Oh, I loved the 40’s flippy tea dresses worn with Docs, like Gwen in the No Doubt, Don’t Speak video. I’m still addicted to the red lips all these years later.

I turned 18 in 1999 and when I look back at pictures, particularly from 7th and 8th grade (1993 thru 1995) I can’t help laughing. Huge baggy sweatshirts with cartoon characters like Looney Tunes and the Flintstones (my Pebbles and Bam-Bam sweatshirt was the envy of my entire 7th grade lunch table), t-shirts from bands like Oasis, Weezer and Green Day with the giant-legged JNCO jeans…it’s horrifying, but it’s what we all wore! I also went through my “Clueless” phase in 9th grade when I wore nothing but kilts with over-the-knee socks and Mary Janes with barrettes in my hair. I dabbled in grunge for a bit while I was dating a guitar-player but it didn’t last, and neither did he. I was definitely a fashion schizo through the 90s. I’m laughing just thinking about it!

I wish that I could completely do the first half of the ’90s over for many reasons, fashion included. I indulged a little enthusiastically in the grunge look. When my body was at its most fabulous, I was hiding it underneath frumpy sweaters, and baggy jeans. Sigh….

I’ll always have a soft spot for 90’s mostly because I hated the clothes so much I actually learned to sew! ;D Truthfully, the 90’s was something of a “kinder, gentler” decade compared to the 80’s. It was also the decade I met my DH and got married and bought our first house so everything has a rose colored tint to it.

I like lowrise jeans. Besides just liking the look, they’re easier to fit. You only have to match hip measurements, not hip and waist together in the same pair of pants.

I also like long flowing skirts and the grunge plaid, ripped jeans, and doc martens.

I love chunky heels, and spandex, spandex, spandex! Turtlenecks, blouses, camisoles, jeans… everything fits better with spandex.

The 90s to me means black, black and Prada (not that I *bought* Prada, but I was influenced anyway). Remember those nylon Prada totes everyone had to have?

I do love chunky heels, opaque tights and square toes, and have tucked away for a decade a pair of square-toed loafers with a gold buckle that are totally funky in a Pilgrim-esque way. Some day, they will come back and be fabulous again.

The 90’s were a special time in my life and since I was a broke college student at the time; my style developed out of a fascination for retro styles – which was at that time, very obtainable at Salvation Army/Thrift Stores. The 90’s allowed many to also be very creative about their looks. It was a time before the average Joe/Jane became obsessed with labels…that is until the whole Calvin Klein thing broke out:( Again, I don’t know…the 90’s were a special time and I think that style back then had a lot to do with real self expression, an unsatisfaction with politics/society…generally, I think people had a lot to say back then and it was more than evident in the way they dressed, the music that they listened too, and how they chose to live their lives….wow, am I romanticizing the 90’s a bit too much ?

You are jogging my memory! I remember seeing lots of people wearing Loony Tunes characters on T’s, sweaters and ties.

Doc Martens were still the look in the early 90’s, yet I see them as a late 80’s thing. I guess there is lots of overflow.

Laura, Prada was the designer of the 90’s and I remember those nylon Prada totes well. They were also copied and sold on every street corner in Hong Kong.

Saying that the 90’s was a gentler and kinder fashion decade than the 80’s is a great way of putting it, Lisette. Yet my worse look for the latter part of the decade has got to be low rise jeans worn with short tops. Lots of exposed bottom cleavage and muffin top. Just awful.

I’m hearing lots of people reminisce about the 90’s. Fun! The 90’s is to you what the 80’s is to me

I’m going to have to go with politicians answer… “I do not recall…”
the 90’s for me was maternity, sleepless nights, and dirty diapers. I do remember that I had some outfits that I felt particularly good in. I”ll have to take a trip down memory lane later and see if I can jog my memory. And, I’m sure that nothing I ever wore was really “of the fashion moment.”

I think the makeup looks of the 90s put forward by MAC and Bobbi Brown were revolutionary in their naturalness.

I was a working person (starting my career) who wore suits to work for most of the 90s. Opaque hose were a godsend, as were the chunkier heels.

I kinda like some of the grunge looks because I love that music. But the 90s is truly when hip hop style started to rule. It’s not my favorite but it did give a voice to a previously ignored segment of the population.

I do think some of the oversized clothes (not hip hop, just normal clothes) were very unflattering and I would never wear those again. I didn’t get into the belly bearing outfits; I thought they were tasteless then and still are.

I loved being able to wear a white crew neck tshirt under anything in the 90s. Even under a slip dress. That was very comfy!

