This fall, Boston's fashion-forward young women are looking to the '90s for flair. Most weren't old enough then to pick out their own denim or leather jackets, Doc Martens and velvet slip dresses but watched Clueless, played a Spice Girl, and daubed on their older sister's black cherry lipstick. Nostalgic for the decade they just missed, they’re covering this summer’s cropped tees in grungy button-downs and trading jellies for flatform boots.
"People who grew up in the '90s are very attached to that era," said MassArt fashion design student Eeri Aubrey, 25, spotted on Harvard Avenue in Allston in slouchy plaid patched jeans and a spaghetti-strap tank. "Maybe they just took the initiative and said, 'We're just going to bring these styles back.'"
Or they might have been inspired by designers like Proenza Schouler, Calvin Klein, and Simone Rocha, who featured layered animal prints, head-to-toe black ensembles with combat boots, and tartan-plaid, respectively, in their fall 2014 runway shows.
Or they might have studied the ready-to-wear clothing in the magazine campaigns and the fast-fashion takes in the windows of Urban Outfitters.
Regardless, it's no surprise that they tend to shop for the looks at thrift stores like Goodwill or Allston's Buffalo Exchange, the later of which has for the past year or so been buying and selling authentic and new '90s wear as demand has grown. Store manager Chelsea van Vliet said customers increasingly come in looking for mini-backpacks, floral babydoll dresses and leopard or leather anything that they can mix with modern pieces.
"It was at first more of a fashion risk and something that people who were more on the cutting edge were into," van Vliet said, "and now it’s more widespread and people are willing to take that risk because they see it everywhere else."
Click through the slideshow to see how Boston's young women have brought the '90s back into their wardrobe. And we'd love to feature your revival looks, so send a picture to amanda_kersey@wgbh.org.
