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thereal90s:

Everyone seems to think that real 90s teen girl dressing was either A) walking around in full plaids like Cher Horowitz or B) wearing floral dresses nonstop. Neither is true. If you were a real “alternative” chick this was the coolest outfit ever. True, I had a plaid skirt but that was only for once in a while and florals were for when you dressed up or for Brenda Walsh.
Please note, I took the photo above from a true IRL friend’s Facebook. We were friends in the 90s and this was the uniform!!
This is how we dressed guys, I can see how it isn’t going to fire up the BLOGOSPHERE with HOMAGE, but sometimes the truth hurts.
1. Adidas track jackets. Must be thrifted, always oversized, sometimes tied around your waist. Also cool: gas station attendant zip up jackets with a dude’s name on them.
2. Baggy vintage cords. MUST be Levi’s. Procured either from the Salvation Army, Antique Boutique (I think it is now the American Apparel on lower Broadway), Alice Underground (on the UWS, my ABSOLUTE FAVE; it’s now a bar) or your dad/older brother’s closet.
3. Hair: parted down the middle, sometimes dyed a color (by yourself at home, either with KoolAid or Manic Panic).
Not pictured:
4. Sneakers. Almost always sneakers! Adidas shell-toes (I had baby blue stripes and thought I was THE SHIT but classic black was cool too), navy blue Puma Clydes, Rod Lavers, Simples. By the mid-90s Docs were pretty over because you could buy them at the mall, as opposed to going to 8th Street in the city, therefore making them cool (or in my case, taunt-worthy for looking like “ugly Ronald McDonald feet” True Story! Thanks, middle school.)
5. Accessories. A chain wallet (DIY’d. I made mine w hardware store chain attached to a Hello Kitty velcro wallet with duct tape. I still have it somewhere. Velcro wallets were hilarious because they were so EIGHTIES and the 80s were when we were little.). A backpack or a lunchbox (again 80s irony was NEW and INTERESTING and 70s nostalgia was fascinating because we were born then.). Jewelry for me was a choke chain with a Little Twin Stars padlock (see previous note).
Lesley and I bonded over shit like this because we are the same age, grew up in the TriState (NY/NJ/CT) area and were into the SAME things in high school. Maybe it was different for west coasters but is NYC was your closest city, we will give you the real deal.
xoElizabeth

There were definitely variations on this (JNCOs, for example, which I never had, and baby tees or flannel — the ugliest vintage top you could find), but yeah. This was pretty common. Kinda KIDS/X-girl style. I particularly like the mention of Simple’s. My boyfriend and I had the same Simple’s in different colors.

Everyone seems to think that real 90s teen girl dressing was either A) walking around in full plaids like Cher Horowitz or B) wearing floral dresses nonstop. Neither is true. If you were a real “alternative” chick this was the coolest outfit ever. True, I had a plaid skirt but that was only for once in a while and florals were for when you dressed up or for Brenda Walsh.

Please note, I took the photo above from a true IRL friend’s Facebook. We were friends in the 90s and this was the uniform!!

This is how we dressed guys, I can see how it isn’t going to fire up the BLOGOSPHERE with HOMAGE, but sometimes the truth hurts.

1. Adidas track jackets. Must be thrifted, always oversized, sometimes tied around your waist. Also cool: gas station attendant zip up jackets with a dude’s name on them.

2. Baggy vintage cords. MUST be Levi’s. Procured either from the Salvation Army, Antique Boutique (I think it is now the American Apparel on lower Broadway), Alice Underground (on the UWS, my ABSOLUTE FAVE; it’s now a bar) or your dad/older brother’s closet.

3. Hair: parted down the middle, sometimes dyed a color (by yourself at home, either with KoolAid or Manic Panic).

Not pictured:

4. Sneakers. Almost always sneakers! Adidas shell-toes (I had baby blue stripes and thought I was THE SHIT but classic black was cool too), navy blue Puma Clydes, Rod Lavers, Simples. By the mid-90s Docs were pretty over because you could buy them at the mall, as opposed to going to 8th Street in the city, therefore making them cool (or in my case, taunt-worthy for looking like “ugly Ronald McDonald feet” True Story! Thanks, middle school.)

5. Accessories. A chain wallet (DIY’d. I made mine w hardware store chain attached to a Hello Kitty velcro wallet with duct tape. I still have it somewhere. Velcro wallets were hilarious because they were so EIGHTIES and the 80s were when we were little.). A backpack or a lunchbox (again 80s irony was NEW and INTERESTING and 70s nostalgia was fascinating because we were born then.). Jewelry for me was a choke chain with a Little Twin Stars padlock (see previous note).

Lesley and I bonded over shit like this because we are the same age, grew up in the TriState (NY/NJ/CT) area and were into the SAME things in high school. Maybe it was different for west coasters but is NYC was your closest city, we will give you the real deal.

xoElizabeth

There were definitely variations on this (JNCOs, for example, which I never had, and baby tees or flannel — the ugliest vintage top you could find), but yeah. This was pretty common. Kinda KIDS/X-girl style. I particularly like the mention of Simple’s. My boyfriend and I had the same Simple’s in different colors.

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