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It’s quite possible the style of the pre-millenium decade is getting more credit now that it ever did then. The runways, street styles and stores are thick with nineties influence right now. The denim, the crops, the colours, the accessories, the knits, the blazers, the shirts, the trousers…everything.
This past season trends like oversized blazers have shown up at Rejina Pyo, Jason Wu and Givenchy, patent black trenches have stormed the runways of Hermes, Olivier Theyskens and Sonia Rykel and wild painterly and graffiti prints were the focus of Burberry, Delpozo and Peter Pilotto.
And not to mention the style on the street outside. Jeans are cropped and high waisted, shoes are brogues or ‘ugly’ sneakers, tops are in the form of tomboy sweaters and accessories include belt bags (aka bum-bags) and micro-thin eye-wear.
We can’t help but feel a nostalgic pang to our heart strings when we realised some of our favourite (and some less expected) characters of the 90s small and big screens have formed a major part of this influence. We never thought we’d be creating a Pinterest style board that included Elaine Benes, Felicity Porter and Andrea Zuckerman…but fashion…
Here are just some of the golden oldies you’re currently channeling…whether you realise it or not.
The Matrix
Probably the most influential right now, the dystopian thriller from 1999 was all about the patent black trench and the teeny black sunglasses. And these are EVERYWHERE right now. From Alexander Wang FW18 to every fashionista everwhere, this is the style redux of the season.
Seinfeld
When Elaine wore jackets bigger than Jerry’s, it was never really a fashion statement but more of a character trait. Her man-style was, yes, a major trend of time, but more importantly it suited her one-of-the-boys feminist character that made her so unique at the time. Now, with gender definition being more fluid than ever, man style blazers are the new fashion staple.
F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
The girls of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. remain iconic characters to this day, due in part to the ongoing nightly reruns, but also because of their simple, cute looks that defined pop-NYC culture at the time. The spaghetti strap tops, the Levi’s 501s, the micro-minis are all back with a vengeance. And while Monica and Rachel were the style icons of the day, it’s Phoebe Buffay’s resident off-centre, vintage-inspired threads we’re currently relishing in .
Saved By The Bell
Dedicated Smash Hits Magazine readers of the 90s definitely had a cast poster of Saved By The Bell on their desk pinboard. The cutesy characters all had a goofy place in our hearts, and now their OTT style that lay dormant in cringe-land for decades is back and thriving as fashion irony at its finest.
Felicity
If you can remember beyond her mass of curly hair, the meek school-girl-who-moves-to-NYC-to-go-to-university scenario served up almost as many chic oversized knits, full length double-breasted coats, tweeds, mom-jeans and cosy turtlenecks as it did angsty storylines.
Beverly Hills 90210
Safe to say Andrea Zuckerman was no one’s style pin-up during the original Beverly Hills 90210’s time. We all tried to dress like Kelly and Donna and Brenda, but ‘dorky’ Andrea and her shirts, tweed and sweater-vests were cast aside. So while she’s waited a while for her time in the spotlight, the editor of the school’s paper is finally the most chic.
Fresh Prince of bel air
Neon, hypercolour and graffiti prints are synonymous with 80s and 90s trends…and all of them appeared on Will Smith’s character in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air every single episode. We’re talking matching denim sets, flat caps and insanely bright coats. It’s all back and its ironic as hell.
