First, a shout out to my Style nation professor-buddies La Historiadora de Moda and A-Dubs, who are remaining stylish and cool in spite of hectic academic work loads. Here's to some relaxation this weekend!
This is the face of exhausted, working-all-day-but-the-semester-hasn't-even-started-yet-Rad. I'm trying to have patience, because I'm almost done with my Project that Won't Die. (And if I'm lucky, I'll be working on it again in a few months). Today is my perfect snow day. I'll work like someone strongly motivated by an upcoming deadline, and hopefully take a quick walk at some point to enjoy the urban winterscape.
Yesterday, I wore Blokey's favorite striped top (he isn't a huge fan of me appropriating his shirts, since I have about 4x more clothes than he). Here's my also late take on stripes, although this is too far off Breton. I used to exclusively wear men' shirts (wasn't this a thing in the 90s?).* I still usually like men's shirts better than women's, but I think I look slightly better now than back in high school/college, because I'm not wearing those unflattering army green carpenter pants that I practically slept in. (That was a thing too, right?)
As duty calls, I'll be blocking my favorite interwebs
Have a lovely and warm weekend!
Top: BDG
Jeggings: Hue
Boots: Born
*I am thinking about No Signpost in the Sea and Kelly Bean's recent posts about young women, femininity, and self esteem. My sister tells me that there isn't much choice other than super girly, body-conscious clothes or athletic clothes available for girls her age. Is it just me, or did we have more choices (edit) back then in the "anti-fashion" nineties to be more or less feminine than young girls today? I am thinking in terms of role models and widely available clothing for the younger (below 18) set. For example, the young actresses on 90210 back in the 90s wore a variety of gendered styles, compared to the actresses on 90210 today, which seem to mostly wear very feminine and body conscious, body-baring clothes. I wasn't the only one wearing men's style oxford shoes, baggy jeans, and men's oversized sweaters on my much younger body back in the 90s. Anyone?
I wore men's jeans and bass oxfords in the 90s :)
ReplyDeleteFun stripes - I wish I could raid the hubs' closet but since he is about 8 inches taller than me, nothing fits!
I am having a lot of trouble with the more/less feminine thing. I am 65 and for as long as I can remember I could fix things and do stuff because I was my father's only son. Yet, I sometimes wanted to be frilly, sometimes not so much. Why do we have to choose? I refuse to be boxed.
ReplyDeleteWell, I was still in the single digits in the'90s so I have no comment there.
ReplyDeleteBut, good luck, work hard and remember to take a walk today! Have a good weekend
I was definitely more likely to wear men's pants in the 90s, but I never really got into the grunge thing to the level of wearing flannels or anything like that.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your big project. I've started using Leechblock thanks to you, although obviously I'm not using it right this minute. If I stray while I'm supposed to be working, it pops me over to PubMed so I can see how many publications are out there that aren't mine. I'm preparing to put all online sources of clothing items on it, both at work and at home.
Wow, lots of interesting thoughts here. First, I saw all the snow in NY on the news this morning - whoa!
ReplyDeleteI did have a couple pairs of mens pants in the 90's, but it was mainly because I couldn't find girls/womens pants that fit me right. Plus-sized clothing has definitely come a long way in that time. I had a few men's shirts and hoodies too, but mostly stuck to women's clothes. I do think we had more options at your sister's age. I did the grunge thing a little, but was also really into peasant tops, tie dye and bell bottoms (dressing like a hippie was cool then too, right?); and in the late 90's a lot of jeans or cargo pants with t-shirts. Keep in mind, of course, that I spent most of the 90's in school uniforms, so I didn't really have a lot of clothes anyway.
And I LOVED Kelly's post yesterday. I hope I can be an awesome mom/aunt/cousin, etc. like that someday.
Of course there are choices--you just have to look harder for them. Dressing like a man isn't liberation, either--it's just dressing like someone who has fewer choices in his wardrobe than you do.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I don't remember the 80s OR the 90s. I had a small child & was working for tenure.
I would regularly steal shirts from my 6'0" Dad when I was in Jr. High. 90s clothes were fun.
ReplyDeleteSuch good comments, but I think I didn't express myself clearly above, so I turned off my internet blocker quickly so I can respond (it goes back on soon).
ReplyDelete@Eek: Yes, good to know it wasn't just me.
@JudyC: I don't think I made myself clear. I was thinking in terms of choices for young women back in the 90s compared to choices today. I remember being able to wear skirts and dresses one day, and wearing henley's and big jeans the other day, and it was cool. I could express this differently depending on my moods. My sister claims she doesn't have this kind of freedom. Sorry if it sounded like I was trying to "box" anyone.
