The nineties revival
Grunge, speed garage to Swatch watches - we review the best and the worst of the decade of our childhood
So now it’s 2010, a new decade, we’re a foothold far enough from the nineties for the omnipresent god of cool to decide that we can officially look upon the ‘90s as ‘the past’ (and thus – retro) rather than last decade – the one you’re not allowed to look back on.
At the turn of the year Selfridges opened a 90s pop-up store, declaring the decade ‘vintage’ and since then Baby Gs have (somehow) returned, brash colour combinations are (inconceivably) acceptable and who could fail to notice the ubiquitous oversized flannel shirt, best teamed with a giant pair of DMs?
Yes, that’s right, we’ve just passed the 10 year milestone – the maturity date for nostalgia – and can now acknowledge the existence of an apathetic decade laden with resignation and irony.
Like the last week of school before the summer holidays, the nineties had that sense of shutting-down, of tuning out. Yes, there was still work to be done, but a new millennium loomed, and everyone was too busy thinking about the future to experience the present.
As a result, the nineties was a sort of cultural bargain-bin, constituting a few end-of-the-line scraps and unwanted items from previous decades. It was a closing down sale, everything must go.
The nineties was reduced to clear. But root around long enough and you might spot a few hidden gems. And so, in respect of quality control, we’ve divided the gamut of plasticky fads and tacky social phases of 90s Britain into four groups: Never again, Nice to look back on, Undecided and Welcome back…
Nice to look back on
The Spice Girls, Kappa tracksuits and the discman: things that elicit a warm sense of nostalgia but we're happy to leave it at that
Never again
Hats that fold up at the top and the advent of the Ladette - stuff that we're very glad to see the back of and was pretty rubbish at the time
At the turn of the year Selfridges opened a 90s pop-up store, declaring the decade ‘vintage’ and since then Baby Gs have (somehow) returned, brash colour combinations are (inconceivably) acceptable and who could fail to notice the ubiquitous oversized flannel shirt, best teamed with a giant pair of DMs?
Yes, that’s right, we’ve just passed the 10 year milestone – the maturity date for nostalgia – and can now acknowledge the existence of an apathetic decade laden with resignation and irony.
Like the last week of school before the summer holidays, the nineties had that sense of shutting-down, of tuning out. Yes, there was still work to be done, but a new millennium loomed, and everyone was too busy thinking about the future to experience the present.
As a result, the nineties was a sort of cultural bargain-bin, constituting a few end-of-the-line scraps and unwanted items from previous decades. It was a closing down sale, everything must go.
The nineties was reduced to clear. But root around long enough and you might spot a few hidden gems. And so, in respect of quality control, we’ve divided the gamut of plasticky fads and tacky social phases of 90s Britain into four groups: Never again, Nice to look back on, Undecided and Welcome back…
Nice to look back onThe Spice Girls, Kappa tracksuits and the discman: things that elicit a warm sense of nostalgia but we're happy to leave it at that
Never againHats that fold up at the top and the advent of the Ladette - stuff that we're very glad to see the back of and was pretty rubbish at the time
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