Winona Ryder films the movie Celebrity on Sept. 13, 1997 at 52nd Street and Park Avenue in New York City. Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage/Getty Images
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Brad Pitt at the 1999 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. Frank Micelotta/Getty Images
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Johnny Depp on May 5, 1995.The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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Sarah Jessica Parker at Rosie O'Donnell's For All Kids Foundation's 2nd Annual White Rose Awards Gala on Nov. 11, 1999.Robin Platzer/Liaison/Getty Images
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Jared Leto on the set of My So-Called Life on Jan. 12, 1995.ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
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Tupac Shakur at the 1st Annual Minority Motion Picture Awards on Sept. 10, 1993.Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images
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Courteney Cox as Monica Geller and Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green on the NBC show Friends.Getty Images
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Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
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Running from 1991 to 1994, Clarissa Explains It All was the first Nickelodeon show to feature a female lead. Here, Clarissa wears a shirt featuring Keith Haring's art while her best friend Sam wears a tie-dye shirt.Nickelodeon
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Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp at the premiere of Cry-Baby on July 1, 1990.Kevin Mazur Archive/WireImage/Getty Images
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Hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa in London. Circa 1990.Martyn Goodacre/Getty Images
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American actor River Phoenix in 1991.Nancy R. Schiff/Getty Images
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Gwen Stefani at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Getty Images
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NSYNC, wearing matching black leather outfits, posing in front of a wall of logos at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas.Scott Harrison/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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The cast of Saved By The Bell on set. From left: Mario Lopez, Elizabeth Berkley, Lark Voorhies, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, and Dustin Diamond.Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images
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Mandy Moore, wearing a pink vest and a green plaid skirt, stands and smiles in front of a wall of logos at the 1999 Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.Scott Harrison/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Students in the United Kingdom. Circa 1990.Photofusion/UIG via Getty Images
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Joey Lawrence, catapulted into fame for his role as Joey Russo in Blossom, poses for a promotional photo in the mid-'90s.Pinterest
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The cast of Full House poses on location in San Francisco on Sept. 27, 1994. From left: Andrea Barber (Kimmy), Jodie Sweetin (Stephanie), Mary-Kate Olsen (Michelle), Candace Cameron (D.J.).ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
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English pop singer, author, DJ, and television presenter Kim Wilde. Circa 1992.Tim Roney/Getty Images
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Pearl Jam performing at the Off Ramp Cafe in Seattle in 1991. Alison Braun/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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Two teenage punk girls pose in New York's Washington Square Park on Aug. 13, 1997.Mark Peterson/Corbis via Getty Images
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James Van Der Beek, best known for playing Dawson Leery in Dawson's Creek.Getty Images
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The cast of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in 1997. From left to right: Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Charisma Carpenter, and Alyson Hannigan.Getty Images
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From left, Tim Meadows, Ellen Cleghorne, and Adam Sandler during a skit on the Sept. 25, 1993 episode of Saturday Night Live.Gerry Goodstein/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
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Three girls pose for the camera at Club It in London on Nov. 20, 1999. PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images
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Dan Cortese, Jon Stewart, and George Clooney pose for a photo before an MTV Rock N' Jock softball game.Twitter
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Julia Roberts at the Deauville American Film Festival in Deauville, France on Sept. 6, 1990. to promote her film, Flatliners.Phil Spencer/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
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Will Smith plays Baseball Stars on Nintendo.Tumblr
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The Spice GIrls, whose 1995 album Spice sold more than 31 million copies worldwide to become the best-selling album by a female group in history.Pinterest
