Students discuss the impact the 90s have on modern fashion taste

Students+discuss+the+impact+the+90s+have+on+modern+fashion+taste

Fashion comebacks are something many people are used to throughout the years. Whether it be mom jeans, chokers or even jean jackets, there are many 90s trends that are slowly working their way back into everyday fashion. Senior Tiffany Pan likes taking ideas from many of the styles from the 90s, and making them into her own.

“I really like early 90s styles,” Pan said. “Current styles now are a lot more muted, but clothes from that era are a lot more bold. A lot of the things that I buy that look 90s have that sort of muted coloration.”

While a lot of the clothing styles, like T-shirts tucked into mom jeans, got revived in the current era, a lot of the colors, like the bright neons, stayed in their original era. Many times, these sort of clothes have soft tones, like pastels, in order to achieve what many call an “aesthetic” fashion sense. However, Pan’s definition of “aesthetic fashion” doesn’t fit the norm.

“I’d describe it as someone who can coordinate colors, first of all,” Pan said. “It’s something that describes people who are confident in what they’re wearing. You could wear clothes just like this, but if you’re slouching and you don’t look comfortable, it’s not going to have the same effect.”

Pan said most of her inspiration comes from other people, whether it be complete strangers, or ones she’s close to.

“I always go into my mom’s closet and steal some of her clothes, even my dad’s closet if I like his clothes,” Pan said. “I get a lot of inspiration from social media. I follow accounts with a certain feed that matches the style that I like.”


A lot of students can’t remember the hassle that was changing in-and-out of clothing for gym nearly every day. Freshman Sahar Baha manages to combine comfort with style, while still finding things that m

ake it easy to change.

“I love to wear leggings,” Baha said. “They’re comfortable, they’re easy to change in and out of, and they pretty much go with anything.”

Merriam-Webster defines aesthetic as “concerned with beauty or the appreciation of beauty.” However, Baha said that aesthetic style is different for each person, since aesthetic can have different definitions for different people.

“The clothing looks all put together,” Baha said. “You don’t have just ‘random’ pieces of clothing that don’t go together. But everyone’s personal aesthetic is different.”

Baha also said fashion is slowly becoming more individualized, and that a lot of people in the past dressed very similarly to each other.

“[People] had a similar fashion sense,” Baha said. Nowadays, I feel like people have more individualized ideas for their clothing. Mine really isn’t that different from a lot of other people’s, but it still is its own thing.”


While a lot of people get their “vintage” clothing from their parents, some students find their clothing from a combination of name-brands and thrift stores. Junior Faith Kim rarely gets things from her parents, and instead chooses to buy them.

“I thrift a lot of my stuff,” Kim said. “[I get clothes at] Maj-R Thrift, and if I’m going brand name, I go H&M or Forever 21.”

Kim said she tries to use modern brands in order to achieve her 90s looks, rather than using things that were actually in the 90s.

“I kind of dress with more brand name clothes,” Kim said.  “They didn’t exactly come from the 90s. I like to make it my own. Like, 90s fashion is very baggy, and I don’t really wear that many baggy things.”

Kim also said she likes combining the best of both worlds and dressing for both comfort and style.

“I really love Vans, because they’re so comfortable” Kim said. “The old-school ones are the best. I really love mom jeans; I wear them all the time, and they’re super comfortable too.”

When asked if she thinks that 90s fashion is making a comeback, Kim said this type of fashion is becoming a lot more common in today’s fashion world.

“Nowadays, people are getting into a more vintage style,” Kim said. “A lot of people are thrifting. A lot of people are wearing really unique clothes, but it’s also kind of evolving. I think it’s because the style is becoming a trend, because I think that stores are putting more 90s-esque clothes back in stock, and so people are just buying them and styling them.”