Fashion Backwards Blog: My 2 Cents on the 90s Sense

By Emily

I was recently invited to a birthday party with the theme: 90's Fashion.

The first thought that entered my mind, "So, this is what we're doing now?"

I began to contemplate what one wears to a 90's themed party. Overalls? And um...overalls...? That's it. My mind was blank. It wasn't until a few days later, when I walked into my local Urban Outfitters, that it hit me like a fashion truck. As I gazed around the store, I realized I was completely surrounded, by none other than my junior high days. I thought back, 5, 10, 15 years (math was never my strong suit), and realized this was me...in the 90s! And not just an ode to the 90s, or a fashion nod to the decade, but a full fledged I-just-got-in-my-non-hot-tub-time-machine and it was 1992-1997, respectively. The notion of digging into my happy face mini backpack for my Kudos bar, as the Josta truck drove by, washed over me like a Super Soaker at a backyard TLC Karaoke sesh.

As a small child of the mid to late 80s, and a slightly larger adolescent, pre-teen and teenager by Y2K, the lines of the 80s and 90s seem to blur...in theory. But seeing this collection of 90's artifacts and dinglehoppers right in front of my face, slapped the fashion ignorance right out of me. I remembered the denim skorts and floral rompers, and the flatform sandals and Airwalk sneakers. The tankini swim tops, and hologram chain wallets. The bubble furniture and lucite, well everything.

I felt terrible for forgetting these seemingly unforgettable style marks of the times. And then it hit me, as I was once again in that damn fashion truck's way, although this time it felt more like a metaphoric coming to my senses, like Rachel McAdams' character in Mean Girls (but less bitchy). Perhaps I had mashed this decade into a pile of random because it made me feel less old? Not filing it as a staple decade made it somehow not really a decade, thus rendering the time not so much in the past, but just a blob of childhood memories? I may never know for sure. And although I may also never feel as comfortable wearing a Britney era crop top as I once did, and did often, I will remember the 90s for all its glory, because it really has earned a recognizable place in the vintage world of the decade party.