# Why isn't "so 90s" a thing? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 6, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309 "2017-06-06T21:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/1 "2017-06-06T21:17:05Z")
It seems the 1970s and 1980s had their distinct styles. Music, movies, fashion, hairstyles… Many of us could probably easily recognize and quickly describe something as being from that decade. The 90s seems for some reason much less distinct? Thinking of TV shows and movies that were huge during that time, I don’t know that you’d say “well OBVIOUSLY Friends is squarely in the 90s because it’s so…” so what? What 90s pop can you point to and say is “90s-ish?” Then again, maybe it’s the 70s & 80s that were outliers. It’s not as if the first decade of 2000s is a thing (other than post-9/11, which is of course an entirely separate discussion) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/2 "2017-06-06T21:26:47Z")
Everything becomes simplified with distance. Like, you would define the 60’s as the age of hippies and free love, but in fact a good chunk of the 60’s was all about crew cuts and big band music. Early 90’s is being also going through this right now in modern pop culture- pastel colors, Seinfeld jackets and early nineties half mullets, grunge music and early electro pop a la C+C Music Factory. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/3 "2017-06-06T21:28:11Z")
Grunge certainly fits as a 90’s thing. It has its music (obviously), fashion (plaid shirts, etc.), and movies (_Singles_, _Reality Bites_). ---
**Author:** ![Flyer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/flyer/32/7298_2.png) [@Flyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flyer)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/4 "2017-06-06T21:33:01Z")
Anecdotally, it seems that 90s pop music is making a comeback as “mainstream public default” music – i.e., the stuff that you hear being broadcast in stores. I’ve recently heard three different songs in being played in Walmart that were all over the radio in the mid to late 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/5 "2017-06-06T22:20:34Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Grunge certainly fits as a 90’s thing. It has its music (obviously), fashion (plaid shirts, etc.), and movies (_Singles_, _Reality Bites_). To lesser impact but still very 90s, you had the ska and swing revivals with their associated inspired fashions as well. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/6 "2017-06-06T22:22:03Z")
Gotees on men are _sooooooo_ 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/7 "2017-06-07T00:14:00Z")
90’s are just as distinctive as the 80s or 70s…more so than 70’s which hold multiple musical eras. Disco, pop country, novelty songs, theme songs, adult contemporary (Light of my life), punk, new wave, early rap, soul music. Things so 90’s? Seinfeld Friends X-Files Hackers She’s All That The Craft Flannel Huge jeans Wallets on chains Pacifiers so you don’t grind your teeth out on X Speaking of which…“Go”…Len and [The 90’iest song ever](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1fzJ_AYajA) ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/8 "2017-06-07T02:16:58Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Gotees on men are _sooooooo_ 90s. Still popular on women? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/9 "2017-06-07T02:25:18Z")
[Check out the subreddit “The 90’s”](https://www.reddit.com/r/90s/) ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/10 "2017-06-07T02:33:08Z")
One thing to keep in mind when thinking about this stuff: the 90s are the same distance from now as the 70s were in the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/11 "2017-06-07T05:16:58Z")
You remembers those jackets with the big padded shoulders that were so popular in the 80s? Now take out those pads and you have a very 90s looking jacket. Pair it with pleated khakis and wear a shirt that’s two sizes too big. You’ll look “so 90s”, when everyone was big, loose, baggy clothing that wasn’t doing anyone any favors. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/12 "2017-06-07T05:30:12Z")
It’s just too soon for us to forget enough about the 90s to be able to distill it down to a few simple stereotypes. Give it time; it will happen. It always does. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/13 "2017-06-07T06:13:54Z")
And at some point the 00’s will be reduced to a Picture of George W Bush, a Kylie Minogue song, clunky cellphones and people talking about some show where some castaways are trapped in a crazy island. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/14 "2017-06-07T06:44:24Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > It’s just too soon for us to forget enough about the 90s to be able to distill it down to a few simple stereotypes. Give it time; it will happen. It always does. Is it? _That '70s Show_ was about 1976-1979, and premiered in 1998. That’s pretty much where we are now in relation to the 1990s. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/15 "2017-06-07T08:02:58Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Is it? _That '70s Show_ was about 1976-1979, and premiered in 1998. That’s pretty much where we are now in relation to the 1990s. I’d recommend “Fresh off the boat” for a sitcom filled with 90’s stereotypes. ---
**Author:** ![johnspartan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a183cd/32.png) [@johnspartan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnspartan)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/16 "2017-06-07T11:20:24Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Is it? _That '70s Show_ was about 1976-1979, and premiered in 1998. That’s pretty much where we are now in relation to the 1990s. And it’s not as if that 70s show pioneered the idea of 70s nostalgia. I thought about the “we’re just too close” argument… But I remember 80s pop culture distinctiveness discussions from before the 80s even wrapped. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/17 "2017-06-07T12:49:50Z")
I’m too close because I was an adult in the 90s. Having lived through the gradual change from then to now makes the differences invisible to me. My daughters are more able to point and laugh at the styles and tech of the 90s, and if I ever have grandchildren I am sure they will be wearing grunge Halloween costumes. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/18 "2017-06-07T12:58:09Z")
The 90s are distinct from the 80s, right? So if people today are having trouble finding distinct stuff about the 90s from today, it seems more like the issue is that fashion/music/etc stagnated in the 2000s, not that the 90s were lacking in innovation. So the answer to why there isn’t a “So 90s” (if you agree with the premise) is because the next decade failed to produce its own distinct style. Although I think that **DrFidelius** has an important point, at least from my own perspective. The 90s are when I finished high school (1991), went through college and became an adult. So a lot of what I see from the 90s still registers in my mind as perfectly normal because it was a very formative period for me. This also explains why I still have a couple ancient shirts hanging in my closet from the 90s which are likely terribly dated, though not to my mind’s eye. ---
**Author:** ![bizzylizzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/49beb7/32.png) [@bizzylizzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzylizzy)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/19 "2017-06-07T13:51:43Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > I’d recommend “Fresh off the boat” for a sitcom filled with 90’s stereotypes. Is that a bit like [Love Thy Neighbour](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Thy_Neighbor_(TV_series)) back in the glorious 70’s? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2017, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309/20 "2017-06-07T14:01:54Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > Things so 90’s? > > Seinfeld > Friends > X-Files > > Hackers > She’s All That > The Craft > > Flannel > Huge jeans > Wallets on chains > Pacifiers so you don’t grind your teeth out on X I’ll add: Fax machines Early e-mail The first singles websites Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan The _ **Die Hard** _ movies _ **Beavis and Butt-Head** _ _ **Frasier** _ \*\*\*Star Trek: Voyager \*\*\* and _ **Deep Space Nine** _ Shannon Doherty Sheryl Crowe _ **Twin Peaks** _ _ **Babylon 5** _ _ **Murphy Brown** _ and \*\*\*Ally McBeal \*\*\* _ **Caroline in the City** _ The best years of _ **The Simpsons** _ The rebooted _ **Columbo** _, where he’s **old**! Austin Powers Whitewater Monica Lewinsky Gennifer Flowers Dan Quayle OJ Simpson [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-so-90s-a-thing/788309.md?page=2)