The Nineties: Grunge and Girl Power

As with every decade, the early years resembled fashion trends from the prior, the early 90s still had the acid wash jeans and oversized tops from the 80s, but slowly the colours became less neon. The new trend was less is more. The natural look was in, with most people wearing denim, knitted jumpers, blazers and minimal make up.

Moving to the mid 90s there were many different trends happening. First of all, you had the Grunge look, breaking out due to the Seattle Sound and bands such as Nirvana. Flannel shirts were all the rage, often seen with Doc Martens or converse and numerous different band t-shirts.

The preppy look was in as well, with movies such as Clueless influencing tartan two pieces, knee high socks and Mary Jane shoes, and 'The Rachel' sported by Jennifer Aniston in Friends was the most sought after hair style of the decade.

The nineties saw a major revival of looks from the 60s/70s. The Mod look was back thanks to Blur and Oasis ,with Harrington Jackets and Ben Sherman's shirts as popular items. The Union Jack was a popular print used on clothes and probably the most recognised one from the decade was Geri Halliwell's mini dress.


 

Breaking out in 1994 ,the Spice Girls  held a major influence over fashion. They brought the 70s platform shoe back and tracksuit bottoms, especially Adidas ones, with brands suffering supply shortages due to the intense demand. One of the most popular styles of the decade was the slip dress sported by the Spice Girls and model Kate Moss.

As you can see many styles of the 90s were heavily influenced by pop culture and my friend, Alison was kind enough to share her view:

 

Favourite fashion trend?

v  “Accessories- chokers and belly chains”

Biggest fashion faux pas?

v  “Hairstyles were awful!”

Fashion icon?

v  “Spice Girls and Sabrina the Witch”

Influencer of fashion choices?

v  “Music – change in music taste moved towards a grungier style”