What do all of you think of this era?  Do you see it more as "less late '80s" or "very early '90s"?

BTW this is one of my favorite time periods.

I think overall it fits in better with the late 1986-early 1989 period than the late 1991-mid 1994 "early '90s" period. There were alot of things that I see as gradually increasing through the late '80s that became '90s, as '80s things declined. Things that gradually increased and came out in the late '80s, late 1986-mid 1991 period were alt rock/college rock, cheesy dance-pop and club music/techno, and hip-hop. By mid 1991 those were all established, but in late 1986 they were just becoming popular. It just seemed older and much less modern than late 1991-mid 1994, the "Seattle grunge" era.

The big 'change' happened in late 1991, so the period 89-91 is pretty 80ish in all respects in all except music. Early grunge and gangsta rap had already come onto the scene, and synth pop was giving way to primitive 90s break-beats - listen to Vanilla Ice, Minni Vanilli - very different to true 80s synth-based dance music. I remember little of the period, but the fashion.etc seemed very 80s: in fact, from what I remember fashion up to 1993 was barely distinguishable from 80s fashion.

The big 'change' happened in late 1991, so the period 89-91 is pretty 80ish in all respects in all except music. Early grunge and gangsta rap had already come onto the scene, and synth pop was giving way to primitive 90s break-beats - listen to Vanilla Ice, Minni Vanilli - very different to true 80s synth-based dance music. I remember little of the period, but the fashion.etc seemed very 80s: in fact, from what I remember fashion up to 1993 was barely distinguishable from 80s fashion.


Early '90s fashion was like a hip-hop/basketball version of late '80s fashion, with smaller hair and a slightly different graphic aesthetic. 89-91 was neo-'90s in music, as Trimac said, with the break-beats and the growth of alt rock and popular hip-hop, though alot of these things had been slowly happening since 1986 and just came to the fore around the middle of 1989. But yeah, graphically and just in terms of pop culture orientation in general, fall 1991 was a huge swing.

I don't know why, but looking back, 1991 seems a whole lot different than 1989.

There were certain fads taking over in 1991, like the emergence and popularity of parkas, rayon shirts, etc. Music was sounding a lot more different due to the release of Nirvana's landmark album at the time. Rap was becoming more popular.

I don't know why, but looking back, 1991 seems a whole lot different than 1989.

There were certain fads taking over in 1991, like the emergence and popularity of parkas, rayon shirts, etc. Music was sounding a lot more different due to the release of Nirvana's landmark album at the time. Rap was becoming more popular.


Yeah, 1991 was a huge change year.

I thought 1990 and 1991 were boring years musically.

Mariah Carey had her first hit, Vision Of Love, in '90. Bell Biv DeVoe were also big that year, although I didn't think much of their music. Bobby Brown was huge in '89, and I thought his songs were better. '89 was a pretty good year for music. NWA broke big. And I can still remember the excitement of Madonna's comeback album, Like A Prayer.

I remember one fashion trend during this time was weaving shoelaces of different colors together on your basketball shoes.

Late '89/early '90 was ok, but not as good as late '88/early '89. Late '90/early '91 really sucked. Late '91 was when things started to improve.

I think that it was overall part of the late '80s and sort of a prologue to the '90s, as opposed to being truly '90s yet. Most of the big things in that period (alt rock, hip-hop, cheesy dance music), had been around since late 1986 or so in a big way and just became more and more popular in that part of the late '80s.  However, there were certain things about the period that I think fit in more with the '90s. One was the prevalence of hip-hop pop as a chart phenomenon (Vanilla Ice, etc.) I think Vanilla Ice was sort of an '80sified '90s thing...so was M.C. Hammer, and Seinfeld, the Simpsons, etc. are genuinely '90s shows. It was more the maturation of trends that had started in the beginning of the late '80s than the totally new period that started about halfway through 1991 with the big Tori Amos, Nirvana, Soundgarden, RHCP, and Pearl Jam CDs.

look at all of the one hit wonders of that little period of time.

Biz Markie rules.

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So yeah, I think it was the late-late '80s with some '90s elements, or the second part of the late '80s.

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So yeah, I think it was the late-late '80s with some '90s elements, or the second part of the late '80s.


Yes, it was "less late '80s". It consists of 1989-1990 and 1990-1991.

Mid 1989- Mid 1991 is one of my favorite time periods too. I say it's "less late 80's" as opposed to "very early 90's" though since alot of the trends up to Late 1991 were just extensions of 80's fads.

Early '90s fashion was like a hip-hop/basketball version of late '80s fashion, with smaller hair and a slightly different graphic aesthetic. 89-91 was neo-'90s in music, as Trimac said, with the break-beats and the growth of alt rock and popular hip-hop, though alot of these things had been slowly happening since 1986 and just came to the fore around the middle of 1989. But yeah, graphically and just in terms of pop culture orientation in general, fall 1991 was a huge swing.


Speaking of fashion, shows like 'Full House' and 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' typlify the cusp look. Apart from fluros, floral/Hawaiin shirts and garish shirts, casual (not 'thin' ties), stiff-collared shirts were very popular in this era. I sort of recall the fashion of the early 90s - the peak of the hip-hop/basketball fashion, the baggy knee-length shorts, the basketball singlets. Hey, that's another really 90s fashion thing I remember. Basketball shirts/uniforms.etc. I remember having a Charlotte Hornet's basketball singlet/jersey back about 94!  :-[

Speaking of fashion, shows like 'Full House' and 'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' typlify the cusp look. Apart from fluros, floral/Hawaiin shirts and garish shirts, casual (not 'thin' ties), stiff-collared shirts were very popular in this era. I sort of recall the fashion of the early 90s - the peak of the hip-hop/basketball fashion, the baggy knee-length shorts, the basketball singlets. Hey, that's another really 90s fashion thing I remember. Basketball shirts/uniforms.etc. I remember having a Charlotte Hornet's basketball singlet/jersey back about 94!  :-[


I had a Charlotte Hornet's Parka I used to wear during the Winter of '91/'92. I wore it constantly. It was the thing to wear parkas. EVERYONE had one, it seemed.