If you’re looking for ideas for a 90s costume for Halloween or a theme party, some things to consider for sources are fashion and popular culture of the period. There is a fair amount of overlap between the two, as popular culture does influence fashion trends.
As always, popular culture, such as films, music and television, is a good source of inspiration.
The grunge look was in this decade. Grunge originated from grunge rock, a type of alternative rock. One of the biggest grunge bands was Nirvana, notable for the suicide of its lead singer, Kurt Cobain. Grunge fashion consisted of padded, loose fitting flannel shirts and polo shirts, acid wash denim jackets, wool sweaters and black leather jackets. Carpenter pants were popular both with grunge fashion and with hip hop. These were complemented with white Adidas trainers, Aviator sunglasses and Doc Martens boots.
Hip-hop music, and its associated fashions, also went mainstream with baseball, bomber and Baja jackets (a Mexican pullover with a single large pocket) being popular. Carpenter pants, as mentioned earlier, were also worn as were cargo pants, sweatpants, camouflage pants, overalls, tracksuit bottoms and entire tracksuits.
There was a resurgence in Sixties fashions in both men and women’s clothing, such as the hippie look in floral dresses and Gypsy tops for women and 1960s mod clothing and long hair – such as tailor made Italian suits, narrow, pointed winklepicker shoes and button down shirts – in Britain with the rise of Cool Britannia and the success of Britpop. Women’s clothing also saw a lot of Union Jack motif items from the same movement – such as Spice Girl Geri Halliwell‘s Union Jack dress.
Men’s hairstyles got shorter through the decade, as opposed to those of the 80s, with curtain haircuts and small ponytails at the beginning to short, spiked hair, crew-cuts and shaven heads by the end of the decade. For women straight, smooth hair such as the pixie haircut and the Rachel haircut were popular, the latter named after the character Jennifer Anniston played in the television series Friends.
Preppy clothing was popular in the United States. Specifically, preppy refers to North eastern US preparatory schools, but the preppy look was more widespread. Slacks, boat shoes and usually navy blue blazers, sometimes with a family crest, went towards the preppy look.
Exercise wear, such as legging, often worn with a minidress, or a leotard with jeans, were popular with women. These would be worn with athletics shoes.
Popular films of the period included the first Men In Black and Toy Story films – yes, they’re that old – The Phantom Menace, the first in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Here are some suggestions for suitable Nineties costumes:
– Dress like a member of a grunge rock band, such as Nirvana. Guitar optional.
– Be a Man in Black with a black suit, black tie, white shirt, black shoes and black sunglasses. A definite monochrome theme.
– A Geri Halliwell Union Jack dress is a very distinctive and recognisable outfit for a woman.
– For a more comical outfit, consider dressing as one of the Toy Story characters, such as Buzz Lightyear or Woody, or Mr and Mrs Potato Head.
– A hip-hop rapper costume with desert camouflage pants, bomber jacket and bling.
This should give you a starting point to look for a 90’s costume.
Take a look at more ideas:
A Man in Black from Men in Black
Geri Halliwell’s Union Jack Dress