Finally, I miss the quality of the clothes from regular stores like J Crew and Eddie Bauer. No more.

In the 90s I was a college student, then got my first professional job, so I am definitely the product of the 90s. I didn’t dress grungy or wear maxi skirts, but I did wear a lot of black, beige, opaque tights, square toe shoes with chunky heels I also like those shoes that were kind of ankle height laced booties? I am sure there is a proper term for those When I catch a glimpse of Friends or especially Seinfeld on TV, I do cringe at the clothes. Julia Louis-Dreyfus used to wear those floral maxi skirts all the time.

I was in high school and college in the 90s so yes, the 90s are for me what the 80s are for you except I don’t think I was very stylish even by 90s standards. I did the whole grunge thing which was terrible, but I have enjoyed the revival of plaid in non-flannel fabrications. I don’t really remember short tops and low rise jeans– I’m sure my midriff was always covered. I at least had a sense of modesty even if it was boxy t-shirts and plaid shirts that did the covering. I was also a khaki wearing, tucked shirt with a belt kind of person. And I liked JCrew. I also don’t think I ever owned any long skirts; it’s never been my style. Mostly I was clueless with regards to fashion but maybe it help me escape some of the bad things. Along with modern fabrications, I think the 90s marks the birth of the modern clean lines in fashion, even if it wasn’t fully executed till the 00s. That’s what the black Prada bag and black black black (remember the white mod blouses too?) was all about. And clean lines is what I’m all about.

P.S. I think there needs to be a name for a person’s first fashion decade– the decade when you are in high school and/or college for which you will always have the youthful nostalgia for the pop culture and fashion.

I finally became aware of trends in the 90s, so I have deep affection for them. Docs and babydoll dresses, Mary Janes and loads of plaid.

One thing I particularly liked about the 90s was that it was less style conformity than the previous decades. Maybe it’s my age (34), but I felt like the 90s were a bit more “feel free to do your own thing” decade while the previous decades were a lot more restrictive on looks. In the 80s, it was as if you didn’t have THE right brand of tight-legged jeans with bows and zippers on the back of the ankles, you weren’t anybody.

And it seems like things keep going towards less conformity. These days a straight leg jean is considered stylish, along with very slim jeans, or distressed jeans or boyfriend jeans. Not just one single look.

One more thought– I could see doing grunge again with a smart casual or even business casual twist. Now, Angie, how could I execute that?

I never realized how terrible the ’90s were until you mentioned 90210. Bleah. (I am sad that flannels were perceived as a fashion item and thus went “out” because they are so useful here in Seattle.)

People tease about the ’80s, but those granny dresses of the ’90s (of which I am guilty) were pretty hideous.

Well, I remember loads of the 90s styles mentioned here but my wardrobe for the first half of the decade was dominated by conservative career wear. Then I had babies, one in ‘95 and another in ‘97 so the second half of that era is (as it is for Queenie), sort of a blur. My “style” was centered around several easy to wear “mommy” outfits that could withstand drool and other things best not detailed here. I was on a strict budget back then but oh how I wish that I had had “mom on the go” outfit ideas to help me…

I’ve never gotten to the point of enjoying the volume (or even the skinny jeans, really) of the 00’s, so I think fondly of the bootcut jeans and tailored looks of the 90s.

I was a teenager for a good chunk of the 90s so I did a little bit of grunge too. My father’s flannel shirt was probably my favorite fashion item from the whole decade. I’m glad I got to do that stuff then so I won’t be tempted by it now!

It’s funny because what I remember most about 90’s fashion is the 70’s fashion coming back. I graduated from high school in ‘99 (so my high school years were ‘95-’99). I did a bit of the grunge look in 8th and 9th grade but as that went out it was ALL about thrifting 70’s polyester blouses and burgundy/reddish leather jackets, as well as retro looking Levi corduroy pants with some sort of vintage tshirt. Everyone wore there hair long and parted in the middle. I also remember flared jeans becoming popular around this time which echoed the bell bottom look. And remember all the bowling shirts? It’s not a 70’s thing but another item that was already retro at the time. I can picture that on Chandler from Friends. For the guys, thriting a workman’s type jacket or bowling shirt with a name stitched on it was an ulitmate find.

