How to Get the Right ‘90s Look - Central Casting (2024)

FAQs

How to get the 90s look? ›

Channel authentic 90s grunge by throwing on baggy ripped jeans, a graphic tee and checkered flannel. Wear bike shorts, track suits, and colorful windbreakers to really run head first into a 90s sporty vibe. Don the denim—mom jeans, low rise jeans, denim overalls, and denim jackets were all the rage.

The 90s era was all about grunge-style outfits. Opt for edgy pieces like leather jackets, chokers, combat boots, and ripped jeans if you want to come across as a grunge goddess at the 90s party. These outfit ideas work great for all body types, too.

Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.

Key elements of a 90s-inspired outfit for women include high-waisted jeans, crop tops, oversized clothing, grunge-inspired pieces, tracksuits, Doc Martens, and chokers. To create a 90s-inspired look, a fashion brand can mix and match these elements to reflect a woman's personal style.

Plaid button-up shirts, plaid skirts, and plaid dresses were '90s staples. Try layering a plaid button-up over the rest of your outfit (leaving it unbuttoned), or wrap a plaid shirt around your waist. Try finding plaid as worn out as possible, giving it the grungy look. Rock a pair of overalls.

Common looks for women were crop tops, babydoll dresses over leggings, black leather jackets with shoulder pads, and colored or embroidered jeans, with slouch socks, Keds, or ballet flats.

Oversized shirts, high-waisted jeans, and Sperry boat shoes were common pieces associated with '90s preppy culture. Plaid mini skirts paired with a tank top and matching blazer were also a classic '90s preppy look featured in films and MTV music videos, such as Britney Spears's “Baby One More Time” video.

Jeans were also part of various other subcultures throughout the '90s, including the likes of the metal heads. Despite this, the fit changed everything, with the baggier styles setting the writers, skaters, breakdancers, and rappers apart from all other communities that wore denim at the time.

Hip-hop fashion for women and men became different; Guys preferred saggy jeans, sunglasses and heavy workboots, while women wore tighter jeans, bell bottom jeans, and tube tops. Brands like Dickies, Chuck Taylors, and Raiders contributed to the popularization of pants, sneakers, and baseball caps, respectively.

Were crop tops a 90s thing? ›

Crop tops. Crop tops and belly shirts were staples of the era. Pop sensations like Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, and Christina Aguilera rocked them on stage and the red carpet, while the rest of us felt extremely cool wearing them to high school dances.

Overall, '90s fashion has made an exciting comeback in recent years and shows no sign of slowing down. Whether it's a '90s-inspired dress or the best Doc Martens for women, these timeless trends will stay around for years to come. So embrace this retro look and have some 90s fun.

While it's often credited to the 90s, it was actually the 70s and 80s which saw a rise in the double denim trend. This style period was known for its sequins and glamour, and the iconic 1980s double denim look was often seen on celebs such as Blondie front-woman Debbie Harry and the Charlie's Angels.

Kids in the 1990s wore bright colors, printed shirts, bucket hats, scrunchies, and striped shirts.

While personal memory drives a love for '90s fashion among Millennials, for Gen Z, it's more an appeal of aesthetic tastes. The '90s represents a far-off fashionable fantasy depicted in film photos and polaroids for the younger generation, whereas the 2000s are a distant but recognizable reality.

The History Of Cargo Pants

To be honest, they probably hanged in some kind of closet up until 1990s and afterwords: BOOM – THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. Markets, stores, every person had a pair of Cargo Pants in their closet, outfit, wish list, basket, and the list can go on.

Chunky highlights, mohawks, high and severe ponytails, straight hair with bangs, and razor-sharp cuts are just a few of the most unforgettable 90s hairstyles.

The quickest way to get Cher's hair texture is by blowdrying strands smooth with a round brush, to nix flyaways and build volume at the root. Opt for a tool like Dyson's Supersonic Hair Dryer, for gorgeous results sans damage.

90s Grunge

Inspired by underground rock culture, this trend was all about breaking the rules of traditional graphic design, including elements such as: Dirty backgrounds. Distressed textures. Torn edges. Hand drawn doodles.

What 90s fashion will be in 2023? ›

The 90s fashion trend was defined by elements that emboldened the look and gave a carefree outlook to the wearer. Elements like graphic tees, ripped jeans, bike shorts, leather jackets, and slip dresses and materials such as velvet are all set to make a comeback in 2023.

The best '90s jeans are ones that are reminiscent of decades past but with updated, modern twists. '90s jeans can mean anything from tapered to baggy, but one thing is for certain: There's not a hint of skinny or stretch denim in sight.

High-waisted, 5-pocket blue jeans for women were everywhere in the 1990s, before extremely low-rise jeans came into fashion toward the end of the decade. As seen on Lauren, the perfect pair of high-waisted jeans are heavier weight, medium-blue, and either fitted and slim-cut through the legs, or boxy and loose-fitting.

'90s Straight Jeans

A relaxed thigh & straight leg.

Mom jeans is an informal term for high-waisted women's jeans that were first fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In the late 1990s and 2000s they were mainly worn by adult American women and considered "old" by younger women.

During the 90s, jeans trousers started to loosen up more and this decade had a sartorial gem (that by the way had a recent comeback), the mom jeans. Skinnies did not have much attention during this decade, which was maybe healthy, since everyone probably had to take a breath before the infamous ~2000s~ came. The 2000s.

Famously prominent within the 90's hip hop scene in America, baggy jeans gradually moved into mainstream fashion becoming an everyday item for most.

Leggings were a popular choice, especially in the early 1990s. Cindy Crawford embraced this trend by wearing them with a black top, and many women soon added black leggings to their wardrobes. Another very similar pant that was popular was stirrup pants.

