Over the last 2 years there has been a lot of debate as to whether the 1980s is vintage. Last year, vintage fans recoiled in horror at the thought that the early 90s is beginning to be also classed as vintage also. Some call it retro.
For me, whether it’s vintage, retro or merely second-hand I can’t quite believe the trends from this decade are now in fashion and being worn by many a young thing. I’m starting to sound old but as I was at uni during the early 90s I can clearly say I was there and wore the T shirt…literally.
Well, here at Your Vintage Life, we embrace the look, It’s fashion after all, and if Topshop is doing it then so can we (at a much more affordable price I hasten to add).
Late last year we wrote a blog discussing the key trends and who influenced them which has been so well read. (Check it out here). Here are excerpts and amazing images from a copy of The Face magazine dated January 1993. It’s looking back at 1992 and includes this article reviewing the key looks from the year.
So, if you don’t really understand early 90s fashion here is their guide called “Call the Fashion Police – the looks of 1992, what’s yours called”. It’s a tongue in cheek look back, written by Ashley Heath and Gavin Hills. The fab illustrations are by the very talented Jason Brooks.
The first key look is called Riveting Ronnie. According to The Face she will “bore the (Levis Big E) pants off you”.
Her essentials are “top to toe dark indigo denim (must be vintage Lee, Levi’s or Wrangler), seventies tight T-shirts, key chain, Patrick Cox crocodile skin loafers, expensive non bleaching washing powder.” So our first look is actually vintage!
Her favourite saying is “Hey! Has that skirt/top/feather boa got a selvage?”. So was this you back then? is this you now? It wasn’t me!
The next is called Pukka Man. “He’s got the railroad blues”. He wears “workwear shirt, trousers and socks, utility boots, heavy-duty dispatch bag, extra thick woolly hat, thermal undies.” Now I don’t really remember this one!
His biggest inspiration is “Travis Bickle’s haircut in Taxi Driver.
The third look is called Shabby Ranks and he’s described as “He’s as tough as ten tanks”. He wears ” string vests, distressed trews, distressed attitude, ear cuffs, Mad Cobra LP, Don-E haircut, Bally boots.”. Remember ear cuffs….I never got on with them as they always seemed to fall off!
“Top of his Christmas list is a mobile phone and a first edition of The Puffin Guide to Bogle Fun”
Now I do remember this look with many people embracing it.
The fourth look is definitely one I can remember. She is called Ms Happening “with the clompy shoes that spells bad news”. I described having a pair of similar shoes in our 90s blog.
She wears ” long split skirt, Wonderbra, ugly clomp clomp shoes, leather choker, Kylie hair, tied white shirt or revealing top, VIP club pass”. So many sport this look especially with the emerging mainstream love of Ibiza.
The last look was probably more me. Bovril Babe was “friends with Brothers Grim”. She wore ” a sludge coloured wardrobe fusing expensive Parisian chic (Margiela and Demeulemeester) with second-hand threads and ethnic nonsense, natural born smoker complexion, heavy black make-up, unhappy frown, Brylcreem”.
I was into grunge music but I wasn’t wearing a frown.
Her favourite fashion role model was “the government’s Heroin screws you up adverts”
To be fair I was probably a mix of all 5! Which one were you?
Here’s a more helpful list of what we wore in 1992:
- tight 70s T’s with 70s logos
- leather thongs and chokers
- Lee Originals and selvage denim
- Hayford shirts
- Batten Fransen
- Ralph Lauren Polo
- Skinny rib
- Gingham checks
- Waistcoats (without silky backs)
- Carhaart, Hard Yakks and workwear
- Leather jeans
- Wonderbras
- Hysteric Glamour
- Animal prints
- Pinstripe tailoring
- Japanese dark indigo denim
- Wristbands
- Good Enough
- Nike Huraches and Olympic anything
- Hartford Americana Ts
- Jaqueline Rabun id bracelets
- Cord
- Blundstones and black Red Wings
- Agnes B ribbed knits
- Flowery dresses
- Chopped off jeans
- JP Todds and new Half Crab Vans
- Thermal underwear
- Gucci heels
- Patric Cox and Lawler Duffy loafers
- Cross Colours and X hats
- Destructo surf Ts
- Pervert
- Empty pockets and the same clothes as 91
Well it was a recession then, like now. There was a look to the past with fashion, like there is now. There was a love of mixing vintage with designer, like there is now. There was a love of the olympics, like there is now. There was a love of customising, like there is now.
Have things really changed?
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