It was acceptable in the 90’s

After reading an article stating that the nineties are now officially classed as ‘vintage’, I couldn’t help but get excited about a possible neo-nineties movement in fashion and music? The nineties are (coming) back! How cool is that? I’ve been waiting for this resurgence of the nineties, well, since it sadly ended! There are several reasons why the 90’s was a great time for fashion, music and culture generally. One is that it was the Birth of ‘anti-fashion’: The rejection of all that was deemed fashionable became celebratory for people that were unique; so didn’t want to belong in a clique with a several clones that had no individual identity to speak of. The alt-rock / grunge movements in the 90’s appeared to represent support and give a deluded generation a voice.

I’m just going to reflect on some 90’s fashion, why some of it was great, why some wasn’t, and how some of it became corrupted subsequently in the naughties…

• Dressing down:  The dishevelled look was ‘in’ in the 90’s which closely aligns with the ‘anti-fashion’ agenda. Greasy locks accompanied by poorly maintained clothes and clothes ruined on purpose. Any preening done was severely frowned upon!
• Flannel shirts: Back in the nineties, these shirts epitomised the grunge scene. Being a hard-core and committed ‘grunger’, I wore these religiously along with inside-out jumpers and ripped jeans. Although I still have a soft spot for grunge music, flannel shirts have, in the last few years, become associated with lumberjacks and/or hillbillies! This association has killed my liking of flannel shirts!
• New-age hippy fashion: Another clothing phenomenon that was great in the nineties but has become diluted! For example, the style of the Gypsy blouse has been watered down and has gradually become ‘merged’ with that of a normal blouse; and these are retailed in abundance in Primark and Ethel Austin’s!  New-age fashion is no longer counter-culture.
• Hyper colour T-shirts: The shirts that changed colour wherever there was application of heat. I never actually bought one of these. Nor did I interact with anyone who had which is a shame. I would have liked to have known if bouts of sweating were made conspicuous by attaining neon arm-pits.
• Baggy clothes: Popularised by Hip Hop artists; baggy jeans, back-to-front baseball caps and oversized jumpers were made to look like ‘hand-me-downs’, which symbolised solidarity between family.
• Hammer pants: Even baggier pants that MC Hammer is responsible for the popularisation of. If you strapped yourself to a pole on a windy day, you would have resembled a kite. They were akin to culottes but with tight ankles. Oh! That reminds me…
• Culottes: These were always a nauseating piece of clothing. Are you aware of the A-line skirts that you see on some market-stalls that were adorned with really twee repeated patterns of flowers? Well culottes were very much like them, except they were trousers.
• Doctor Martens: The most timeless of all shoes! They were practically worn with everything…longs, shorts, baby doll dresses, ballroom dresses…!

• High-heeled flip flops: Such a strange hybrid of shoes! The footwear you can go to the beach in, and also to work! I was waiting for them (whoever ‘they’ are) to expand on this theme and make platform flip-flops, but it never happened. All those minutes wasted!

Whether you loved or loathed the 90’s, you can’t deny its’ colourful idiosyncrasies.  So if you’re looking forward to the 90’s coming back to us, let me hear you say “Yeah!”

If you want this decade to be reflected upon as a stylish and fashionable one with retrospect, check out ladies clothing from ccfashion.co.uk for a wide range of stylish classy clothes and accessories to brighten up your wardrobe!