By: Leanna Yu and Victoria Lin
The 1990s was the golden age of grunge fashion with the youth culture believing that what you wore to school was more important than what you learned in school. This era included science educators like Bill Nye the Science Guy, the iconic sitcom, Friends, the Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls, and the brilliant movie, Clueless. While a handful of past fashion trends make us turn up our noses and cringe, many infamous clothing choices are making a comeback in teens today. These clothing styles include items such as the beloved scrunchie, mom jeans, and overalls. Retail shops like Urban Outfitters are catching onto this craze, and have started to sell 90’s inspired clothes.
Hairstyles and accessories are returning to the scene, but almost all are only worn for aesthetics. Most popular among teens are scrunchies and round, colorful lense sunglasses. Although scrunchies are designed for holding up your hair, they are commonly worn on people’s wrists to “upgrade” an outfit. Scrunchies can be patterned or solid colored, but the ones in high demand are velvet scrunchies. Velvet is also another hot 90’s trend, and what better way to make an accessory then to combine two of the most popular items. A third high demand accessory being sold is super tiny colored sunglasses. With celebrities like Britney Spears and Drew Barrymore who wore the “ultra-tiny Matrix-inspired specs” in the 90s, these retro glasses are making their return. Even though these small glasses are not meant for UV ray protection, they offer a way to bring style and coolness to a look. Coming in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes, these unique sunglasses are typically sold in stores like Urban Outfitters, ZAFUL, and Lulu’s.
Additionally, barrettes are also making their way back into the fashion world. These clips are a fun and adorable way of holding back stubborn baby hairs. Even though there are no strict rules for clips, people usually wear a pair to help hold up hairstyles like small braids or tiny baby hairs. Barrettes come in all shapes and sizes, such as small, bendable clips with colors ranging from all around the rainbow. Clips like these are generally worn in the front, in an effort to frame the face. Other then hold back uncooperative hair strands, barrettes can add a splash of color to the plainest outfits.
Certain clothing styles and individual pieces of clothing from the 90’s are also coming back into popularity. You can often see people, including runway models, layering long sleeves under short sleeves, such as long sleeves under overalls and thin, long sleeved tops underneath graphic tees. Although this fashion statement is supposedly cute and trendy, some people find layering under outside pieces to be unflattering and mismatching. To combat this feared fashion disaster, people usually start out with layering black or white since both colors work with almost anything. White can be paired with pastels or bright solid colors, and black provides a comfortable, stylish foundation to any outfit. Warm colored stripes are also a common fashion choice for darker colored tees.
Along with the layers, mom jeans are also becoming a regular fashion choice in teenagers.With brands like Levi Strauss and Brandy Melville that have form fitting mom jeans, these pants come in a variety of colors like light washed, dark denim, and black. In regards to footwear, Doc Martens are another 90s fashion trend that is becoming more common as a recognized high-quality brand. Dr. Martens were created in the United Kingdom in 1960 as a sturdy, leather combat boot worn for practical reasons. The various styles, colors, and materials all contribute to their popularity, but they are also considered to be an expensive choice of footwear.
Even though the ‘hype’ of the 90’s trends died down into the early 2000s, the culture of scrunchies, Friends, and Doc Martens are coming back in the youth again. This sudden spark that led to an increase of the popularization of 90s trends are spreading due to social media influencers. Youtubers such as Marla Catherine, Vereena, Emma Chamberlain, and Summer McKeen have begun to incorporate the fashion trends of the 90s into their own style, inspiring their viewers and followers to carry on the trend. With scrunchies, Doc Martens, barrettes, mom jeans, and more, the 90’s was a time of grunge fashion that is now inspiring fashion trends today.
