Fashion

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The early 1990s saw a continuation of late 1980s fashion, including bold, geometric print clothing in electric blue, orange, fluorescent pink, purple, turquoise and acid green, popularized by Lisa Lopes of TLC. In the US, and Japan, typical patterns included triangles, zigzag lightning bolts, diamonds, lozenges, rectangles, overlapping freeform shapes, simulated explosions inspired by comic books or pop art, intricate grids, and clusters of thin parallel lines in contrasting colors, such as white, black and yellow on a cyan background. Many women wore denim button down shirts, colored jeans in medium and dark green, red, and purple colors, metallic spandex leggings, halterneck crop tops, jeans , colored tights, bike shorts, black leather jackets with shoulder pads, baby doll dresses with bike shorts or capri leggings underneath, and skater dresses. Bright neon colored tops andleg warmers were popular, together with leopard print skirts shiny satin or rayon blouses, embroidered jeans covered in rhinestones, and black or white shirts, leggings and jackets printed with abstract red, blue, yellow and green geometric patterns.

When the 2000s kicked off, the fashion was profoundly influenced by technology. From late 1999 until late 2001, there was a monochromatic futuristic approach to fashion, with metallics, shiny blacks, heavy use of gray, straps, and buckles becoming commonplace. This was called "Y2K fashion". The apparel was made to be as dark, reflective, technological, and as sexy as possible. When the original ipod was introduced in 2001, the earbuds, as well as the gadget itself, became somewhat of an accessory for early adopters.

Particular pieces of Y2K clothing included mesh tops, wraparound sunglasses, wireframe rectangle glasses, box-pleated skirts, handkerchief tops (often in a metallic pattern such as silver or gold for a disco feel), satin skirts, leather skirts, concert t-shirt with rhinestones, sparkling shoes, halter tops, sequinned pants (popularized by Peter Morrissey), and embroidered and sequinned tops (inspired by Easton Pearson), along with the famous pearl printed black cocktail dress by Karen, which was successful worldwide.

In the year 2000, some of the casual women's and girl's fashion trends were oversized sunglasses, aviator glasses, oversized hoop earrings, jeans worn for numerous occasions (such as low-rise, boot-cut, fabric accents down the sides, fabric accents sewn into the flares, lace-up sides and tie-dye), wedge flip flops, hot pants, denim jackets, chunky sweaters, pashmina scarves, belly shirts, and tube tops.

jennifer.manazia@stu.bcc.cuny.edu