Last night’s popular Twitter hashtag came in the form of #sentisabado, which had people Tweeting about their favorite ’90s moments—and there were many. All the “Dear Diary, Carlo sat beside me today” and “Bahaw, ang kaning lamig” references made it clear that a lot of twenteensomethings spent last night reliving the decade that brought them up.
A few months ago, I talked about the ’90s commercials that defined my childhood, as well as the junk food that I ate, which were all part of last night’s nostalgia trip. And then people started bringing up ’90s fashion, which made me think of the stuff I used to wear back in grade school. One thing that saved me from complete fashion victim status was parental intervention. Although I very much wanted to get some of the trendier items, like Doc Martens and denim jumper shorts, my parents weren’t so gung-ho about letting me wear them (I did wear a lot of printed leggings though). However, I still managed to wear most of the ’90s trends below.
Which were the ones that you wore?
The quintessential '90s look. (These photos were taken in 2005 as a spoof photo shoot for Inquirer; my friend Katrina was game enough to pose for them. She doesn't usually dress like this, I promise!)
Dresses worn over shirts
It was the early stages of layering when black spaghetti-strapped dresses worn over plain white shirts became popular with girls during the early ’90s (no other color combinations were acceptable). This outfit was worn with Keds and tube socks or clogs.
Tretorn sneakers and Doc Martens were hot
Doc Martens
Every kid had to have a pair of Doc Martens. If you didn’t, you were sent to a corner to shiver over your lack of coolness (myself included). Doc Martens were worn with everything, from dresses to jeans to overalls, and came in a variety of styles and colors. Tretorns were also pretty popular, although in our school, they were also eventually used as P.E. shoes.
Grunge
Blame it on Kurt Cobain and the smell of teen spirit – the early ’90s were dominated by teens with unwashed hair in ripped jeans, flannel shirts and grubby sneakers.
Sunflowers and matte makeup
Sunflower everything
Sunflower hats, clothes, accessories—it was the flower of the decade, if there was ever such a thing.
Statement clothes and accessories
Shirts and necklaces with smart-aleck words and phrases such as ”Whatever,” ”Yeah, right” and ”As if” sold like hotcakes. Also popular at that time were hippie-inspired smiley faces, peace signs, the yin-yang symbol, and flowers. (Statement shirts were pretty popular last year, proof that fashion is always recycled).
High-waisted, tapered jeans, midriff (a.k.a "hanging") top, folded hat.. a classic '90s look
Midriff/”hanging” shirts
Now, it’s all about long and lean shirts. In the ’90s, the closer the hem of the shirt was to the belly button, the cooler it was.
Fishing hats
Popular with high-school boys who didn’t know how to fish even if kilos of salmon were dangled in their faces, these hats were spray-painted, covered with buttons, and worn low over the brows.
Denim dresses and skirts
Dresses in the last decade were predominantly long. Long denim skirts with buttons down the front, denim dresses… everything was denim.
Someday, "Gossip Girl" will be as ridiculously dated as this
Baby doll/empire-cut dresses
In the early ’90s, girls of all ages wore these high-waist dresses with cycling shorts or leggings, complemented with either Mary Janes or Doc Martens.
It was a time when girls could share clothes with their boyfriends
Baggy jeans and loose shirts
Baggy jeans and loose polo shirts were a fad that many ’90s girls would like to forget. It was hard to distinguish guys from girls as members of both sexes wore the outfits with rubber shoes and baseball caps.
Skorts and culottes
Skorts, which looked like skirts in front and shorts in the back, were as popular as culottes, which were knee-length loose shorts that looked like A-line skirts. These were popular with girls who had to be able to run about and still look feminine at the same time. Not as popular with Peeping Toms.
Jolina hair butterflies!
Butterfly clips
In the late ’90s, classrooms turned into veritable butterfly gardens as almost half of each grade school/high school class wore butterfly clips on their hair. (I had a 50-something high school teacher who wore them. Weird).
Flared jeans
After years of tapered jeans, flared jeans were welcomed with open arms. There were embroidered flared jeans, embellished flared jeans, and with the birth of cargo pants, cargo flares. Clearly, people didn’t know when to stop combining trends. (You don’t need a photo of this. You know you have them in your closet).
Cargo pants
These followed closely on the heels of flared jeans and led to the birth of yet another fashion hybrid – the cargo flares. Cargo pants were popular among girls and boys, and upturned pockets were found to reveal the contents of an entire house: cell phones, wallets, cigarette lighters, kikay kits, Bunsen burners, an extra pair of socks…
Loafers
Loafers were pretty popular in the ’90s—from flat Topsiders with super-tapered pants to clunky black grandmother-style loafers that were paired with shirt-dresses.
You wouldn't want to look like this guy. Stay away from the fanny pack!
Belt bag
Also known as fanny packs, these were used by both men and women and were clipped around the waist. Very few people risk being seen in public in these nowadays.
Insanely expensive basketball shoes were big---literally and figuratively
Sportswear
Nike led the pack in the ’90s – thanks to Michael Jordan with his Air Jordan line, basketball jerseys and Jordan’s own brand of cologne. Other brands, such as Adidas with its Feet You Wear and Reebok’s Pump lines, tried to replicate its success and failed.
Jumpers
Denim overalls, especially shorts, were popular with kids and teens. There was even a specified ”cool way” to wear them: one strap had to be casually draped down one shoulder. Acceptable tops worn with the jumpers included tank tops, midriff shirts and baby tees.
Bubble bags---they took up more space than the items they could carry
Bubble bags
These inflated bags took up more space than the items they could carry. After a few months of raging success in the tiangges, they simply disappeared. Smash bags (backpacks with wall clocks mounted on them) and paint tube bags were also big.
I can't believe they used to be fashion icons looking like this
Platforms
No thanks to the Spice Girls, platforms were big in the ’90s. These oversized affairs, with 4- or 5-inch heels, made adolescent kids and teens stomp around and trip everywhere they went.
Tomorrow’s entry: ’90s hair and makeup
(Photos by Ocs Alvarez. Model: Katrina Villanueva—she might kill me for unearthing these crazy photos again! They first appeared in an Inquirer 2bU photo shoot in 2005).
(Day 17, 30-Day Blog Challenge)
Also the shapeless bustier gowns and shift dresses. I remember Rhett Eala being one of the most talked about designers. Satin was the fabric du jour, along with georgette and crepe, and paisley and ombre were also popular. When I wore heels with my jeans, I was considered a fashion victim. They said the two never -ever – go together.
Add the matching pantsuits and skirt suits, especially with jackets falling well below the hip. I have magazines from the 90s and early 2000s. You can see the evolution; it’s amusing.
OMG, georgette and crepe dresses in floral patterns! I went nuts over those for a while.
cool! @tonyocruz @juanxi @ssowy @Abbie12 and I were there! #sentisabado
hilarious…
just a thought
the thing with our generation is that we can share more physically and visually with the next generation, compared to our elders (at least in the Phil) who shared their vivid stories that we can never really seem to grasp, blame our adhd