# What were the fashion trends of the 90's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 26, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503 "2007-06-26T17:56:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/1 "2007-06-26T17:56:12Z")
Don’t know what made me think of this, but the 70’s of course you had your bell bottoms, leisure suits, etc. and the 80’s your parachute pants, Madonna garb, skinny ties, knit ties, Flock of Seagulls dress, etc. At that point I lost touch- what were some from the 90’s? ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/2 "2007-06-26T18:12:44Z")
Rugby shirts (horizontal stripes) Stonewashed jeans One-piece outfits (female) The emergence of the ubiquitous ball cap as a staple fashion accessory ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/3 "2007-06-26T18:22:48Z")
Flannel. Lots of flannel. Oh, and a pair of Doc Martins too. ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/4 "2007-06-26T18:29:41Z")
That’s about when tattoos started to go mainstream, too. I mean middle-classs non-rebel white girl mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/5 "2007-06-26T18:34:58Z")
[QUOTE=DustyButt] Flannel. Lots of flannel. Oh, and a pair of Doc Martins too. [/QUOTE] I’d agree with this. What with the influence of “grunge” in the early part of the decade, the standard 90’s look was jeans, a short sleeve shirt, open flannel overshirt, baseball cap (or very short hair), and goatee. I am talking about the guys, btw. ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/6 "2007-06-26T18:36:38Z")
[QUOTE=Atomicktom] I’d agree with this. What with the influence of “grunge” in the early part of the decade, the standard 90’s look was jeans, a short sleeve shirt, open flannel overshirt, baseball cap (or very short hair), and goatee. I am talking about the guys, btw. [/QUOTE] The chicks wore flannel too, to my recollection. Query: I seem to recall that during the nineties there was this thing where girls would wear boots with dresses. Does that count? -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![miamouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ad7895/32.png) [@miamouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/miamouse)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/7 "2007-06-26T18:40:11Z")
high waisted jeans. The color mustard. ---
**Author:** ![emmaliminal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@emmaliminal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/emmaliminal)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/8 "2007-06-26T18:51:35Z")
Early 90s: overalls with only one strap buckled, the other left to dangle, whip around, and castrate unwary passers-by. To amplify what **Leaffan** said, \*stonewash \*was in, but \*acidwash \*was out. Long, oversized, and baggy T-shirts (but not off-the shoulder, as that was Flashdance and therefore 80s). Only crazy people let muffin-tops show. Low-riding, hip-slung pants had to be matched with long shirttails. (High-waisted pants were in with a different set; you tucked in your shirt or blouse with those.) Rips welcome in your T-shirts, flannel, and stonewash. Long underwear visible under your cut-off jeans or T-shirt or flannel. Cut-off jeans cut off below the knee or at mid-shin. Patagonia and REI: serious-looking outdoorsy sportwear. (I’m showing my Seattle bias here.) Black leather, the shabbier the better. Nothing shiny, except a few studs. Many ear piercings. Not much gold; all silver, pewter, or steel jewelry. Tribal tats. Full baldness (men and women). “Soul patches,” goatees, sideburns, and other creative facial hair (mostly men). Hair that didn’t look as styled as in the 80s and early 90s–less “product,” e.g. gel or hairspray, or at least less obviously so. There was a fad for the “babydoll” for a couple of years, the short dress fitted to just under the bust. There was an even briefer vogue for kilts on men, at least in my neighborhood in Seattle; wish that had lasted! Cotton spandex went mainstream–not just bicycle shorts and exercise wear, but dresses and clubwear, everyday stuff too. ---
**Author:** ![DustyButt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc348/32.png) [@DustyButt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DustyButt)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/9 "2007-06-26T19:04:13Z")
What’s a muffin-top? ---
**Author:** ![cher3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/da6949/32.png) [@cher3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cher3)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/10 "2007-06-26T19:11:56Z")
[QUOTE=DustyButt] What’s a muffin-top? [/QUOTE] The roll of flesh that’s squeezed up over the top of low-rise pants. Accentuated by the fact that low rise pants make your rear end look square. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/11 "2007-06-26T19:20:31Z")
Teal fanny packs, spandex, and sports bottles. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/12 "2007-06-26T19:30:11Z")
The slutty schoolgirl thing was big. Schoolgirl skirts on women far too old to be schoolgirls. Also one piece “schoolgirl” dresses in dark solids, with white cotton dress-shirt style collars and cuffs, worn with knee socks. Suspenders on pants and skirts worn over shirts. Zippered hoodies, a size too small. The emphasis was on the waist and the legs, not the belly and hips as it is today. [This kind of stuff.](http://www.impawards.com/1996/posters/craft.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/13 "2007-06-26T19:38:49Z")
[QUOTE=WhyNot] The slutty schoolgirl thing was big. Schoolgirl skirts on women far too old to be schoolgirls. Also one piece “schoolgirl” dresses in dark solids, with white cotton dress-shirt style collars and cuffs, worn with knee socks. Suspenders on pants and skirts worn over shirts. Zippered hoodies, a size too small. The emphasis was on the waist and the legs, not the belly and hips as it is today. [This kind of stuff.](http://www.impawards.com/1996/posters/craft.jpg) [/QUOTE] Hmmm, all I’m getting from your link is a GIF file for the [impawards.com](http://impawards.com) logo. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/14 "2007-06-26T19:43:15Z")
[QUOTE=Leaffan] Rugby shirts (horizontal stripes) Stonewashed jeans One-piece outfits (female) The emergence of the ubiquitous ball cap as a staple fashion accessory [/QUOTE] Except for the one-piece outfits, what you describe pretty much describes the well dressed undergrad in the late '70’s and early ''80’s at my university, which was far from cutting-edge. ---
**Author:** ![Solfy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Solfy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Solfy)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/15 "2007-06-26T20:30:56Z")
For teenaged girls: Bodysuits - those shirts that snapped at the crotch. Broomstick skirts Vests, usually in some sort of tapestry fabric Pirate shirts (often with vests) Suspenders ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/16 "2007-06-26T20:46:05Z")
[QUOTE=Frylock] The chicks wore flannel too, to my recollection. Query: I seem to recall that during the nineties there was this thing where girls would wear boots with dresses. Does that count? -FrL- [/QUOTE] I wore dresses with boots–Docs, of course. And the flannel too. That was pretty early 90’s. There was quite a fashion of ‘bodysuits’ too, which were really just leotards made of slightly thicker stuff. I liked those! I do remember a lot of very high-waisted dresses–supposedly they “looked good on every figure.” Hah. I never wore them, because they made me look about 6 months pregnant. ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/17 "2007-06-26T21:04:08Z")
[QUOTE=miamouse] high waisted jeans. [/QUOTE] That wasn’t so much a 90s fashion trend as the norm from the mid/late 70s on up to the late 90s when hip-hugger jeans came back in style. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/18 "2007-06-26T21:14:22Z")
I think the 90s are when khakis became popular. ---
**Author:** ![aktep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f0a364/32.png) [@aktep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aktep)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/19 "2007-06-26T21:40:32Z")
[QUOTE=PoorYorick] Hmmm, all I’m getting from your link is a GIF file for the [impawards.com](http://impawards.com) logo. [/QUOTE] Right click, copy link location, paste into new browser window/tab. ---
**Author:** ![mack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mack)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2007, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503/20 "2007-06-26T22:05:25Z")
Business casual Those pajama/sweat pants looking things with the cuffs on the ankles glasses with smaller lenses (as opposed to those gigantic 80s jobbies) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-the-fashion-trends-of-the-90s/409503.md?page=2)