(Images from Pinterest)
Why are we not able to live and enjoy the present? We are constantly idealizing the past decades, waiting and hysterically planning our future but we are not appreciating what's happening now. Despite all the books, posts, and videos on social media about mindfulness, etc., we still insist on this habit. Each past decade had its share of good and bad. We are evolving and evolution means losing something, unavoidably.
"Nostalgia" is one of the top hashtags. We certainly have nostalgia for the past good times, but we can also feel nostalgic for the times we didn't live because we weren't born yet. As a girl of the '90s, I felt nostalgic about the '60s and the '70s: I idealized those two decades, imagining that people could be happier and live more simply, with less stress. I used to think about these decades as a very creative and inspiring time, thanks to books, music, movies, etc.
Probably for these reasons and more, in the '90s, late '60s and '70s styles became in fashion again. Here are some examples of the hippie revival in the '90s:
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| Lisa Bonet |
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| Drew Barrymore |
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| Vanessa Paradis |
Obviously, now we, Gen X, feel nostalgic for the '90s, probably because we miss our light-hearted teenage years and may also think that life was easier and more fulfilling, without all our technology. Of course, in the '90s we didn't have cell phones and, incredibly, we were still used to meeting at a certain place, at a certain time, without any comforting previous message or phone call! We went to clubs AND socialized with people. When we had to wait at the bus stop or at the doctor's, we usually read books or magazines or have a chat with other people! Recently I've found an interesting article about a café in NY, where people still behave like in the '90s, without any device, but I'll cover this topic in the next articles!
For those nostalgics, here's some style inspiration from a '90s teenager! The '90s have been an interesting decade from the fashion point of view. While the '80s was a decade of excess in hairstyles, make-up, and clothing, in the '90s, we started to see more minimal outfits. Of course, it's impossible to summarize the decade in one article because there were many differences from the beginning to the end, and many styles appeared and intertwined. Remainings af the '80s at the beginning, 60's and '70s revivals, anticipations of the '00s at the end, and more in the middle. There's almost nothing new under the sun and many '90s styles are in fashion again but we were inspired by different people, ideas, and ideals. At the time supermodels were our myths and "influencers", with pop-rock singers and TV and movie stars.
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| Supermodels: Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford and Claudia Schiffer |
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| Courtney Love ("The Hole") |
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| Shirley Manson ("Garbage") |
Leather and total black were very popular in outfits, but still, especially at the beginning of the decade, we used to wear many colored oversized sweaters with jeans.
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| Winona Ryder |
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| Shirley Manson |
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| Kate Moss and Johnny Depp |
Mix and match. In the '90s we experienced many different styles and trends simultaneously. There was a '70s revival, especially for wide legs jeans but we also tried to match styles from other decades and traditional garments from different countries.
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| Kate Moss |
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| Drew Barrymore |
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| Sarah Jessica Parker |
Tartan. Tartan was everywhere and for every season. It was used for formal and informal occasions, again mixing and matching different styles and trends. Preppy and grunge.
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| Claudia Schiffer |
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| Kate Moss |
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| Stacey Dash and Alicia Silvertone in "Clueless" |
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| Lisa Kudrow in "Friends" |
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| Naomi Campbell |
Lace. Again mix and match. Laces were mixed with almost everything. I used to see many lace tops under grunge oversized cardigans. The '90s were a period with a quite strong sense of rebellion in the air. The grunge style is a rebellion from rules, luxury, and bigotry.
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| Kate Moss |
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| Vanessa Paradis |
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Naomi Campbell
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Slip dress. Rock singers like Courtney Love and The Holes were ambassadors of this style. Slip dresses could be extremely elegant and rock even in satin and neutral colours. Minimal but sexy. Every girl had a slip dress in her wardrobe. One of my teachers even prohibited us from wearing a slip dress for the final exam. Not everybody listened!
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| Cameron Diaz |
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| Gwyneth Paltrow |
Which is your '90s favorite style?
Don't miss the playlist!
- Garbage, Stupid girl
- The Smashing Pumpkins, Cherub Rock
- Narcotic, Liquido
- The Verve, Lucky Man
- Hole, Malibù
- George Michael, Freedom
- Lenny Kravitz, Are you gonna go my way
- Oasis, Whatever
- Pearl Jam, Alive
- Nirvana, In Bloom
More inspiration on my Pinterest page.
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