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. The fashion of the 1990s was characterized by minimalist styles, and many overlapping, often contradictory trends. The most significant event 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.
Early 1990s
Acid wash jeans, which were created in 1986, saw massive decline at the end of 1990. Stone wash jeans replaced them in popularity 1991 and were popular through 1998. Slim-fit jeans, also popular during the 1980s, declined in popularity, and looser-fit jeans became popular. Denim jackets remained popular. Black and white t-shirts were popular with boys and men. Earth tone colours were also popular with men.
Hairstyles
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 remained popular in modified form until 1992. In the fall of 1994, the
"Rachel" haircut became popular, named after the character played by
Jennifer Aniston in the
sitcom ''
Friends''.
Neon colors
The dominant youth clothing
fad in the early 1990s was
fluorescent or neon colours, which became popular in the late 1980s. 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, but fluorescent t-shirts and shorts were also popular with boys. Fluorescent clothing included
t-shirts,
sweatshirts,
socks,
shoelaces, hair
scrunchies, and
fanny packs. Hypercolour clothing, made of material which changes colours according to temperature, also came into fashion during the early 1990s. 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.
Retro Hippie
A variety of fashions influenced by the hippie era of the late 1960s became popular in the early 1990s. Tie dye shirts, which had reemerged as a style in 1988, remained popular, and fit well with the bright colours. In 1991, round sunglasses based on the granny style glasses of the late 1960s became popular, and remained popular through 1994. In the United States, designs and colors inspired by the American Southwest almost became popular in the early 1990s.
Hippie-inspired fashion continued throughout the grunge era, and nicely complimented the grunge look. Granny-style sunglasses remained popular.
Bell-bottom jeans were popular from 1992 to 1994.
Crocheted vests became popular among girls and young women in 1993.
Sports clothing
Sports-influenced clothing was popular during the early 1990s. Spandex tights were a popular for girls, in a variety of bright colours, including fluorescents. In 1991, black spandex tights became popular. From 1992, spandex tights were gradually replaced by cotton tights. By 1992, spandex tights were popular biking wear for men, in black and blue.
Weightlifters and
wrestlers also wore spandex. Spandex was popular for cropped
tank tops, resembling
long-line bras; and the
sports bra, a heavily lined and supportive fitness garment, was worn as outerwear. Sweatshirts and sweatpants remained popular from the 1980s.
Track suits were popular, in bright colours including fluorescents, and black beginning in 1991. Track suits and sweatsuits were more popular with men.
Baseball caps increased in popularity in 1991. Canterbury jerseys, shorts and other sportswear clothing were also popular.
Grunge
The most important event in 1990s fashion was the rise of Grunge fashion in 1992. Grunge fashion was influenced by grunge music, which achieved mainstream popularity in 1992, due to the mainstream success of
Nirvana and their hit single
Smells Like Teen Spirit. The grunge style resulted in a decline in bright colours, and 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 style. It was considered the most depressing,
angst filled style.
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). It emphasized long hair, which most teen and pre-teen girls already had, and which a few teen and pre-teen boys adopted. Grunge fashion was a
unisex phenomenon. Although the grunge look was considered "anti-fashion", the fashion industry made it a distinct fashion style by selling plaid items like hooded sweatshirts, sweatshirt vests, long sleeved t-shirts and shorts. Grunge fashion remained popular through 1994.
Though flannel plaid shirts remained popular through 1997, fashion started to move away from many of the other plaid styles in 1994. Waffle-patterns became popular on sweatshirts and polo shirts with colours such as white, beige and red, and remained popular until 1995. 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 popular, and Oatmeal and wheat started to become popular 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.
Hip Hop
Styles influenced by
rap music and sports were popular during the grunge era. Many youths began to wear baseball caps backwards. Baseball and
basketball jerseys were popular among certain teenage and pre-teen boys. High top shoes were popular, especially
Nike Air Jordans.
Sagging came into style. Track suits continued to be worn as casual wear in a variety of colours, including black, blue, and green. Black hooded sweatshirts became popular in 1992.
Body Piercing
Navel piercing was a fad in the 1990s among teenage girls and young women. This led to the adoption of belly shirts that left the belly uncovered to expose the navel.
Late 1990s
Skater style
Golf shirts became part of the new
post-grunge style in 1995.
Skater shoes became more popular, coinciding with a rise in
skateboarding. Granny-style sunglasses were replaced by wraparound sunglasses, which remained more or less popular for the remainder of the 1990s. The
bowl cut hairstyle went out of fashion. Teenaged and pre-teen boys adopted shorter hair, especially the
buzz cut, but a few maintained the long hair of the grunge style. T-shirts became more form fitting, especially for women, with the advent of the baby doll t-shirt.
Sagging
Sagging remained popular in the late 1990s among some teenaged boys and young men. Sagging is a style worn by teenage and young men in which their shorts, jeans or pants are worn low, usually below their hips and sometimes under their buttocks as well depending on the sagger. Their underwear, however, is not worn lower and thus one can usually see the underwear of the sagger.Fancy boxer shorts became popular, and many guys showed them off by wearing their pants low so that people could see their boxers. Saggers wore baggy pants, in stark contrast to some of the more fitted styles from the late 1990s.
Mod Revival
In 1995 there was a revival of Mod fashion, building on some of the new trends of 1994. Bootcut jeans and Levis 501 style jeans superseded wide-leg jeans. Teenaged girls and women began wearing black boots with chunky high heels, and began wearing colours such as pink, baby-blue, and plum. Short black jackets with big metal zippers became popular. Straight-cut miniskirts returned, and Mod inspired suits became popular with men in 1996.
Seventies Revival
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 became popular for pants and overalls, sometimes abbreviated to "cords". Initially brown was the popular colour for "cords". In 1997, chords also became popular in colours such as black, tan, and grey. Corduroy continued as a trend through 2001.
Punk/Goth/Emo
Punk and alternative styles were common by 1996, including short, spiky hair, black t-shirts, black work pants, wraparound sunglasses, and skater shoes. Many punk and alternative teenagers dyed their hair colours like blue, green, and
fuchsia. In 1997, the 1980s
Goth trend resurged among teenagers, featuring black clothing, long or back-combed black hair, studded bracelets, and black boots. The Punk and goth styles survived into the 2000s in modified forms. The
emo fashion slightly entered the mainstream in
1998-
1999. It featured tight, black drain-pipe jeans, rock band t-shirts, and long hair in a form of a
sidebang.
Nineties Preppy
The preppy look returned in 1997 among teenagers. Among teenaged males, the preppy look was at first closely associated with the Tommy Hilfiger clothing line, whose t-shirts and jeans were staples of this look in 1997. The jeans were usually still baggy and often were also sagging. Another staple of the preppy look was Short hair, often dyed blonde (or bleached blonde in the front and spiked). This haircut was called "Princeton" in the United States, and stayed in style there until 2003. Among teenaged females, the preppy look intially featured
sweater vests over long sleeved white blouses, then long sleeved cable sweaters over white blouses.
Dockers and Cargo pants
In 1998, khaki pants became popular among teenaged boys, due to the popularity of golfer
Tiger Woods. For the first time, cargo pants became mainstream. Camo pants enjoyed a brief resurgence. Among girls, baby t-shirts and spaghetti strap tank tops were popular, and the
low rise jean phenomenon began. In 1999,
Aloha shirts (Hawaiian shirts), became a major fad.
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.
See also
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Fashion
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Fashion design
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Martin Margiela
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Alexander McQueen
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