RETURN: The nineties aesthetic is making a comeback in popular clothing stores.
By Michelle Boulos, Staff Writer
Bring back the overalls and crimped hair! The once-beloved clothing and accessories of the 1990s are becoming popularized again and teenagers everywhere are going crazy over the trends.
If you dare to flip through any old family photo albums from the 1990s, you might spot people sporting flannels, parachute pants, crop tops and plenty of denim on denim. From bucket hats and butterfly clips to jelly sandals and combat boots, some of these fads should have stayed in the nineties.
Miraculously, these cringe-worthy styles that haunt pre-millennia teens’ nightmares have been resurrected from nineties clothing racks and can now be seen in school hallways, on the street and on the red carpet.
But for the fashion industry, the idea of revitalizing trends from bygone decades isn’t a new concept. In fact, a few years ago, the neon craze of the 1980s was revisited, blinding every innocent shopper. People went back to wearing leggings, animal print and bright, popping colors.
Our first glimpse of the nineties’ comeback can be traced back to the Fall/Winter 2012 fashion shows, where designers brought back fond memories on the glamorous runway. Jeremy Scott made a statement with graphic tees, bare midriffs and a true nineties icon—Bart Simpson.
At the 2014 Video Music Awards (VMAs), artists Katy Perry and Riff Raff recreated the iconic, head-to-toe denim outfits worn by Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake from the 1999 VMAs. And we’ve all seen the usual crop top from the Spice Girls era worn regularly on the red carpet. Former model, Heidi Klum, even contributed to the craze when she was pictured at the 2014 American Music Awards wearing a crop top to match her ankle-length skirt.
Brandy Melville is one of the stores that has influenced the closets and minds of teenage girls everywhere. The brand is mostly based off of the nineties flannel-filled fashion, selling crop tops and graphic tees at somewhat reasonable prices in an annoying one size fits all. When parents walk into the store, it’s as if they’re revisiting their younger years with the laid-back style of Brandy Melville.
But Brandy Melville isn’t the only place where you can buy your next goth choker necklace. American Apparel, Forever 21 and H&M promote the “new” trends as well.
Every teen is probably guilty of owning at least one item brought back from the grave of nineties fashion. Our culture’s promotion and revitalizing of trends shows that this new style is all that.