I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t really follow fashion that closely. But even I’ve noticed that there’s been a bit of a 90s revival going on recently.
Various things that I remember from my early teens are suddenly back in fashion, and it’s made me feel really quite old! I sort of feel like I can’t wear these things if I remember wearing them when they were in style the first time round.
Except for my bucket hat. But then, I never stopped wearing that. It’s been atop my head every summer since I bought it, from C&As, back in the late 90s. Oh yes.
What I have been enjoying though, is that sense of nostalgia that has come along with this little revival.
So, just for a minute, let’s go back to the 90s!
The soundtrack to the 90s
The 90s to me were mainly about the boybands. I was a big boyband fan. Boyzone and the backstreet boys were my favourites. I recently revealed to my husband that I went to a Boyzone concert when I was younger, and he just gave me this look like he didn’t even know me at all. I hadn’t realised I’d kept my boyband-loving ways such a secret from him!
My older brother did have a bit of an influence on me too though. Thanks to him I was also a big fan of the whole Brit pop scene in the 90s. Oasis, Blur, The Lightning Seeds, Space. Anyone else remember Space? Me and you versus the world is still an amazing song!
Of course, I can’t talk about the 90s without mentioning the school disco classics The Macarena and Saturday night. I bet you still remember the moves; it’s like a weird muscle memory thing!
90s entertainment
Oh 90s tv was the best!
Coming home from school and watching The Demon Headmaster or Grange Hill. Getting up on the weekends for SM:TV, and mornings before school being that bit better thanks to The Big Breakfast.
And American tv was brilliant too back then. Boy meets world was one of my favourite programs, and it made me a bit too happy to know that Cory and Topanga did end up together. Same with Joey and Pacey in Dawson’s creek. I mean, he bought her a wall for crying out loud, did Dawson ever do that? No he did not!
If you ever want to see some real 90s fashion in action though, you really need to go and watch some of the early episodes of Buffy. The fashion choices are pretty epic.
The look of the 90s
For me, the key to nailing the 90s look is in wearing the right accessories. Things like those chokers that were meant to look like tattoos. And jelly bracelets, and necklaces with yin yang pendants, most likely bought in Claire’s accessories. And Baby G watches. I was so proud of my baby G watch, I think I still have it tucked away in a drawer somewhere!
Then of course you had things like body glitter and hair mascara to brighten up your look. I have to admit to being fans of both those things. I did draw the line at the crazy eyebrow plucking though. The trend in the 90s was definitely for super thin brows.
I think I just didn’t have the skills to try and get that look so I just let my eyebrows be, which I’m very happy about now. I am pretty lazy when it comes to make up and can’t imagine having to add filling in my eyebrows to my ‘routine’ every day. If I had plucked my brows away in the 90s then I’d seriously consider getting this advanced tricho pigmentation treatment to permanently fill them back in instead!
Talking the talk
I’m really not down with the slang the kids use these days. I mean, what does ‘on fleek’ even mean?! I can’t stand the term bae, and I only know what dabbing is because my 6 year old told me!
Give me 90s slang any day. Mostly inspired by one of the best films of all time – Clueless. You can’t beat ‘whatever’ or ‘as if’ can you? I’ll get up to date one day though, and start using the new slang … not!
What have I missed? Are there things you miss about the 90s, or do you think we should be happy to be past the days of sun in and Flat Eric?! Leave me a comment and let me know!