It is no secret that many of our current fashion trends, such as baggy jeans, long-sleeve shirts under short-sleeve shirts, and baby-tees, are all sourced from the 90s and 2000s. On top of Lit and the Goo Goo Dolls plaguing the for-you pages of many, artists like Radiohead, Jeff Buckley, and Nirvana have risen once again in popularity. And yet, unless you’re a super duper senior, no students at ERHS were alive for the 1990s or all that conscious for the 2000s. So what about the culture of this era is so appealing to people who weren’t alive to experience it?
One of the greatest markers of the 90s and 2000s is their fashion. Recently, fashions fads from this era have come back into style, specifically with the rise of brands like Ed Hardy and Hollister. All three of these brands can be seen with increasing frequency in the halls of Eleanor Roosevelt, but their popularity is reflected in their sales reports as well. This past year Hollister reported “$673.27 million in net sales for the most recent quarter” and “9% and 22% increases in net sales year-over-year during quarters one and two, respectively” according to Fast Company.
This goes hand in hand with the rise of thrift culture among teens. According to Capital One Shopping, “thrifting has grown 143.5% in terms of market value” since 2018. Moreover, 83% of Gen Z claim they either thrift or wish to thrift. This increase may seem unrelated, but Goodwill reasons that young consumers “are drawn to the charm and character of vintage items” such as those from the 90s and 2000s.
Cam Milo, a sophomore at ERHS shared that “90s and 2000s music is such a big part of [her] life.” “I really love Blink-182, Nirvana, and a lot of alternative rock stuff,” Milo shared. As for why this era of music is making a comeback, she believes “a big thing is creativity and originality.” Milo prefers the music of the 90s and 2000s to anything modern “because it had so much originality back then.” To her, a return to the 90s and 2000s is a return to innovation and authenticity.
Also a fan of 90s and 2000s music, Junior Queen Thomas enjoys “TLC, Aaliyah, Brandy, Monica, and Destiny’s Child,” on top of shows and films like Moesha, Clueless and Mean Girls. Of all the elements of 90s and 2000s culture, however, Thomas most enjoys the energy, “I feel like everyone was more carefree,” she shared. “Social media kind of ruined people’s confidence and made it harder for everyone to interact like normal people.”
Whatever the cause of this return to the past is, it’s safe to say that the music and fashion of the 90s and 2000s decades and our own current decade are intertwined.
