribbons at this year's Oscars. It doesn't mean the celebrities aren't concerned about AIDS; it just means they're also concerned about showing their concern in a fashionable manner.

These days, whether you're a movie star or a sixth-grader, it's all about the bracelet.

LiveStrong and LookHip

The trend started with the yellow "LiveStrong" band from Lance Armstrong to promote and fund cancer research. It was a great gimmick with all the right elements: an admirable icon asking for our help; an affordable, conversation-starter of a trinket that says you care, and a cause that touches just about everyone and deserves every dollar we can give. Soon everyone from President Bush and John Kerry to Bono to Angelina Jolie was wearing the bands.

Early on, friends and associates gave me LiveStrong bracelets and asked me to wear them -- and I think they meant "wear them on TV." I'll admit I stopped wearing mine after a few days because I felt like I was coming across more like a Bono-wannabe pseudo-celeb trying to be trendy than a true do-gooder. Nothing against those who do wear them; it's just not my style.

As the trend skyrocketed, and the LiveStrong bracelet became one of the defining pop culture trinkets of our time, you knew there'd be a ripple effect.

Nothing pure and simple stays pure and simple.

Some hospitals have expressed concern that the LiveStrong wrist bands could be the cause of a tragic mistake, as the yellow bracelets are the same hue as some "Do Not Resuscitate" wristbands.

There also have been stories about Armstrong's efforts to put counterfeiters out of business. The official LiveStrong band has raised tens of millions for cancer research, but there have been reports of unscrupulous vendors selling unsanctioned, knockoff bands with the LiveStrong logo.

Then there's the online vendor, www.livestrongbracelets.net. They donate a portion of their profits to cancer research -- but they're not affiliated with Lance Armstrong. Still, at least they're upfront about their greed:

"Please be aware that NOT 100 percent of your purchase will go to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. If your main purpose of purchase is to support the research of cancer, please be aware that we are resellers that make profits. [The bracelets] are a fashion trend nowadays which comes back to the laws of supply and demand. ...

"We are not the Lance Armstrong Foundation; we purchase the LiveStrong bracelets from them and resell them at a higher price, just like ... hundreds of other people do."

The site also sells red-white-and-blue "USA" bracelets. Teal bracelets indicating war on Ovarian Cancer. Rainbow-colored "Live Long" bracelets for breast cancer research. White "Jesus Loves Me" bracelets. Orange and green "Peace" bracelets.

Didn't we just go through all this with car magnets?

The bracelet bandwagon

Last weekend at SoxFest, the White Sox introduced the "new must- have accessory for White Sox fans: a 'Sox Pride' wristband." The wristbands go for $2, with proceeds going to Chicago White Sox Charities.

The Cubs also will have a wristband. Everybody is going to have a wristband for every conceivable cause. Already you can get a "Support Our Troops" camouflage wristband at 7-Eleven; a blue, "I DID NOT VOTE 4 BUSH" bracelet; or a pro-Bush, "COUNT ME RED" bracelet. Elementary schools across the country are selling custom-made items to raise funds.

So it goes, with no end in sight.

Actually there is an end in sight. Someday in the not-too-distant future, the Society of People Who Decide These Things will secretly declare an end to the rubber bracelet trend. They'll quietly put their "LiveStrong" bracelets in a drawer and replace them with . . . something else.

The rest of us, we'll catch on eventually. And one by one, we'll also retire our wristbands.

Because the only thing we care about more than supporting a good cause is to support our own coolness. Nobody wants to be the last person in the room to know when the trend is over.

On Feb. 12, Richard Roeper hosts a fund-raiser at Soundbar for "Friends For Steven," supporting pediatric cancer research at Children's Memorial Hospital. For tickets go to www.friendsforsteven .org.