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The New Radicals perform on the Feb. 3, 1999 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.Joey Del Valle/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images
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Mark Wahlberg and Leonardo DiCaprio during the 1995 premiere for their film The Basketball Diaries.Pinterest
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Smiles on the dance floor at Club It in London on Nov. 20, 1999.PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images
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Alice In Chains pose for their first group photograph after they signed to Columbia Records. 1990.Annamaria DiSanto/Getty Images
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Stacey Dash and Alicia Silverstone walking and talking on their mobile phones in a scene from the film Clueless. 1995. Paramount Pictures/Getty Images
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Ellen Degeneres during a 1994 episode of Ellen. ABC Photo Archives/ABC via Getty Images
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Girls using a payphone at Club It in London on Nov. 20, 1999.PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images
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Mike Dirnt, Tre Cool, and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day at the premiere of Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me on June 8, 1999.Jim Smeal/WireImage/Getty Images
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Friends relaxing during a slumber party.Mark Peterson/Corbis via Getty Images
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Clothing display in Budapest, Hungary. 1991.Independent Picture Service/UIG via Getty Images
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Alice In Chains.Steve Jennings/Getty Images
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Close-up of bleached jeans.Paul Hartnett/PYMCA/UIG via Getty Images
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TLC during Tommy Hilfiger "Rock Style" Exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York on Dec. 6, 1999. KMazur/WireImage/Getty Images
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Sarah Jessica Parker at The Academy in Beverly Hills on Nov. 14, 1991 for the premiere of For The Boys.Barry King/WireImage/Getty Images
44 Images That Capture Iconic 1990s Fashion Trends In Full Effect
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The 1990s was a huge decade for fashion, as it combined many retro trends with many novel ones. It saw the revival of some looks from the '70s, like floral patterns, and meshed them with new looks like crop tops and chokers. And some of those quintessential '90s combos are still wildly popular today.
In the roughly 20 years since the end of the '90s, fashion has certainly evolved, but our nostalgia for these '90s fashion looks are certainly here to stay — and with good reason.
Major '90s Fashion Trends And Musical Influences
Overall, 1990s fashion is particularly unique because of the wide variety of trends at work during the period.
Grunge and heavy-metal bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Alice in Chains shot to stardom in the early 1990s and so did their fashion choices. Their "I don't care" looks, typified by plaid flannel shirts, ripped jeans, and long, unkempt hair quickly became widespread.
Hip-hop fashion likewise went mainstream thanks to rappers like Tupac, TLC, Eazy-E, and LL Cool J. Their baggy jeans, bucket hats, tracksuits, and sportswear became some of the decade's top looks.
Meanwhile, pop musicians like The Spice Girls were known for their butterfly clips, crop tops, and platform shoes. Plus, boy bands like NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys turned frosted tips and tiny sunglasses into the height of style.
At the same time, casual wear was one of the top trends of the time. Brightly colored tops and bottoms with bold geometric patterns were commonplace and various pieces of exercise clothing like hoodies, leggings, sports bras, and leotards were found in school hallways and on television screens across the world.
Pop Culture Influences
Celebrities, movies, and television shows had an undeniable effect on '90s fashion. Remember when hairdressers across the world were inundated with requests for "The Rachel," a now-infamous haircut made popular by Jennifer Aniston's character on the hit '90s show Friends?
Elsewhere, other shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Full House, and My So-Called Life inspired the fashion choices of younger generations. One of the most iconic shows in regards to fashion influences, Sex and the City, was just getting started towards the end of the decade. Consequently, the couture looks of Carrie Bradshaw went viral. Plus, movies like Clueless made certain trends like the plaid skirt absolutely iconic.
See some of these '90s fashion trends — and more — in the gallery above.
Caroline is a writer living in New York City who holds a Bachelor's in science from the University of Florida. Her work has appeared in People, Yahoo, Bustle, Entertainment Weekly, and The Boston Herald.
John Kuroski is the editorial director of All That's Interesting. He graduated from New York University with a degree in history, earning a place in the Phi Alpha Theta honor society for history students. An editor at All That's Interesting since 2015, his areas of interest include modern history and true crime.
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Redmond, Caroline. "44 Images That Capture Iconic 1990s Fashion Trends In Full Effect." AllThatsInteresting.com, August 27, 2018, https://allthatsinteresting.com/1990s-fashion-trends. Accessed January 28, 2025.