So when a decade is revived, does the revival that was within that decade come back, too? This is making my head hurt a bit…:) I enjoy though when all the trends/decades are mixed up, which I think is happening more and more. All kinds of silhouettes and looks are simultaneously in the stores nowadays instead of just a narrow idea of what is “in”.

since you mentioned it, seinfeld gets my vote for worst fashion on a tv sitcom EVER. and yet it’s also one of my favorite programs of all time. go figure. LOL

I know nothing of the 90’s style except that as a construction working single mom, I seemed to be somewhat in style with my daughter’s friends. Their overalls were MUCH more baggy on them than mine were on me. Super baggy clothing is a safety issue on the job. The plaid flannel shirts, clunky work boots, Levis, and Carhardt jeans and jackets that I wore, seemed to be on the high school kids too.

The eras of style that I don’t like very much are the eras that have a womans waist all cinched up tight .

I graduated from high school in the early 90s, from college in the mid-90s and got married in the late 90s. So the 90s the blissful memories of young adulthood for me. Such a carefree time!

What did I love wearing? I loved the flowing rayon floral dresses, crinkle skirts (yes, they were calf-length), linen pants and linen or denim oversized button-downs. I remember sling-back kitten heeled pumps, and chunky oxfords (they weren’t docs, but a distressed brown leather). Oh, I loved a wool wrap fitted jumper (again, mid-calf length) which I wore a cream turtleneck under. I also had a pink sheath dress that was very short, which I wore with cream hose and cream shoes.

I guess hems were either short or long, and I remember around 2000 finally putting on a skirt with a knee-length hem and realizing how much better it looked, and how much better I felt. Like a grown up!

Hmmm, I just read the Seinfeld comment, and remember that at the time I really liked almost everything Elaine wore!

I really loved the minimal makeup and sleeker hair after the overdone 80s and agree that the 90s ushered in in cleaner look. However, I’d like never to see again the babydoll dresses and clunky shoes.

And I have to admit there were several maxiskirts I cleaned out of my closet just last week (I know, I know). I hadn’t worn them in years and tried them on just for fun. Good grief…I looked like I’d walked out of a Little House on the Prairie episode. They were promptly thrown in the Goodwill pile after I could collect myself!

Oh boy! That’s me, black from head to toe. I worked for a couple of Internet companies at the time in SF and San Jose and that was our uniform. And t-shirts that have lasted far longer than any of the companies who gave them to me. (Saving them to make a quilt featuring old skool technology stuff) Those suits that I wore when going to corporate meetings, yikes, scary stuff. Finally wearing jeans after all the years of slacks, that was a biggie for me in the ’90s – jeans weren’t really worn to an office. Oh, but I did have a jumper over black tights, black turtle and laceup black chunky heel shoes that I wore to death (jumper also dark grey and black)! Also a couple of black short skirts I wouldn’t (and couldn’t) be caught dead in now. Haha, funny thoughts abound. Fun to think about how our fashion sense has changed and grown.

Since I grew up in the 90s I almost feel like I have to take it personally when someone disses it (a favorite 90s word). Yes, 90s fashion kind of sucked…but so did 80s fashion. There is a huge difference between truly good style and simply feeling nostalgic. I don’t feel that the 80s were any better frankly–in many ways they were worse. But I wear 80s revival items all the time now. They were reinterpreted in a great way. How many of us cringed in terrorwhen we first heard the 80s were coming back? And howany of us are eating our words now?

I can absolutely see grunge being reinterpreted in a fab and unexpected way and I’m already seeing it in all the cute plaid shirts on display right now. The footwear would also be a welcome relief. I was only 6 when the 90s began and 15 by the time they ended, and in that time my interst in fashion really took hold. I’m very nostalgic about the 90s and I think they were more fun than the 80s gals give them credit for. But I accept that it certainly doesn’t make it a stylish time. But I reemhasize: neither were the 80s, regardless of whether you had fun or not. I was pessimistic about the 90s but after reflection, I think I’d rather keep an open mind

Oh,and Angie, don’t you STILL wear those Doc Martins??

I wrote that from my phone so pardon any typos…

I remember these horrible dresses: denim from the waist up and floral from the waist down. Sometimes the floral was a sunflower print. Ugh. I never got one, thankfully.

I do love the minimalism from the 90s.

90s love:
- baby tees with spaghetti strap dresses
- combat boots/docs
- still love the lowrise jeans
- chunky heels
- knee socks!
- thrift/deconstructed details (sucker for old stuff & history here)
- flannel

not so love:
- “Blossom” hats
- 90s hip hop looks
- oversized flannel
- greasy hair

When I think of the 90’s I really remember the minimalism. I am a minimalist dresser myself, so I think this is why I really like the 90’s fashion wise. When I think of the 90’s I do think of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, and the lines of Prada and Calvin Klein. I was not wearing any Prada I might add, but I really liked the simplicity of the clothing at the time. The color palette was really neutral as well which is also a good match for me color wise. Like the clothing the makeup and accessories were really pared down which is really appealing to me to this day.

