What did the kids wear in 95?

August 7, 2006 7:24 AM

Where can I do research on the styles of American teens in 1995?

I was one, so you'd think I'd be better at this. And I have no problem remembering what me and my friends wore (Midwest wannabe grunge, thank you very much). But what did the preppies wear? Jocks? "Normal" kids? On all of this, I'm drawing a blank.

I've found some 90s nostalgia sites, but I'm looking for something a little more concrete. Thanks.

posted by Bookhouse to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

Television shows and films set around young people of the time is a good way to start. Find a series/film, and hit google images with it. It might be a slightly 'heightened' view of what people actually wore at the time, but should jog the memory nicely.
posted by slimepuppy at 7:28 AM on August 7, 2006

Like, My So-Called Life.
posted by kcm at 7:32 AM on August 7, 2006

Your local library will probably have or be able to get back issues of magazines like Teen and Seventeen. I particularly recommend the now-defunct Sassy for illustrations of fashions that "normal" kids would have emulated, and some of those magazines should also have features on "dressing to fit your body" or some other indicators of clothing styles for non-model teens.
posted by Amy Phillips at 7:37 AM on August 7, 2006

Go to the library and look at back issues of magazines such as Seventeen, YM, and Tiger Beat (not sure the average library would have that last one, though).
posted by scratch at 7:37 AM on August 7, 2006

Great minds think alike, Amy. Jinx!
posted by scratch at 7:38 AM on August 7, 2006

Your best bet is probably renting a slew of movies. The NY Times list for 1995. Also check for more iconic movies from a year or two earlier that would be widely imitated by 1995. TV shows, too. Of course, everyone dresses up more for high school on TV and in the movies than they do in real life, so extrapolate. Music videos will show what everyone is trying to look like, which may jog your memory.

What would be really helpful are catalogues from various clothing companies popular with teenagers at the time, but I don't know how you'd get your hands on them.
posted by desuetude at 7:39 AM on August 7, 2006

1990's in fashion -- Wikipedia entry which may provide you with some direction.

"The 1990s in popular culture is typically referred to as the decade of 'anti-fashion'....The acid washed denim fad of the late 1980s went into decline in 1990....The most important event in 1990s fashion was the rise of the grunge style into the mainstream in 1992....Golf shirts became part of the new post-grunge style in 1995....etc."

posted by ericb at 7:45 AM on August 7, 2006

get some high school yearbooks--many local libraries have them

both the formal senior portraits and the photos of kids doing actual activities should be helpful
posted by subatomiczoo at 7:46 AM on August 7, 2006

I Love 1995.
posted by grateful at 8:08 AM on August 7, 2006

Go to the library, get a stack of Mademoiselles from 1995. Proceed accordingly.
posted by parmanparman at 8:33 AM on August 7, 2006

following off subatomiczero's suggestion of yearbooks, search for "1995 yearbook" in Google Image Search. I, too, was a high schooler in 1995, and looking at things like this and this make me feel old.

Keep your eyes peeled for "grunge," menswear on girls, and head-to-toe denim.
posted by sarahnade at 9:57 AM on August 7, 2006

do you want to know what all kids wore, or what the cool kids wore?
posted by fumbducker at 10:14 AM on August 7, 2006

Call Delias and see if they have any old catalogs or scans of catalogs. Their clothes were all the rage.
posted by radioamy at 11:16 AM on August 7, 2006

From the yearbook pictures, it would appear that most kids wore jeans and T shirts...
posted by A189Nut at 12:50 PM on August 7, 2006