My niece was asking me, "What kind of styles were the 90s?" Frankly, I was stumped. I was young, or at least youngish, during the 90s. I should be at least somewhat familiar with the key/iconic looks. But I got nothing. Grunge, maybe? That was late 80s/early 90s. Kind of. Hammer pants? Or was that late 80s again? And I can't come up with much on mid to late 90s. Bootcut pants? Vintage brooches? Strong highlights? As a child of the 80s, what's a few highlights compared to mall hair? Or neon bicycle shorts? Well, I guess you could say Goth. Goth was pretty big. But we had Goths in the 80s. We just called them Cure fans.
And maybe that's part of the problem. The 80s styles were so strong (not good, necessarily, but definitely identifiable), that the 90s seem kind of anonymous. The 90s were more about not doing something ugly, rather than doing something that might be ugly but was definitely different. Which is a safe way to go. But it definitely doesn't make for an unforgettable style moment. In the 80s when we went for a trend, we went for it. Balls to the wall. Caution to the wind. Sure we have embarrassing pictures to show for it. But secretly, we're kind of proud of them.
Perhaps that should serve as a lesson to the children of the 00s. Make the clothes of your teen years something to remember. Be bold. Be brave. Wear things that will make your kids laugh some day.
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Here is my '90s list of regrettable fashion choices by those under 30:
- nose piercings
- the Rachel haircut
- big black chunky boots with miniskirts
- grunge/lumberjack wear
- tramp stamp tattoos
- baseball caps on everyone
- navel piercings
- baggy ass everything
- tribal armband tattoos
- calf-length shorts with white socks on young men
- eyebrow piercings
- tiny vests
- blinged out bandannas
- dark lipliner with light lipstick
- overly arched eyebrows
Basically watch early Friends or Seinfeld and then run away screaming...
Oh-oh-oh. The George Clooney haircut. Bad memories.
I guess there were a few things. Though the tatts seem to be here to stay (see the article in this week's NY Times style section - 40%of adults have at least one tattoo now). And none of them have any real "wow" factor. Offensive, perhaps. But where's the pop?Where's the zing? I'm going to contend that the 90s will go down as the most forgettable fashion decade of the 20th Century.
I watched the Behind the Music on NKOTB last night while readingthe paper and everytime I looked up it was another 90s fashion assault on my eyes - I think this past decade for once was much worse for the guys than the gals.
Hammer pants and over-size kaleidescope patterened silk shirts would argue your point for you. And of course, the 90s did give us the ubiquitous flat-front khaki pant. Boring boring boring.
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