1990s in fashion
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The 1990s in popular culture is typically referred to as the decade of "anti-fashion". In reality, anti-fashion was only one of many trends in fashion in the 1990s; however the fashion of the 1990s was characterized by minimalist styles. The fashion of the 1990s was also characterized by many overlapping, often contradictory trends. The most significant event in 1990s fashion was the rise of grunge fashion in 1992. In the late 1990s there was a move away from grunge. Retro clothing inspired by the 1960s and 1970s was popular for much of the 1990s.
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[edit] Early 1990s
The acid washed denim fad of the late 1980s went into decline in 1990. Varying shades of stonewashed denim became popular, and remained popular through 1998. Denim jackets continued to be popular. Slim fit jeans became less popular; relaxed fit jeans became more popular. White and black t-shirts were popular with boys and men. Hairstyles also moved away from the 1980s. The high, hair spray-heavy styles favoured by women in the 1980s were replaced by long, straight hair, often with bangs. The bowl cut became popular with teenage and pre-teen boys in 1991. The mullet survived in modified form as a male hairstyle through 1992.
The dominant clothing fad at the beginning of the 1990s was fluorescent or neon clothing. Fluorescent clothing was associated with cool, summer themes like surfing and the beach. The five fluorescent colours were blue, green, orange, pink, and yellow. Fluorescent clothing was especially popular with teenage and pre-teen girls; however, fluorescent t-shirts and shorts were also popular with boys. Fluorescent clothing items included t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks, shoelaces, hair scrunchies, and fanny packs. In 1991, fluorescent colours were replaced by colours such as coral, hot pink, and turquoise. The popularity of bright colours declined through 1995. Hoop earrings were also a popular accessory for teenaged girls and women in the first years of the 1990s.
A variety of fashions influenced by the hippie era of the late 1960s became popular during the early 1990s. Tie dye shirts, which had reemerged as a style in 1988, remained popular. Tie dye shirts fit well with the bright colours of the early 1990s. In 1991, round sunglasses based on the granny style glasses of the late 1960s became popular, and remained popular through 1994.
Parachute pants were popular with boys and men in 1990 and 1991. Parachute pants were relaxed fit, tapered leg pants with a drawstring waist. Parachute pants came in bright colours such as neon pink, neon green and white. A fad of 1992 was heat-sensitive shirts that changed colour depending on the wearer's body temperature.
Sports influenced clothing was popular during the 1990s. One of the most popular styles of sports clothing was spandex. Spandex tights were a popular girls fashion item during the early 1990s. Spandex tights came in a variety of bright colours, including fluorescents. In 1991, black became another popular colour in spandex tights. Beginning in 1992, spandex tights were gradually replaced by black tights. By 1992, spandex tights had also become popular as biking wear for men, in such colours as black and blue. Weighlifters and wrestlers also wore spandex. Spandex was also popular for cropped tank tops, resembling long-line bras; and the sports bra, a heavily lined and supportive fitness garment, was worn as outerwear.
Other styles of sports influenced clothing and were also popular during the early 1990s. Sweatshirts and sweatpants, which were popular during the 1980s, remained popular. Track suits were also popular. Like spandex, track suits came in bright colours, including fluorescents. Black became a colour on track suits in 1991. Track suits and sweatsuits were more popular with men. Baseball caps became popular in 1991.
[edit] Grunge era
The most important event in 1990s fashion was the rise of the grunge style into the mainstream in 1992. Grunge fashion was influenced by grunge music, which achieved mainstream popularity in 1992. Grunge fashion resulted in a decline in bright colours over the course of the grunge era. Grunge fashion was dominated by plaid flannel shirts, stonewashed blue jeans, and dark colours like maroon, forest green, indigo, and brown. White and black were also popular colours in grunge fashion.
Grunge fashion popularized Doc Martens style shoes and boots, and high top sneakers in red, indigo, forest green, and black (such as Chuck Taylor All-Stars). Grunge fashion emphasized long, straight hair. Most teenaged and pre-teen girls already had long hair; only a small percentage of teenage and pre-teen boys adopted the long haired look. Grunge fashion was a unisex phenomenon. Although the grunge look was considered "anti-fashion", the fashion industry turned the grunge look into a distinct fashion style. The fashion industry began selling such items as plaid hooded sweatshirts, plaid sweatshirt vests, plaid long sleeved t-shirts, and plaid shorts. Grunge fashion remained popular through 1994.
Hippie inspired fashions continued throughout the grunge era. Granny-style sunglasses continued in popularity through the grunge era. Bell-bottom jeans became popular again in 1992, and lasted through 1994. Crocheted vests, also considered a hippie inspired fashion, became popular among girls and young women in 1993. The hippie-inspired fashions of 1992-1994 nicely complimented the grunge look.
Denim overalls regained popularity in 1992. Denim overalls fit well with the grunge and hippie inspired fashions. Denim overalls remained popular through 2000, being adapted to fit the changing styles. Denim shorts became fashionable in 1992. Denim shortalls were popular from 1991 to 1994. White denim became popular among girls in 1992, and remained popular through 1998.
Other styles of fashion were also popular during the grunge era. Both rap music and sports were major influences on fashion during the grunge era. Many youths began to wear Baseball caps backwards. Baseball jerseys and basketball jerseys were popular attire among certain teenage and pre-teen boys. High top shoes were popular, especially Nike Air Jordans. Sagging came into style. Track suits contiued to be worn as casual wear. Track suits came in a variety of colours, including black, blue, and green. Black hooded sweatshirts became popular in 1992.
