1990's Clothing

The shoulder pads and ra-ra skirts, leg warmers and power suits were behind us once the 1980s had passed by. The new decade of the 1990s went against the greed and money-orientated society that had grown up through the past 10 years and the 1990s bought with it an air of a more casual and possibly austere look.

Names such as Tommy Hilfiger, Oscar De La Renta and John Galliano entered into our worlds with their take on the fashion scene. Couture seemed more accessible to the woman (and man) on the street as designers labels became desirable and affordable.

Old established fashion labels like Prada and Gucci, who used to sell luxury leather goods at the high end of the market, branched out into designing clothes that were not out of the reach of the ordinary working girl. OK, maybe you could only afford one piece but that was enough to transform your wardrobe.

In the United States, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors were the high flyers of the fashion world. Calvin Klein was already a well known name in that world but his influence increased dramatically during the 1990s as he combined a certain sexuality in his adverts to run alongside his designs that were sophisticated but could also be worn on a night out in Peckham.

You probably would not have worn a Vivienne Westwood design down the pub back then. She created fun with her fashion, taking influences from clothes from the 18th century with corsets, platform heels and rounded hips. Who can forget Naomi Campbell elegantly slipping over on the catwalk whilst wearing a pair of Vivienne Westwood shoes in 1993? Who can blame Naomi though? Those gillie platforms had a four inch platform and nine inch heels!

Donna Karan with her fashion label DKNY (which stands for Donna Karan New York) is still a strong contender in fashion circles. But during the 1990s she launched her first menswear collection and was one of the first fashion designers to have her own range of perfume.

Patrick Cox was a popular shoe designer, favouring thick set heels with a collection of loafers called Wannabes. The label of Joseph, with the signature piece of tight fitting black stretchy trousers, was created by Joseph Ettedgui, a French Moroccan who settled in London in 1960.

John Galliano`s signature design in the 1990s was to reinvent the bias cut dress that had been so popular back in the 1930s. He cut the design to make it more modern with the added bonus of feminine tailoring to skim the curves of whoever wore it.

The joy of Tommy Hilfiger`s clothes in the 1990s was that they could be worn by anyone, from rappas to middle aged women taking their children to school. He has the high accolade of re-branding sports and urban wear to such a status that it is OK to wear while not actually doing any sport. Of course his name is very obvious on most of his clothing along with the red, white and blue rectangular logo.

When you are pregnant fashion you might think could go out of the window and you need not bother with that side of life. But do not despair, it does not have to as there are loads of maternity clothes out there that are fashionable as well as comfortable, you just have to look out for them.