Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, anno 1995. Quotes:"Oh, as if!", "WHATEVER".
Does any of you remember the 90's? Well, I do. Reluctantly and vaguely. It was not a great fashion decade for me, or anyone else, if I may say so. And yes, I know that the 90's style in some degree have had a comeback in the world of fashion. However, lucky for us, the details we now see are little bit more understated than what we experienced the last time around.
So to recap, do you remember what you wore during the 90's? No? Too young perhaps? During the 1990's my age span was between 5 and 15, so my outfits varied from pink and purple Minni Mouse tights picked out by my mother, to dreadful neon tops that showed off my navel, which no mother in the world would pick out for someone whom they cared about. My fashion icons went from being Care Bears and Punky (anyone remember that little brat who lived with her grandfather/ random old man?) to the Spice Girls and Beverly Hills 90210 (and no, not the new version).
When I was 12 and 13, all I dreamt about was getting a pair of Levi's jeans and a Fruit of the Loom hoodie. The obligatory outfit consisted of Adidas sweatsuits, checked stretchpants, and white or black trainers from Nike.
As time went by and 1995 came to an end, the 90's as I really remember it began. And hence the picture of Alicia Silverstone in Cluless, above. Short skirts, schoolgirl style, and girl power.. I am thanking higher powers every day that the digital camera still was an illusion, social networks - like Facebook did not exist (the founders still in kindergarden), and internet, perhaps even computers, were not a common household item. So fortunately my early fashion endeavors are somewhat narrowly documented on the digital arena - hallelujah!
These monsters were on every fashionable foot - imagine that..
You can imagine my surprise, when visiting Brighton a cold and windy day last December, I met this "ghost of shoes past". The Buffalo shoes, they deserve their own chapter in the story of which fads that became big hits in the 90's which should'nt have, could'nt have, and would'nt hopefully attract anyones affection nowadays. Those bumpy tractor shoes, paired with flared Miss Sixty's, Toba&Co's, Crocker or Camera stretch pants (anything from JC really) that were so long that you kept on stepping on them all the time, resulting in a lot of ripped,teared and dirty trousers...It does not create the best fashion memory does it? Who would imagine they still sold those things? Well, now you know. Hopefully you are as shocked as I am.
Mockery aside, I loved Buffalo when they were in (please note the past tense here- loved, not loves). I had three pairs, one of them were even baby-pink. I have lost the count on how many flared Miss Sixty's I have owned through the years, my guess is that it was enough of them too. So my statement outfit from the 90's: Baby pink Buffalo's, Miss Sixty jeans, and a tinytiny black top or a neonpink wraparound on the more joyeaux occasions. Warning: kids, do not try this at home.
However, no matter how ashamed we are of what we used to wear, the truth is that these clothes has a nostalgic glow, reminding us of how we felt like the first time we really, really tried to pull off something fashionable. The first outfits we chose for ourselves, the first time we tried to copy a style from a magazine, some clothes even recall the memory of our first kiss.
The clothes we used to wear, be it a sweater from Fila or jeans from Lois, have all played a part in our lives. They were present when we started college, they were present on our first party, and they have all been with us when our fashion sense, somewhat stumbling, developed into what it is today.
To understand today's trends, it is important to understand the trends of the past. And even though a part of me recent saying it, the fads and mischiefs of the 90's, will always make me nostalgic, bringing out my dearest and happiest fashion memories.
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And probably, that is what the designers aim to do, when they are trying to bring some of that nostalgia back.
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