Oh that’s so interesting Gaylene. ( Sorry about something of a threadjack Suntiger- I know you related your question to the zeitgeist originally). That’s the thing about the 90s for me too, I was relating to them as a young mother not a free spirit and not a 40+ career focused female either. Even although I still did work professionally it was fairly part-time and not my main focus in that decade.
And I remember in 2004 attending a friend’s 40th ( born in 1964) -she had a hippie theme, and when my parents-in-law came to babysit they looked at our outfits rather quizzically and said “We didn’t dress like that in the 60s”. Which, given that they had 4 young children at that stage-born 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1965- I guess they wouldn’t have! And so the fashion of each decade may indeed relate to what life stage you were in at the time.

And sometimes the memories are formed via photos or tv shows too.

Maybe I will start a new thread?

Lots of interesting and personal perspectives.

A few thoughts from me:

Suntiger, I recognize the factors you have pointed out regarding contrasting styles at present. And the way I remember the '90s, there was a similar juxtaposition of styles back then.

Sal, I too recognize elements of the early princess Diana style in some recent fashion designs.

To my eye, La Pedestrienne's style is more gamine than ingenue style.

Jenni and Gaylene, I agree that the fashion styles we witnessed and/or wore in our late teens and our twenties might have made a rather lasting influence on the way we view fashion. I also agree that our personal life situation in a certain decade likely has shaped our memories of that decade.

Sal and others, I welcome more threads on these subjects.