OK, now that I am at my computer…my yay and nay lists:

YAY

-Babydoll dresses
-Chunky platform shoes
-Knee high socks
-Plaid anything, particularly short plaid skirts
-Penny loafers
-Side ponytails (can look cute, I swear)
-Goth and grunge-inspired looks
-Airwalk, which is now a Payless brand, used to make some nice non-athletic footwear. It would be fun to see a new style from a new company.
-Vans slipons, another cute skater phenomenon but very casual.
-Hats in general, but not Blossom hats, which are on my nay list

NAY

-Baggy JNCO jeans
-Ditzy Laura Ashley florals
-Maxi skirts, particularly those made of rigid denim. I believe those were called “hobble skirts” for a reason.
-Scrunchies
-Bandage dresses. As a nation, we are collectively way too out of shape for these!
-Overalls
-Blossom hats (though I loved them at the time)
-The Rachael. Somehow no one could get that haircut to look like it did on Jennifer Aniston.
-Leather pants
-Extremely flared bellbottom jeans. I saw these come back a while ago and was appalled at how awful they looked. Hope they won’t be back.
-Chunky silver ball necklaces
-Hemp jewelry
-Gauchos (are these 90’s or early 2000’s? I can’t remember)
-Hammer pants, but I guess that already happened. And even in a funky hip and trendy place like Urban Outfitters, they all ended up on the clearance rack.

YAY purely for nostalgia but not style:

-Lava lamps
-Slap bracelets
-Shirt clips
-”Mean people suck” stickers :p

Honestly I am too young to really remember the fashion of the 90s as my mother dressed me for the majority of that time period, but I do remember being infatuated with jelly shoes and huge platform sneakers. I wore a lot of sweatshirts with cartoon characters too. Keep in mind, I was age 3-12 in the 90s.

These comments are such fun to read! You’re jogging my memory like nobody’s business: dresses with denim uppers and floral bottoms, platform sneakers, long hair parted in the middle, baby T’s, hemp jewelry, dungarees (heaven help us), and wearing T’s under strappy floral dresses with combat boots. Yeah. Wore it all. But for the most part in the 90’s, I was climbing the corporate ladder in power suits, pastels and black from head to toe.

San, you crack me up.

Patience and Maya, you hit the nail on the head. Everyone has an era that holds a special place in their heart. It’s “their first fashion decade” and therefore extremely nostalgic for them – which is why they are protective about that era. I feel that way about the 80’s. Lasses older than me might feel that way about the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s. Lasses who are younger feel that way about the 90’s.

High five, budget babe! Seinfeld ranks as my top show of all time too. I still watch the reruns daily, know most episodes off by heart and wish that George was my friend. So much better than Sex and the City – another 90’s show.

In the 90s I hated the half shirt bare midriff looks, but I like the minimalism of lack of detailing, limited color palettes, gorgeous fabrics. I may be thinking of the latter half of the 90s but that’s what I wore then and I really enjoyed my look at the time. I’m not terribly embarassed to look back on photos of me then.

And as someone else has mentioned, I loved the shoes then too.

as a lover of vintage, have to say that every decade has beautiful clothing. it just depends on how they’re combined. 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, 00’s, they all have treasures to be mined!

you all realize that there will be another Little House on the Prairie fashion moment eventually, right? it will happen.

90’s were my first fashion era. I was a teenager throughout most of that case and absolutely loved waring strappy floral dresses over baby tees with combat boots. I loved the introduction of spandex too ( evn had on of those bandage dresses). 90’s are in gnral mych closer to my harth fashion wise than 80’s.

Urghhh… I apologize for all the typing errors, the ‘e’ key on my keyboard is almost broken, it needs a lot of pressure.

I can’t wait for the prairie revival!
I’m squealing at the thought of more grunge-styled mini floral dresses, denim, and tough boots (combat, motorcycle, etc.) Basically, I want to be Janene Garafalo from Reality Bites, the coolest 90s girl ever (to me, anyway).
The 90s were my first decade. I am excited for the hip hop jeans, the tanks and spaghetti dresses, baby dolls, and muted colors. And the hats! There were still some leggings and stirrup pants too. I lived in low rise jeans and cropped tops towards the end of the decade (no one had informed me that this is not the best look for a longer torso, I was just aware of how trim and toned that teenaged torso was). Yeay for the 90s revival!