The 1990's look suggested that women should be extremely thin with bones protruding out from the skin. Collar bones, ankles bones and other protrusions were glamourized. This ideal included height, in that women who were very tall were considered more beautiful.

1990s accessory: Bandanas were a popular item for women and men in the' 90s and bigger bandanas were also used as tops by women.

What colors were popular in the 90s? ›

The 1990s. After two decades of saturated and vibrant colors, the 90s grunge scene brought darker, subdued colors into style. Dark plum, forest green, dark brown, black, and deep red began to emerge as fashion turned towards flannel shirts, jeans, and combat boots[5].

Any and all chokers were hot in the '90s, but lace chokers really went with that gothic resurgence vibe.

Hip hop and the baggy jeans became one, with artists from Wu-Tang Clan, Aaliyah, TLC, Eazy E and countless more were all rocking the baggy fit. Worn as a sign of rebellion, hip hop put its middle finger to the sky and wore the unconventionally sized fit just because.

'90s streetwear can be widely understood as a revolt against the restrictive, boxy and often brightly-coloured power suits, padded shoulders and spandex of the 80s.

Bomber jackets

Military-inspired style proved to be immensely popular in the '90s. And leading the charge was the iconic bomber jacket.

At the time of the late 80s and 90s, it was a known thing, if someone was wearing camo, you could safely assume they listened to hip-hop. As time progressed and trends in hip-hop changed, the popularity of camo print among its artists and community stayed the same.

From the backwards cap to the oversized tee, tie dye came in countless varieties in the '90s. That's the beauty of it — everyone had their own way of playing the color game.

Scrunchies were particularly popular in the 1980s and 1990s, including larger, more elaborate versions. Scrunchies regained popularity in the mid 2010s.

Denim jackets were everywhere in the 90s, worn oversized and usually teamed with even more denim, they add a fresh sense of youthfulness to a look.

Authentic '90s makeup meant ultra-thin eyebrows, frosted lips, and even face gems. While we may have at one point thought these looks were gone for good, some of the hottest makeup trends from the '90s are currently making a comeback.

What trends are coming back in 2023? ›

Groovival, a term coined by the The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, was the '90s answer to rehashing the groovy flower power aesthetic of the 1960s and '70s. This both appealed to 'boomers' for its nostalgic qualities, as well as to young children for its bright colors and novelty groovy motifs.

In the 1990s, JNCO jeans were big—in every sense of the term. With hulking legs (imagine fitting a 2-liter bottle of co*ke horizontally across the hem), JNCOs were the street-sweeping denims that raver kids, graffiti artists, skateboarders and those pretending to be part of those subcultures wore.

Wide-leg jeans, colloquially called baggy pants, are a style of clothing that were popular from the early 1980s to the early 2010s.

The 90s era was all about grunge-style outfits. Opt for edgy pieces like leather jackets, chokers, combat boots, and ripped jeans if you want to come across as a grunge goddess at the 90s party. These outfit ideas work great for all body types, too.

Channel authentic 90s grunge by throwing on baggy ripped jeans, a graphic tee and checkered flannel. Wear bike shorts, track suits, and colorful windbreakers to really run head first into a 90s sporty vibe. Don the denim—mom jeans, low rise jeans, denim overalls, and denim jackets were all the rage.

GENERATION Y OR THE MILLENNIALS: DIGITAL NATIVES

Also known as digital natives, millennials are those born between 1982 and 1994 and technology is part of their everyday lives: all their activities are mediated by a screen. The concept of on and off is completely integrated into their lives.

Plaid button-up shirts, plaid skirts, and plaid dresses were '90s staples. Try layering a plaid button-up over the rest of your outfit (leaving it unbuttoned), or wrap a plaid shirt around your waist. Try finding plaid as worn out as possible, giving it the grungy look. Rock a pair of overalls.

In western cultures, high-rise jeans were especially common in the 1970s, late 1980s through the late 90s, derided as mom jeans in the 2000s, and popular again in the mid-to-late 2010s and continues to be popular into the present in competition with low-rise pants.

How to get 90s photo effect? ›

Groovival. Groovival, a term coined by the The Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute, was the '90s answer to rehashing the groovy flower power aesthetic of the 1960s and '70s. This both appealed to 'boomers' for its nostalgic qualities, as well as to young children for its bright colors and novelty groovy motifs.

It's the vintage camera that was the most popular in the 90s. This app offers popular film filters and also the cam, film, kiosk, light leak, dust, and grainy filter effects. The 1998 Camera is a trendy camera app.

Huji Cam. If Hipstamatic is the original, then Huji Cam is by far the most popular all-around vintage photo app used in 2023. Whereas some apps include various retro time periods, Huji aims to imitate the artistic quality of photos taken in the 1990s.

The last cell phone-less generation! —most of all when it comes to '90s fashion. Scrunchies, acid-wash jeans, tube tops, and capri pants reigned supreme among '90s style trends, along with crimped hair, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, and punk rock.

From Cindy Crawford's big hair to Princess Diana's feathered bob – we loved them all. Chunky highlights, mohawks, high and severe ponytails, straight hair with bangs, and razor-sharp cuts are just a few of the most unforgettable 90s hairstyles.

Preppy: The preppy subculture of '90s fashion pulled inspiration from hip-hop culture. Oversized shirts, high-waisted jeans, and Sperry boat shoes were common pieces associated with '90s preppy culture.

Slip dresses, bomber jackets, scrunchies and plaid flannel shirts were all the rage during the '90s — and many of these fashion trends are working their way back into vogue (although some of these pieces may have never left your closet).