Top Story – 90s Fashion Then vs. 90s Fashion Now

fashion

Fashion trends tend to go around in 20 year-cycles. At the turn of the millennium, 80s fashion trends like legwarmers and ice cream colors were all the rage and now it seems the 90s revival trend is a firm fixture among hipsters today.

But has anyone else noticed that kids today are doing 90s fashion far better than kids in the 90s did their own fashion trendsetting? Grunge has gone from grubby to glamorous, and the kids that adored the Spice Girls back in the day now enjoy the view from their chic platform shoes (that, thankfully, don’t look as comically over sized as Emma Bunton’s Buffalo kicks did way back when).

It may have something to do with the emergence of maddeningly addictive photo sharing sites like Tumblr and Pinterest, which allow the fashion-conscious among us to study the trends of the past in detail. Keeping the bits we like and discarding the rest. Or maybe the 90s revival trend has something to do with the jobless youths having extra time to scour the charity shops for all of the best 90s gear. Either way, here are some examples of how kids today are doing 90s fashion better -far better – than kids in the 90s dressed themselves.

Grunge

Grunge originally referred to the Seattle music scene and had nothing to do with fashion. In fact, the whole grunge look was seen as an ‘anti-fashion’ statement adopted by angsty teens like Angela Chase in one of my favorite 90s TV shows, My So Called Life. The look was plaid shirts, baggy jeans and t-shirts and unkempt hair; pretty much no effort and come as you are to the party even if you’ve just rolled out of bed.

Nowadays, grunge has been given an ultra-glam makeover. Plaid shirts are still a fixture but they’re layered underneath fitted leather jackets and paired with skinny, form-hugging jeans and a smear of red lipstick. It’s a look that’s far more flattering for girls. Hair styles are still unkempt, but only at a first glance. For the most part, the ‘unkempt’ look will now typically involve quite a lot of primping, backcombing and a sprinkling of dry shampoo.

Preppy

The all-American, preppy teen look was ‘like totally’ epitomized by Alicia Silverstone’s character, Cher, in the 1995 film Clueless. She and her BFF Di ruled the school in their matching plaid miniskirt-and-jacket ensembles and she was more than partial to a pair of knee-high socks and a too-small-to-fit-anything-in rucksack. So far, so cute, but throw on a bucket hat with the brim turned up, brown lipstick and peasant blouses (a mini homage to the 80s New Romantic look, maybe) and suddenly you’ve lost me.

However, Wildfox Couture Clothing’s 2013 spring and summer collection has kept the very best from Cher’s wardrobe and binned the rest. This time around they’ve given Cher and her friends a grungy twist, with loose fitting slogan tees in place of those awful billowy-sleeved blouses and they’ve switched out her brown lipstick to a much more youthful-looking bright pink shade.

Girl Power Pop

The 90s had its fair share of feisty, fashion forward females such as Madonna, Gwen Stefani and Kylie, but who could forget The Spice Girls? Their look was characterized by Geri’s famous Union Jack mini-dress and sky-high platform shoes. The color palette was bright and lurid, the fabrics iridescent and supremely clingy and as for sporty spice’s tracksuit bottoms and crop top combination, who didn’t give that look a go back in the day?

Current British girl band Little Mix admit to getting their styling tips from looking at old photos of their 90s heroes, and the Spice Girl’s influence is plain to see from their stage outfits. Crop tops and bright colors reign in Little Mix’s styling, only this time around instead of the baggy Adidas trackie bottoms (that, as I remember, soaked up every bit of rain water from the pavement, leaving the wearer smelling like a wet Labrador for the rest of the day), these pop stars opt for figure flattering high-waisted shorts.

So as you can see, kids today have well and truly adopted the party wear styles they vaguely remember as children to create a look that’s entirely their own. And who knows, maybe in 20 years’ time, their children will have a go at their own interpretation of 90s fashion.

If you have any fave 90s trends you’re currently rocking, share them in comments below.

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Susannah Perez is a blogger and 90s child with a thing for retro style. She writes for Perfect Party UK and vividly remembers all of the 90s party wear trends. She’s thankful that she now gets the chance to rock the look herself.