The 1990s were the decade of sitcoms, supermodels, and iconic style. Although today’s generation of college students were probably too young to fully embrace 90s fashion (or watch Sex & the City on late-night HBO), everyone knows that history has a tendency to repeat itself, and with the help of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Video, the hit shows of the 90s have attracted a younger fanbase. Today’s generation of teens and 20-somethings have a knack for putting a modern spin on classic 90s fashion. Let’s look back to the some of the televised trends that continue to influence the fashion world, even decades later.
1. Plaid. Rachel Green in Friends was a fashion icon in her own right, but her style has truly lasted the test of time. A memorable staple in the waitress-turned-Ralph Lauren merchandising manager’s wardrobe was of course, plaid. Full House was also big on plaid flannel/skirt, especially in the earlier seasons.
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2. Slip dresses. First popularized by designer Calvin Klein in the early 90s, the slip dress was worn by the likes of 90s “heroin chic” supermodel Kate Moss on and off runways, and the late Carolyn Bessette on her wedding to John F. Kennedy Jr. in 1996. The slip dress then made its mark on primetime television, worn by Friends’ Rachel Green and Sex & the City’s Carrie Bradshaw on multiple occasions. Now a popular style for making a more nominalistic, classic statement, slip-like dresses can be seen in cocktail parties, high school proms, weddings, and photographed street style. Let’s take a look.
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3. The LBD. The little black dress, coined by Coco Chanel in the 1920s as the most versatile, accessible, neutral and elegant outfit the era, changed the way that the color black is perceived in the fashion world. Once regarded as a color strictly worn in mourning, it now serves as a sleek, refined, and stylish color that can be worn to every occasion. Sex & the City’s core four were known for sporting LBDs for their nights out in Manhattan, and since then, the trend has no signs of becoming dated any time soon. As the late “father of fashion” Karl Lagerfeld once famously said, “”One is never overdressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress.”
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4. Mom jeans. “Mom jeans,” rose to popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and got the stamp of approval from younger female characters on Friends and Full House by the mid-90s. High waisted, looser fit, medium wash Levi’s were and still are the epitome of the “mom jeans” trend. While the 2000s were a moment for low rise, embroidered, bootcut jeans, we’re extra thankful that Vogue brought back this 90s trend.
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While we haven’t invented a way to time-travel back to the ‘90s just yet, the closest we can get to it is watching Friends and Seinfeld on our parents old VCR, wearing a plaid flannel and mom jeans, in our childhood rooms adorned with Lisa Frank posters and our EasyBake ovens, while Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys tracks can be heard blasting from our sister’s room down the hall. Those were the days!