The fashion trends of the 90’s
The nineties were probably the first decade when what you saw on the
television and heard on the radio had a changing effect on what you
wore. 90’s fashion is so strongly interlinked with the media of that
decade, and especially with the music of that era that one can almost
clearly make out certain periods when certain bands were en vogue and
correlate them to certain fashion trends, the same being true for movie
stars and other celebrities. There was grunge at the beginning of the
decade, then retro came into fashion for a while and lingered on till
the end with the end of the decade seeing a seventies revival of sorts,
and many more in between.
One of the characteristic trends of 90’s fashion was definitely grunge
fashion. It permeated the beginning of the decade reaching its peak
sometime around 1994. This trend was meant to set aside 90’s fashion
from the consuming driven eighties. Grunge was in stark opposition to
the clean cut, tailor made yuppie wear and brightly colored clothes of
the eighties. Grunge was an amorphous meshing of flannel and slashed
and faded jeans. Everything that fitted was definitely something that
belonged to the past and sloppiness was in. Grunge was most easy on the
women of the nineties because it did away with the short hair styles and
tight perms of the eighties and introduced the long, straight or wavy
hair. Also tight jeans were out and ripped and loose jeans were in.
This trend of 90’s fashion got its name from the style of music that
inspired it, or better said from the bands that inspired the fashion.
Grunge was an alternative rock, being parts punk and parts heavy metal,
and bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pearl Jam were the flag
bearers for the style.
Hair was supposed to be long for both men and women and not styled in
any particular way and it was supposed to look unkempt but clean
nonetheless. Some men even started wearing their hair in dreadlocks at
this point in time. Grunge shoes were usually thick soled and bulky
usually consisting of work boots or sneakers. The shirts were big and
baggy, and the fabrics of choice were denim or plaid. Jeans were
supposed to be torn and in any color as long as they were somewhat
faded. Dirty blue or indigo were the preferred colors and cargo pants
saw a somewhat adhesion to this trend as well despite becoming more
popular later in the decade. |
