Party Outfits of the 1990s
The '90s was a decade with myriad styles of clothing that varied widely. If you are attending a 1990s-themed costume party, or simply want to learn more about the decade's prevalent party outfits, there are a number of options to choose from for both genders, such as grunge, goth or hip-hop, and even Valley girl. Does this Spark an idea?
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Grunge
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Grunge disciples in the 1990s did not have party clothes, per se; they merely wore their regular clothes to parties. Womens' looks typically included bleached blond or brightly dyed unkempt hair, dark eyeliner, floral-printed babydoll dresses over ripped tights or flannel shirts and ripped light jeans and combat boots, generally of the brand Dr. Marten's. For men, the style was largely the same except, of course, for the dresses --- although Nirvana lead singer Kurt Cobain was famously photographed wearing wife Courtney Love's dress in a "Rolling Stone" issue. For inspiration, see the show "My So-Called Life," the movie "Reality Bites" and photos and music videos of the bands Nirvana, Hole, Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots.
Hip-Hop
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In the early part of the decade, hip-hop clothing was oversized, brightly colored and often incorporated African prints. Popular T-shirts depicted "Looney Tunes" characters wearing clothes of this style; this time period was also the inception of the sagging pants trend. For inspiration, see the film "House Party," starring rappers Kid 'n Play, and the music videos of artists such as Vanilla Ice, Kris Kross and MC Hammer. As the decade progressed, the style became more somber, with much more black clothing. Popular items included baseball caps worn backwards, Fila-brand sneakers, Adidas-brand track suits and Kangol-brand fuzzy bucket hats. For inspiration, see music videos of the era by Puff Daddy, Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur, Mase and Missy Elliott. As with grunge, there were not party outfits, although tight jersey mini-dresses were popular among women.
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Goth/Nu-Metal
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Goth followers wore exclusively black clothing, often with extraneous non-function zippers or other fasteners attached. The goth style had a subset called ravers who incorporated neon colors, glow sticks, candy necklaces and often children's accessories into their party outfits. Inspiration for this style can be seen in the film "The Crow." Nu-metal was a similar style that also incorporated some red and white colors into the wardrobe. A popular clothing store for goth and nu-metal followers alike was Hot Topic, which sold T-shirts of popular bands, extremely wide-legged pants and jeans (sometimes upward of 60-inch leg openings), sneakers, lace-up high boots and more. For examples of this style, see the music videos of bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Godsmack and Rage Against the Machine, and festival footage of Ozzfest.
Valley Girl
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For women, this style consisted of body-conscious clothing such as pleather minidresses, midriff-baring baby T-shirts and short sweaters, miniskirts, peace signs printed on everything, see-through backpacks and knee-high socks with Mary Jane shoes. For men, the concurrent style was jeans and sweater vests over white T-shirts, khakis, branded T-shirts and fleece zip-ups. Some men opted for a skater style, with wide (but not nu-metal-wide) jeans, skate-brand T-shirts, shot-bead necklaces and frosted hair. For both genders, psychedelic prints on satin or polyester button-down shirts, velour tops, plaid pants and sweaters with a single stripe across the chest were popular. For parties, women went tighter and more fitted while men opted for louder proclamation of brand names or more preppy. For inspiration, see the films "Clueless" and the television show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Dynamic Graphics/Dynamic Graphics Group/Getty Images
