8 Movies as 90s Fashion Study Guides

Fashion is cyclical, but contrary to common opinion, brands don’t just copy iconic pieces from different eras but try to rethink them. As a result, huge platform shoes, neon colors, “ugly” hairpins, wide high-waisted jeans, tiny sunglasses, voluminous hair bands, bike shorts, and other fashion elements of twenty years ago today can be seen in the new collections of many different designers.

The ’90s are known not only for the minimalist approach embodied in the Helmut Lang and Jil Sander collections but also for being the golden age of subcultures, where particular clothes helped distinguish “insiders” from “outsiders.”

“Pulp Fiction,” “Clueless,” and “Pretty Woman” are perhaps the top three films recommended to watch when referring to the fashion of that time. Everyone reading this article has probably already seen these movies, so we’ve compiled a list with a few more pictures featuring a mythologized decade that put a stamp on the characters’ outfits. Enjoy reading and watching!

Hackers, 1995

One of Angelina Jolie’s best-known movies features the actress with a short haircut, bright makeup, and a white & red Suzuki biker jacket. There are no clichéd signs of the 90s era here: the movie characters represent a subculture invented especially for “Hackers.” Sensing their community is easy, partly because of the outfits, including latex suits, sleeveless leopard shirts, wide pants with pockets, and printed T-shirts.

The historian, stylist, dresser, and collector Roger Burton created this magnificent movie. Today he promotes his Contemporary Wardrobe project, loaning archival collections of vintage Comme des Garçons, Chanel, and other brands.

Reality Bites, 1994

Young Winona Ryder’s street style is the true embodiment of the sloppy chic of the 90s, which has been the subject of blogs and even Instagram accounts. The media compiles a list of “scary” actress roles to be inspired for Halloween. However, she does not hesitate to wear things that attentive fans can spot in her old photos, such as a T-shirt from 1991.

“Heathers,” “Reality Bites,” and “Girl, Interrupted” movies were filmed in the period from the late ’80s to the early 2000s and, in one way or another, influenced the actress’ formation into fashion icons. Released in the mid-90s, “Reality Bites,” despite its low rating, became a style chronicle of those who were just over twenty.

Small platform sandals, vests with ethnic prints, floral dresses, sleeveless white shirts, and, of course, memorable glasses frames – all these things remain symbols of that epoch today.

Singles, 1992

What style should prevail in a movie about music, released in 1992 and set in Seattle? You can hardly avoid grunge here.

Checkered shirts, T-shirts over long sleeves, rugged boots, and thick socks – the characters in Cameron Crowe’s movie are predestined by the time and the place. Curiously, the movie’s description says that

loneliness is the scourge of the end of the XX century. Yet, it’s easily adapted to modern reality because only the laziest have not had time to speculate about how today’s younger generation deliberately refuses to have responsible relationships.

Primal Fear, 1996

The cult of clothes and overconsumption started to be discussed in the late ’80s, so films about office life, yuppies, and law offices stand apart in the context of that time.

“Primal Fear” is a courtroom drama starring Edward Norton and Richard Gere, and the former received an Oscar nomination for the movie.

The outfits of both a successful lawyer and a modest teenager are easy to imagine today on the streets and the screen (except for the overly wide ties). The image of Laura Linney’s character deserves special attention, as she wears colored suits at work in the best traditions of power-dressing, while at home, she wears a gray mohair sweater and loose jeans.

The costume designer was Jeannine Oppuall, who still works in Hollywood today. Director Gregory Hoblit later praised her creative flexibility: despite her love of moderation, she deliberately paid attention to many tiny details.

Good Will Hunting, 1997

The film about a teenager wasting his incredible abilities is valuable not only for the skillful dialogues and the Matt Damon with Robin William’s charisma. The picture stylistically separates the two worlds where the action unfolds: the academy with its students and professors in argyle sweaters and the street life with the goofballs in tracksuits and Champion T-shirts.

10 Things I Hate About You, 1999

Heath Ledger’s style was ahead of its time: if you look at the paparazzi shots, it is hard to miss the resemblance to another “unfashionable” icon from 2018 – Shia LaBeouf.

The freestyle adaptation of “The Taming of the Shrew,” transported to the everyday school reality, brought the actor his first commercial success and recognition. “10 Things I Hate About You” still holds a special place in the fans’ hearts, at least due to the cute, albeit ridiculous, scene with the song “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”

The hooligan appears in tight shiny jeans and thin T-shirts throughout the movie. The contrast between the antipodean sisters, the beloved Bianca, and the non-conformist Katarina, whose dissimilarity is apparent at first glance, is also enjoyable.

A simple example: Katarina wears a strappy camouflage T-shirt in the conversation scene with her father, while Bianca wears a pink cardigan and a floral top. Small earrings, platform flip-flops, and cardo pants – all details from the late 90s are still beloved today.

Practical Magic, 1998

The underrated movie about sisterhood and support with Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock in the leading roles is another film in the galaxy of works about witches that, along with “The Craft” and “Charmed,” will still be relevant to many people nowadays.

The colored-lenses glasses, nighty dresses, transferable tattoos on the arms, and distinctive witch hairstyles from the ’90s were all invented by Oscar-winning costume designer Judianna Makovsky.

Curiously, her skillful handling of this style later helped her get a job in “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.”

My Own Private Idaho, 1991

One of the best films of its decade, “My Own Private Idaho,” will forever memorialize River Phoenix, who died relatively young. Director Gus Van Sant is believed to have written the screenplay influenced by beatnik prose, and the homage is evident in everything. The story of search, frustration, and loneliness is reinforced by the expressive costumes that become an extension of the characters and give the key to their understanding.

A corduroy jacket, a beanie hat, denim shirts – this is how the character of Phoenix, a homeless guy with narcolepsy, appears. Keanu Reeves’ character, who becomes his traveling companion and crush, also appears in semi-work clothes for most of the film. His final look with the tie and the strict coat – albeit somewhat abrupt and even comical – makes it clear to the audience how much the characters have distanced from each other.