I looooved the late 90s: living in Manhattan; great job; heaps of cute boys taking me out to dinners; a fit and healthy size 6. I’ve never felt that pretty or fashionable in my life!
I remember from my own wardrobe: slip dresses; cashmere twinsets; straight-legged, cuffed wool blend trousers; early days of Sigerson Morrison shoes; short a-line skirts with turtlenecks and knee-high boots; nude MAC lipstick with smokey eyes; Zara arrived in North America and gave us some cute looks with decent quality and great prices.
Yes, I also remember women in low-rise jeans with cropped tops but that was never me… or my friends (thank heavens).

Like RoseandJoan, I’m looking forward to tea-party dresses with Docs because I was too shy to show my legs last time around I lived in grunge style from 93-98, and it felt liberating to me after all the pastels and ra-ra skirts and fluorescents of the 80s, which were far too *much* for a tomboy rectangle like me.

Mind you, in the same way that leggings/shoulder-pads and other 80s styles were re-invented this time around, I hope cargo pants get the 2010’s treatment. Hopefully a little more flattering this time around!

One summer in the late 80’s, when I was a kid, I saw a long string of musicals from the 40’s on tv. I was impressed to see young ladies wearing things I had only seen on elderly ones (hairnets, sky blue silk scarves, fur coats, the chunky heeled mary janes, dramatic lip makeup, you get the picture) and my mom pointed out: the elderly ladies you know where young when those movies were made.

Flash forward to mid nineties. One day I met my gym instructor by chance, a 30-something very nice lady, outside school. At the mall, I think it was. She was wearing high rise jeans and blue mascara. I thought it looked horrible.

Flash forward to the mid 00’s. The receptionist at my job, a late 30 year old lady, wears liquid eyeliner on the upper eyelid instead of the smokey look of the times, and dyes her hair red.

My observation? People fix their fashion sensibility sometime – usually their late teens and early twenties, and unless they make a REAL effort to keep updated that’s what they’ll go for for the rest of their lives.

Now, I think it’s wise to keep updated and separate identity from accessories and fixed looks. Not only it will give out a nice message, but also it will make one’s life easier. Do you know how hard it is to find pastels these days? Not that I’d like to (I absolutely hated the look), but I’ve looked, just for fun.

I love ditsy florals so I am looking forward to their return. I didn’t really partake of 90s fashion, but I remember all those cute dresses. Come back, come back soon!

Also, polyester got better. My grandmothers loved it when it first came out because it needed no ironing. This is why they wore those polyester pantsuits with the sewn-in creases!

But I loved it in the 90’s because it became soft and thin and smooth and not shiny. And it’s still washable, driable (though it collects lint) and doesn’t need ironing.

For me 90’s is Brittany Spears. Tight t-shirts that show the midriff. No thank you.

I would love to see dark colors to be back in vogue and send the dizzying brights away for a little while. Slim silhouettes. Roomy-toe shoes, specially Mary janes. I liked the “Rachael”… maybe an updated version? What I hope not to see again: the dark liner/light lip look, beige lips, denim jumpers/overalls and the preppy cotton v-neck sweaters, relaxed jeans…

I was a child in the 90s and too poor to have anything trendy, so I only really remember platform sneakers and denim jackets someone gave me. I love them! My sister left me a bunch of 90s clothes though, so I vote for spaghetti-strap bandage dresses (I don’t want to be the only one wearing them!) and, indeed, maxi skirts, since they’re so comfortable. Also I remember dark matte lipstick was around.

Me, at the turn of the decade, at university:
laced up ankle booties doc Martens´style and floral miniskirts, every day. We called ourselves “girlies” (=girls that don´t stumble around in high heels, but are still cute in miniskirts).;)

Me, later in the 90s, starting to work:
I adored Caroline Kennedy´s minimalism, I think we called it “clean chic”. that´s something I still like and would like to see again.

Me, at the hairdresser: Give me the Rachel!!

I am not liking the idea of maxi skirts coming back. I have no beef against the grunge look, though, because I have nice memories of pretty Kurt Cobain. Haha

I just plain looked better in the 90s and was happier so there is an element of nostalgia that is hard to fight. Early 90s not so much, but later in the decade… no I will probably not be putting on my late 90s uniform of mary janes, short black skirt and basic white top. My wardrobe still has a lot of 90s themes colorwise so that element I am happy about. I feel better in clean colors like white and black with neutral makeup. I have mid 90s neutral nailpolish on right now. Boot cut jeans and ditsy florals though never again… I am growing my hair long, have my bangs pinned to the side, and will get jiggy with it any minute now. Woo hoo, I feel so… evolved. I am off to OLD NAVY!