I like to look through old yearbooks on classmates.com, and I was looking at this 1994 yearbook for a public high school in north Texas when I got to a spread talking about fashion trends for the time. Basically, it talked about this "retro influence" sweeping the nation.

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx256/Mathew_2010/od%20wyatt_zpsgm3qzeso.png

I didn't notice any retro-inspired clothing in this yearbook, though. For example, the page says something about '60s-inspired chokers. I didn't even know chokers were a thing in the '60s. Why is it that, to me at least, the retro influence doesn't become more apparent until I look at pictures from the mid-to-late '90s?

Because that's when people became more accepting of retro influences from the 1970's. This is especially true from 1996-onwards.

Because that's when people became more accepting of retro influences from the 1970's. This is especially true from 1996-onwards.


What were the retro influences in the early '90s, then? I keep reading old articles about this "big" '60s revival in the early '90s, but I don't really see anything indicating a '60s revival when I look at things like high school yearbooks from that era. I mean, if I look hard enough, I might see a few things, but it doesn't look like anything huge.

It feels like there were a lot of covers and interpolations dominating popular music in the 90s, especially after Bad Boy Records became popular.

I like to look through old yearbooks on classmates.com, and I was looking at this 1994 yearbook for a public high school in north Texas when I got to a spread talking about fashion trends for the time. Basically, it talked about this "retro influence" sweeping the nation.

http://i761.photobucket.com/albums/xx256/Mathew_2010/od%20wyatt_zpsgm3qzeso.png

I didn't notice any retro-inspired clothing in this yearbook, though. For example, the page says something about '60s-inspired chokers. I didn't even know chokers were a thing in the '60s. Why is it that, to me at least, the retro influence doesn't become more apparent until I look at pictures from the mid-to-late '90s?


The '90s did seem particularly nostalgic.  What I also recall with '90s fashion, is that many clothing and accessories seemed to have a "recyclable" flare, meaning that 50s lunchboxes were used as handbags, waitress dresses were worn not just for serving, baby barrettes were worn by young women...I miss that decade!

It feels like there were a lot of covers and interpolations dominating popular music in the 90s, especially after Bad Boy Records became popular.

Oh yeah, I could name several cover songs that came out then. Some of which I actually enjoyed; others not so much.

:o The fashion in that yearbook looks so 80s/early 90s. Damn, even when they try to put in retro fashion, it looks so modern back then.

I just remember in the mid-90s not liking fashion because it had the 70s influence and even at that young age--less than 10--I knew inherently, it was UGLY.

I've been on classmates.com as well over the past couple of days, particularly on the 1994-1995 school year. Most of the clothes look '80s/early '90s, with the fried hair, big and dorky glasses, ugly sweaters, mom and dad jeans, bowl cuts, and flannel shirts. These are your typical day-to-day fashions of that era that you could buy at places like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, not stuff that is stylish, but is cheap.

However, it can vary a lot depending on location. The most stylish yearbooks I found from that school year were Ocean View High School (Huntington Beach, California), Spruce Creek High School (Port Orange, Florida), and Maynard Evans High School (Orlando, Florida). Particularly pages:

1995 Ocean View High School
pp. 6/7
pp. 74/75
pp. 168

1995 Spruce Creek High School
pp. 18 (hairstyles)
pp. 33
pp. 38/39
pp. 48/49
pp. 72/73

1995 Maynard Evans High School
pp. 8/9
pp. 40/41

And that's what I've found so far. In these pictures within the pages that I mentioned I saw some people wearing distinct mid '90s fashions, it was also interesting to see two people standing side-by-side, one looking early '90s and the other looking mid '90s! So different! I really wish I could post the pictures, but I can't. The website won't let me open them up in another tab.