In 1993, red Guess? denim became popular among teenage girls. This look was often complimented with red or forest green shirts from The Body Shop. Mondetta t-shirts also became popular at this time, among both teen and pre-teen boys and girls. There was also a navel piercing fad in 1993 that was popular among teenaged girls and young women. This led to the adoption of belly shirts that left the belly uncovered to expose the navel.
Though flannel plaid remained popular through 1994, fashion started to move away from a lot of the other plaid inspired styles in 1994. Polo shirts emerged as a style in the fall of 1993, and became more popular in 1994. waffle-patterns became popular on sweatshirts and polo shirts, and remained popular through 1995. Olive green became a popular colour in 1994. Olive green t-shirts, sweatshirts and dress shirts were all the rage in 1994 and 1995. Olive green remained more or less popular through 1998. Grey also became a popular colour; Oatmeal and wheat started to become popular colours with girls and women.Bowling shirts became popular, and remained more or less popular for the remainder of the 1990s. In the fall of 1994, Bell-bottom jeans were replaced with wide-leg jeans. White denim became fashionable among guys as well as girls. The "Rachel" haircut, named after the cut worn by Jennifer Aniston on the sitcom Friends in her role as Rachel, became popular.
[edit] Late 1990s
Golf shirts became part of the new post-grunge style in 1995. Skater shoes became popular, coinciding with a rise in the popularity of skateboarding. Granny-style sunglasses went out of style, and were replaced by wraparound sunglasses, which remained more or less popular for the remainder of the decade. The bowl cut hairstyle went out of fashion. Most teenaged and pre-teen boys moved towards shorter hair, although a small portion maintained the long straight hair of the grunge style. T-shirts became more form fitting, especially for women, with the advent of the baby doll t-shirt.
In late 1995 there was a full scale revival of Mod fashion that built upon the new direction in fashion set out during the previous year. As part of Mod fashion, Bootcut jeans and Levis 501 style jeans superseded wide-leg jeans. Teenaged girls and women began wearing black boots with chunky high heels. Teenaged girls began wearing colours such as pink, baby-blue, and plum. Short skirts became popular once again. Mod inspired suits became popular with men in 1996.
In 1996, colours such as orange and yellow became popular, amidst what was characterized a 1970s revival. Fads of 1996 included the happy face, and peace sign necklaces. Hip hugger flare-leg jeans became popular among teenaged and pre-teen girls. Corduroy fabric also became popular in 1996. Corduroy fabric was used to make corduroy pants and corduroy overalls, sometimes abbreviated to "cords". Initially, brown was the popular colour for corduroy. In 1997, Corduroy also became popular in black, tan, and grey. Corduroy continued as a trend through 2001.
Punk and alternative styles were common by 1996. Short, spiky hair, black t-shirts, black work pants, wraparound sunglasses, and skater shoes were part of these styles. Many punk and alternative teenagers dyed their hair colours like blue, green, and fuchsia. In 1997, the Goth trend of the '80s became more popular again among teenagers. Goth fashion featured a heavy amount of black clothing, long or backcombed black hair, studded bracelets, and black boots. Both the punk and goth styles survived into the 2000s, albeit in modified forms. The emo fashion slightly entered the mainstream in 1998-1999. The fashion features tight "girl" pants on guys, long hair in a form of a sidebang and tight sweaters.
The preppy look made a comeback in 1997 among teenaged males. At first, the preppy look was closely associated with the Tommy Hilfiger clothing line. Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts and jeans were staples of the preppy look in 1997. Short hair, often dyed blonde (or bleached blonde in the front and spiked), was popular among the preppy crowd. The name of this haircut was the "Princeton" in the United States, and it stayed in style there until 2002. In 1998, Khaki pants became popular among teenaged boys, owing to the popularity of golfer Tiger Woods. Aloha shirts, also called Hawaiian shirts, became a major fad in 1999.
Sagging remained popular in the late 1990s among certain teenaged boys and young men. Fancy boxer shorts became popular, and most guys who wore their pants low did so to show off their boxer shorts. Saggers usually wore baggy pants, in stark contrast to some of the other more fitted styles that emerged during the late 1990s.
Spaghetti strap tank tops became a popular female clothing item in 1997, allowing teenaged girls to show more skin, including cleavage. The Skort, a half skirt, half short, also became popular in 1997. The Skort lost popularity in 1998 amid the rise of long wraparound skirts. Colours popular among teenaged girls in 1997 and 1998 included lemon yellow, lime green, olive green, violet, and grey. A colour fad of 1998 was army camouflage on pants, baby t-shirts, and spaghetti strap tank tops. The low rise jean phenomenon began in 1998. In 1999, Capri pants, a tapered pant that ends mid calf, became popular with girls and women as well as boys and men. Pink became the dominant women's clothing colour in 1999.
Imitation, or PVC leather, became popular at the end of the 1990s among chilren and teenaged girls. PVC leather came in such items as trousers, skirts, and jackets. The dominant colours of PVC leather were black and brown, although PVC leather also came in other colours. PVC leather peaked in popularity in 1999.
Two types of denim washes became popular at the end of the 1990s. The first was rinsewash, a denim wash that was popular in the 1950s and 1970s. The second was sandblasted denim, which replaced stonewash denim as the most popular denim wash. Dark stonewashed denim remained popular, however lighter shades of stonewashed denim became harder to find heading into the 2000s.
[edit] See also
| Preceded by: 1980s | History of Western Fashion 1990s | Followed by: 2000s |
