Fashion 1990 - 2000s

 

 

 

The 1990s was the beginning of two sweeping changes in Western fashion: the beginning of the rejection of fashion which continued into the 2000s among a large section of the population, and the beginning of the adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and to a lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.

This started the indifferent, anti-conformist approach to fashion which was popular throughout the 1990s, leading to the popularisation of the casual chic look, including T-shirts, jeans and trainers.

Fashion  was also characterized by minimalist styles during this time, some of which were dubbed "anti-fashion", a backlash against the "excessive" fashion of the 1980s.  Subcultures such as Grunge, Goth, Emo, Nu Metal, Urban and Preppie defined and influenced the fashion of the era.... Most of the fashion trends of this decade are based around blue jeans and the T-shirt. Fluorescent or neon clothing, which became popular in the 1980s, remained popular until 1989. As of 1989 it was no longer popular, as it had been replaced by plaid.

Sports clothing enjoyed increased popularity as casual wear among teenagers in the early 1990s. Track suits with a loose nylon outer shell became popular, and replaced the older style of velour track suits.

Continuing from the 1980s leggings remained popular up until 1996. They were usually worn with oversized sweaters and sweatshirts in the cooler months and with oversized tee shirts in the warmers months.

 

 

 

 

Mod-inspired styles became popular in 1995 among teenaged girls and young women. These included straight leg jeans, baby t-shirts, plaid miniskirts, and short jackets with oversized zippers.  Around 1996, cords became popular, and continued as a trend through 2001.

After a dip in popularity in the mid-90s, sporty styles became increasingly popular later in the 90s. The late 90s sporty look was dominated by tearaway track pants with buttons on the side that could be “torn” open. Hip-hop fashion developed into a style more distinct from other sporty styles, baggy jeans, hooded sweatshirts, football jerseys, puffy jackets, and large gold chains became staples of the hip-hop look.

 

Fashion 1980 - 1990

In the 1970s, the silhouette of fashion tended to be characterized by close fitting clothes on top with wider, looser clothes on the bottom. This trend completely reversed itself in the early 1980s as both men and women began to wear looser shirts and tight, close-fitting trousers. The 80's was the decade of excess. Everything was bigger and everyone wanted more.

Before "Friends" ruled television, "The Cosby Show" and "Family Ties" dominated televison, and everyone was being influenced by them. The video revolution changed everything as well. Coinciding with the new wave movement, music television and MTV added a whole new depth to music as an artform. The visuals that these videos offered to their audiences was intoxicating and added to their mystery, rather than dispelling it. The fashion, the make-up, the narrative of videos made even the most insignificant of bands look larger-than-life and had the fashion world in a frenzy.

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After the release of her single "Like a Virgin" in late 1984, Madonna became a fashion icon for many young women around the world who copied her "street urchin" look with short skirts worn over leggings, brassieres worn as outer clothing, untidy hair, crucifix jewellery, and fishnet gloves.

 The 80s music scene instantly brings to mind the decade's two icons: Michael Jackson and Madonna, the Material Girl. Jackson had nine No. 1 singles in the 80s which totalled 31 weeks at the top spot. In addition to his solo hits “Rock With You,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Way You Make Me Feel,” “Dirty Diana,” “Bad,” and “Man in the Mirror,” Jackson topped the charts with his collaborations on the “We Are The World” effort by USA For Africa and his duet with former Beatle Paul McCartney on “Say, Say, Say.”

Madonna was Michael Jackson’s female counterpart of the decade. Though not able to boast as many No. 1 singles as Jackson - Madonna charted seven No. 1s in the 80s, topping the charts overall for 15 weeks - her influence changed a generation, and arguably, the music industry forever.

Asymmetrical haircuts were the most popular around 1985-1988. Hair was cut short beginning with the bangs and increasing in length around the head until it came to somewhat of a diagonal point on the other side. Or the hair was really short on one side and a longer length in back and on the other side. (See England's popular band The Human League for a great example)

 Guys the world round wore a similar style to the asymmetrical haircut, the mullet, except that the top and sides were short (and usually cut around the ears), then dropped off in the back to a longer 'shag' style. Occasionally on the wilder new wave guys, this style was adapted so that the longer back was tightly wound or braided into a rat tail.

In or around 1984, guys discovered the parachute pant. Parachute pants were fairly tight nylon pants with zippered patch pockets, the usual 2 front + 2 back, plus one or two on each leg with zippered ankles. Rapper MC Hammer took this pants style to the extreme with his loose, long crotch, and ultra baggy pants in a wild range of materials and colors. Like the popular harem pants, Hammer pants were worn by few but admired by many.

