Fashion and Trends of the 90’s By: Taylor Speier

Fashion Influencers Even when the style was grungy and baggy Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford set the standard of beauty. Mia Hamm & Gabrielle Reece inspired designers to create work out clothes as a day wear. Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez were also big influencers in the 90’s.

Silhouettes Denim was all the rage throughout the '90s, but not in the way you think. The bigger and more colorful the jeans, the cooler they were. Baggy jeans, made famous by hip hop stars. Also popular were overalls, which could be worn in two ways - hooking one strap and letting the other hang open, or unhooking both straps and wearing a belt to keep the overalls from falling off.

Continued…. Peasant blouses, tunics, and loose fitting pants were being made in prints from East India to West India and all points in between. Eventually, designers rediscovered classically romantic print skirts and dresses Gradually, bell-bottoms and straight legs became popular and boot-cut pants and jeans were here to stay. Baby Doll Dresses

Accessories & etc. The '90s shoe could be described in one word - chunky. Kids stepped out in style with Doc Martens, Mary Janes or platform sneakers, which elevated you to new heights with layers of rubber sole. Docs, which are like combat boots, were definitely the most popular shoes. All kids, whether they were into hip hop or grunge, wore them to completets

Continued…. Legs were further elongated and flattered by the revival of platform wedge shoes and sandals of all heights and styles. Footwear changed with the economy as women could now afford luxury brands like Manolo Blahnik and Salvatore Ferragamo and walking shoes that were chic and cute.

Hairstyles Hairstyles in the 1980s were mostly large. The decade began with a continuance of the Purdey cult hair cut. Everyone had big hair even those people with short hair.   But as always there were variations and working women opted for styles which could be easily blow dried and tonged with a cordless or electric styling brush.  Carmen style heated rollers and hair rollers disappeared from most dressing tables as blow drying plus finger shaping of strands with gel firmly established itself as the favorite way to finish hair for the majority of women.

Designers In the late 20th century no other country marketed fashion like the Americans. The best known designers in America and known by all, are Donna Karan, Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. Calvin Klein uses advertising that highlights sexuality enough to shock a supposedly unshockable society. Erotic advertising is used to promote his diffusion lines from perfume and fashion to home furnishings. Ralph Lauren has been the person of good taste in classic good looking clothes and a covetable stylish home range. By contrast Hilfiger's clothes are aimed at the mass youth market with an easily recognizable predictable casual format of red, navy and white basics covered in logos for street wear.

Textiles Used Linen, silk, cashmere, devore velvets, Lycra, fleece, superior quality microfiber polyesters and Sympatex for outdoor weather were the main fabrics of the 90s.

Movie Representatives If you needed fashion advice, you could've turned Cher, the fashion expert in Clueless (it was one of the most popular teen comedies in the '90s). The schoolgirl look of baby doll dresses with puffed sleeves and thigh-high stockings became popular because of this movie. Also popular were slip dresses worn over T-shirts.

Role Of Women Women in our society have played many roles. During this period from the decades of the 1950’s through the 1990’s, women started getting their own jobs and got better schooling. Today, women have shown that their standards are for excellence in both work and home. Educational background is more important than sex appeal.

History In 1992, as Clinton took office alongside the most racially diverse cabinet in American history, fashion exploded with clothes, hairstyles, accessories, and even makeup that celebrated all cultures and combinations thereof.

Clothing Parallels Throughout the years the styles and trends have changed dramatically. Some things have followed with what’s new, but others have thankfully been lost. In the 90’s leggings and straight leg jeans were very popular and in today’s fashion they are coming back.