Forget nostalgia. We are having a full-blown ’90s resurgence and we are here for it.
The ’90s have been trending as of late and we’ve taken notice. We’re excited to wear crop tops, overalls and slip dresses, and the ’90s queens Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are set to grace the April cover of British Vogue. Fanny packs have been upgraded to belt bags and, whether we liked them or not, we cannot deny how popular choker necklaces were a couple of years ago. But wait, it’s not just fashion and beauty that’s circled back to the ’90s for inspiration…
HideSeek, an immersive ’90s-inspired pop-up, is happening in Toronto from March 30 to June 2. A dance party called ’90s Nostalgia is coming to Vaughan this summer featuring bands like Aqua, S Club, and The Vengaboys. Oh, and part of the Clueless cast reunited at a cosplay event in Chicago. So, it begs the question: is it 2019 or 1999? Here are seven signs proving we’ve returned to the ’90s.
Disney Classics Return
Disney is pretty much the king of nostalgia and live-action adaptations. A Wrinkle in Time and Christopher Robin released in 2018 and played with all of our emotions, and if you’re a huge Disney fan, you already know 2019 is ready to take nostalgia to another level. Let us count all the movies Disney plans on releasing in 2019 alone: Dumbo, Aladdin, and The Lion King are all set to return to theatres with a live-action upgrade. A sequel to Angelina Jolie’s Maleficent is also on the horizon for 2019. What else can we say? Be prepared.
Girl Gangs, Girl Squads and Girl Power
Sisterhood has become a bit of buzzword and a whole #mood lately, and it’s not just because the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants returned to Netflix. Slogans like “find your local girl gang,” and “girl power” have become commonplace. Even the creative director of Christian Dior, Maria Grazia Chiuri, seems to be tapping into this girl squad moment. She sent a model down the runway at the Fall 2019 show in a graphic tee with “sisterhood global” written on it in a shade of light blue reminiscent of the blue eyeshadow trend that dominated in the ’90s.
Films like Girls Trip, Ocean’s Eight, and Bridesmaids were blockbuster hits, not only because they star women in leading roles, but because of their representation and emphasis on female friendship. 2019 continues to this trend with Captain Marvel smashing box office records, and hopefully upcoming releases like Someone Great, The Kitchen, and Charlie’s Angels.
Hair Accessories
Remember when Mary-Kate and Ashley, Lizzie McGuire, and Topanga Lawrence were hair goals? We loved them for their trendy hairstyles and the colourful hair accessories that went with them. The oversized and often neon-toned scrunchies from our childhood have returned to help us perfect the effortless high ponies of the ’90s. Banana clips made their way down Alexander Wang’s 2018 Fall runway, with hair clips and barrettes resurfaced as a street style trend during fashion week.
Pokémon
Some of us never really stopped playing Pokémon. Our desire to catch ’em all followed us into adulthood and we scoff when we hear newbies talk about Pokémon like it’s something new. Um, hello, we were around when there were only 150 of them and played on the original Gameboy. We’re veterans.
But Pokémon Go unleashed our inner Pokémon trainers and we ventured across our hometowns to catch each and every Pokémon IRL (or as real as they can be). When Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu (or Eevee) dropped in 2018, it gave us another opportunity to catch ’em all and we’re not-so-secretly excited to see the Pokémon live-action film, Detective Pikachu, this summer.
The Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys are Touring
Our childhood dreams came true because the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys are on tour again. After what feels like years of anticipation, each group has announced 2019 tour dates. Now, some of us are geographically incompatible — the Spice Girls tour is a UK exclusive tour. But, we’re hoping the tour will spice up their lives and they’ll expand their tour to North America! And, maybe bring Victoria Beckham, too?
’90s Street Brands
The return of mom jeans should have been our first warning. The subsequent resurgence of iconic ’90s brands like Fila and Reebok should have been another red flag, especially when the ugly dad sneakers started trending and Victoria Beckham got involved.
Alas, the laidback styles we coveted from closets of teens on Saved By The Bell, Boys Meets World, and A Different World and the oversized streetwear looks that our favourite R&B and Hip-Hop artists of the ’90s have coalesced in 2019. The mood is Danny Tanner from Full House and Jessie Spano from Saved By The Bell meets TLC and Aaliyah. It’s so ’90s.
Feminism is Trending
The 1990s signalled the third wave feminist movement, which was characterized by its discussions of sexual abuse and fighting sexual harassment, the right for women to have autonomy over their reproductive futures through contraception or abortions, and increasing the representation of women in positions of power.
Today, we technically fall into the fourth wave of the feminist movement, but many of the issues the women were addressing in the ’90s are still prevalent. Following the high-profile cases of Harvey Weinstein, Brett Kavanaugh, Bill Cosby, and now R. Kelly, women have found solidarity in Women’s Marches and the #MeToo Movement. While Ireland voted to overturn its abortion ban in 2018, the discussion of abortion has reached new heights in the United States with the potential for Roe v. Wade to be overturned. On a more positive note, women are rising to positions of leadership in droves. Four years ago, Trudeau introduced the first gender-balanced Cabinet in Canada, and this year a record number of women were sworn into Congress in the United States. We’re hoping this streak continues.
So, whether you’re a true ’90s kid or a ’90s kid at heart, you can appreciate all the things the ’90s has gifted us and party like it’s 1999.