Hello peeps, it's been a wild year, and I haven't posted in months, so I figured why not. Anyway, for today's topic, I would like to discuss the aesthetic of the 90s. Or whether or not there is one. 

Now, we all have a general understanding of how the 80s is depicted, meaning its aesthetic, or at least a modern take on it. It's called outrun/synthwave and it's characterized by chrome/neon fonts, iconic 80s cars driving at night or into the sunset, glowing grids, polygonal mountains, warm bright colors ranging from pinks to sky blues, purples, reds, oranges, yellows, and blacks. It often uses elements of cyberpunk as well. This aesthetic does a very good job capturing the 80s when I compare it to actual media from the time such as movies, cartoons, animated movies, tv shows, anime, etc. And of course, you can't forget the music, even though most of the music that defined the 80s, or at least that was listened to was pop and hair/glam metal, synthwave music is instead a modern take of new wave music from the early 80s, and it is what we now associate with the decade along with the synthesizer. You can search up "synthwave music" or "outrun/synthwave wallpaper" and you'll instantly know what I mean.

Here are some images for those of you who are too lazy to google:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/ebaumsworld.prod/uploads1563228382796-Synthwave-Neon-80s-Background-4K.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/474x/b0/26/da/b026dac2711526c7adfa18606ed19813.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/736x/d9/05/5b/d9055bc8eb06c5246b60e2495991880b.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fb/64/09/fb64095874649762e5a5f2fff8793682.jpg

https://hyperpix.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/best-80s-free-premium-fonts.jpg

Now here's my question? Is there something like this for the 90s? Every time I search something up, like say, "90s theme", I end up getting images like these:

https://thriftylittlemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/90s-party-ideas500.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71jXjegDMUL._AC_SY355_.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/fc/58/14/fc5814cb5e2c72c844b9c3698cfbadc5.jpg

https://thriftylittlemom.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Party-Themes.jpg

Which when compared to movies and other forms of media from the time, look almost nothing like the 90s. If anything they look like the late 80s and early 90s at most (1987 to 1992), sort of reminiscent of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. But these images don't define the core or late 90s at all. I honestly don't understand why Millenials think of the above when the 90s come to mind. I know there has to be an aesthetic for the 90s, I just don't think we have created one yet because the 90s are harder to define than the 80s. From the usage of 3d fonts, early 3d and CGI graphics, hyper-saturated ultra-blue skies and fast-moving clouds, 16-bit artwork, grunge/metal album covers, and more. The early and late 90s are very different from each other, so an aesthetic from the early 90s will look different from a late 90s/Y2K aesthetic, and both will look different from a mid/core 90s aesthetic. These are what I had in mind for the core 90s, take in mind these are actually images taken from media of that time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mbBbFH9fAg If the video doesn't show, use this link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mbBbFH9fAg

https://media.timeout.com/images/100470671/630/472/image.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a6/fb/9e/a6fb9eed785802dd618baff868011ffe.jpg

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Xc-BVb%2BHL._SX355_.jpg

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/86/9a/a1869a1ac9b997c0aa35c834cb92ce8b.gif

https://findyourinnergeek.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/609329-mario-kart-64-wii-screenshot-title-screen.png

https://home.bt.com/images/windows-98-start-screen-136398854938202601-150624170759.jpg

https://www.listchallenges.com/f/items2020/6eb19fd3-8808-4704-bdf8-5e75f1d9e197.jpg

https://i.redd.it/bftd0ullxnd21.jpg

I'll post some more examples later as well as those for the late 90s and Y2K, but I think you have a general idea of what I mean.

Looks accurate to me!

Very good. ;)

And I have to say, bright colors were not a thing in the mid 90s. Early 90s yes. But not in 1993 to 1996. There were lots of neutral colors and earthy tones. Lots of Jeans. I use to have a flannel type blouse it was denim colored but it was flannel. They were a super popular girl's fashion in 1994. Very neutral. If you watch music videos from 1994 or 1995 you'll see what I mean.

I think millennials are only going to remember the mid-late 90s so that is where the emphasis goes.

I did notice the 80s/early 90s purple/green neon aesthetic make a slow comeback. It seemed to be on all the album and Spotify covers in 2019.

Neat thread, and welcome back!  8)