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Fashion 1970 - 1980

1970s fashion, which began with a continuation of the mini skirts, bell-bottoms and the androgynous hippie look from the late 1960s, was soon sharply distinguished by several distinct fashion trends that have left a lasting image of the decade in popular culture. These include platform shoes which appeared on the fashion scene in 1971 and often had soles two to four inches thick. Both men and women wore them.

The 1970s were the "anything goes" decade. Some, the uglier and older the fashion, the better, and other times, soft and feminine was the did it for them. No matter what you "dug" or liked though, making a fashion statement reached its peak in the 1970s. It was an uproarious time, with many cultures and subcultures coming out into the open at once. Militant feminism, Civil rights, the watergate scandal, and the vietnam war brought a very grim reality to the forefront. These influences gave designers new ammunition, and the public was excited for the latest fashion wave.

The seventies fashion icon Farrah Fawcett defined a generation of beauty queens with her bouffon beach-blond hair has to be responsible for a lot of hairspray during here Charlie’s Angels television series.  Farrah Fawcett-Majors of course gained the double barrel surname after marrying the Six Million Dollar man Lee Majors.

Olivia Newton John, Donny Osmond, Lisa Minnelli, Debby Harry, and George Best are all famous fashion icons of the 70s.

Movies and television shows such as Charlie's Angels were having an increasingly profound affect on fashion. Cultural icons such as Wonder Woman created a lust for interesting boots-often teamed with hot pants or short skirts. Boots might be shiny, textured, bejeweled, or covered with psychedelic or floral designs, but they were rarely boring.

Nike debuted in 1972; the result of a fateful bit of creativeness meeting a waffle iron. Running became a popular pastime, and running shoes were a practical necessity, especially for men and of course Farrah Fawcett. The athletic craze was only just beginning though.

Diane Keaton, Woody Allen’s singer in the neurotic 1977 movie 'Annie Hall', was very much unlike other leading ladies in one all-important area- she looked like a man (fashion-wise only of course). Men's shirts, ties, fedoras you name it. In the late 70’s, women’s were breaking free from the chains of old-fashioned female constrictions. Annie wore men’s blazers, baggy pants, vests, oversized shirts, ties and floppy hats-sometimes all at once, or sometimes just a men's jacket was an accessory.

Fashion 1960 - 1970

The 1960s featured a number of diverse trends. It was a decade that broke many fashion traditions, mirroring social movements during the period. In the middle of the decade, culottes, box-shaped PVC dresses and go go boots were popular. The widely popular bikini came into fashion in 1963 after being featured in the musical 

Beach Party.

Youth predominated the culture of the 1960's. The post World War II Baby Boom had created 70 million teenagers for the sixties, and these youth swayed the fashion, the fads and the politics of the decade. 

Hubert Givenchy helped to define the 1960s refined style by dressing its most elegant actress, Audrey Hepburn, both on screen and off. Givenchy's designs were used in Hepburn movies such as Charade, Paris When it Sizzles, How to Steal a Million, and of course, Breakfast at Tiffany's, for which he designed the most famous "Little Black Dress" of all time.

Ossie Clark made a name by dressing celebrities like the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Twiggy, Liza Minnell, and Talitha Getty. Together with his wife, Celia Birtwell who designed textiles for his collections, Clark's designs epitomized the 60s. Clark was also one of the first designers to do an accessible capsule collection with a major retailer, mass producing his designs at a lower price for British retailer Radley in 1968.

Biba, Pierre Cardin, Boiie Cashin, and 

André Courrèges are just a couple of the most influential designers of the 1960's.

Jackie O, aka Jackie Kennedy Onassis,first Lady of the United States, was a fashion icon and helped define many 1960s and 1970s fashions.Her famous pink Chanel suit has become a symbol of her husband's assassination and one of the lasting images of the 1960s.

The hippie trend also began to take form during the 1960s.

 culottes

The teenage impact lead to the hemlines creeping up, and most teenagers were wearing mid-thigh length shifts as daywear. The sweater-dress was also very popular with young girls from 1961 onwards, until the mid-60s when other new designs were introduced. 1965 saw the premiere of culotte dresses in op-art (optical art) or vibrant coloured patterns, like Pucci, and these were most popular as evening or party wear; culottes had the freedom of trousers but the look of a full skirt. 1966’s dress was the tent, or "baby doll dress", sometimes in transparent chiffon, worn over a slip, usually sewn-in.

California surfers took to skateboards as a way to stay fit out of season, and by 1963, the trend had spread across the country. Barbie dolls became a huge hit in the sixties, so much that the competitor toy manufacturer Hasbro came up with G.I. Joe, 12 inches tall and the first action figure for boys. Another doll, the troll or Dammit doll (named for it's creator, Joseph Dam) was a good luck symbol for all ages.