@MissB: are you a 20 year old grad school prodigy? Respect.
@Cynthia: Thanks for the good luck! I undid LB temporarily just to respond to these posts because I wasn't beling clear.
@Anne: Yeah, dressing like a hippe was cool. I still think that there was a wider variety of socially acceptable styles. Kelly's post rocked my world.
@Charlotte: I agree- there are always more choices for women especially as they get older. I meant to pose my question in terms of the younger set, which I think of being more impressionable and concerned about esteem in the eyes of their peers. I don't think that dressing like a man is liberation, nor is dressing in uber femme and frilly. But I do think having choices to express yourself differently and having this widely accepted in many social contexs is quite freeing. I wouldn't want to feel pressure to dress "hot" all the time, but my sister says this is quite common in her middle class suburban high school. It was not in mine.
@Rebecca: Yes, the 90s were fun. I like you incorporate your husband's pieces in your wardrobe.
Hmm the 90's. well I was in my early teens in the late 90's and I was all about brit pop - so I did wear a a lot of mini dresses - big boots and such. I had these horrible spice girl shoes as well. But, I think the overall look mixed feminine pieces with what we think of as tougher more masculine pieces. Chunky boots and minis - girly dresses and army jackets. I think some of that is coming back in the realm of fashion- but from what I see not so much in high schools.
ReplyDeleteI remember the days of wearing men's clothing in the 90s... although for me it was more of a necessity. I couldn't find women's clothing to fit!
ReplyDeleteYou look sleek and comfy!
I think girls' clothes in the early- & mid-90s were less sexualized, if that makes sense. I wore Dr Martens, jeans and (men's) flannel shirts back then, and the girly girls in my class wore similar stuff. I wonder whether things changed with the Spice Girls phenomenon, the whole girl power-stuff, with minidresses and platform boots in the late 90s..? I never got into that, I was too old, but I do remember pre-teenagers wearing that stuff.
ReplyDeleteOf course there are always choices, but it seems to me that there is a lot more pressure now to look a certain way. The way clothes (and pop stars) are marketed at children and teenagers is on a whole different level compared to when I was that age.
Your recent posts are really making me question the wisdom of planning a visit to New York in February. I hope you clear out all that nasty snow before I get there!
ReplyDeleteRad--Here's hoping the snow day yields you unexpected progress on your project. I continue to wear men's jeans and can remember an overly large men's shirt or two that I wore pretty regularly. Since I don't shop new I have no idea what might be available for young women today, but tee shirts and jeans ARE still widely available.
ReplyDeleteI remember wearing more androgynous clothing in high school in the early 90s, but I think that was partially because I was a complete and total tomboy until I got to college. I remember other girls wearing tight Guess jeans though, and seem to remember the 90s for super-girly models like Cindy Crawford and Anna Nicole Smith, than as a really grungy period. Maybe that was late 80s though? I don't know - I wasn't very fashionable then. I wore whatever pants I could find that were long enough.
ReplyDeleteI too think there were more options in the 90s. I wore fitted body-conscious tees, but I also wore men's 501s, flannels, and my Dad's sweaters. Between grunge, hippy and even raver -- all of which I wore -- there were a lot of opportunities for mixing masculine and feminine elements.
ReplyDeleteCue the early 2000s: baby tees, midriff looks, tight athletic gear with logos on the butt, low-rise jeans. Hyper-feminine, overly sexualized, and really very uncomfortable. I suspect the enduring popularity of oversize tunics is partly a reaction to this.
I could go on. Let's leave it with this: Rad, tell Blokey I like his shirt.
i wish i still had my oxfords from first grade haa
ReplyDelete@LaFille: Sounds like you had such awesome late 1990s style. I remember mixing masculine and feminie pieces as well.
ReplyDelete@Allison: Thanks! Good think my husband is around my size.
@I think you've touched on exactly what I meant to say. It's not so much about the femininity as much as the sexualization. I agree that something happened in the late 1990s, but all of the sudden everyone was committing what I thought was the greatest fashion sin when I was in young teen- namely tight jeans. I agree that the marketing towards young girls (tweens?) is a whole new thing now. I imagine it has something to do with how connected they are.
@Audi: I am sending my best warm weather thoughts for that week!
@Terri: Yes, that's the sort of look my sister wears. She's very sporty and not sexy-sporty either. She used to wear boy's blazers with Converse. She's definitely beyond marketers. I've even taken her thrifting.
@Gracey: I thought I was just a tomboy too but then my friends reminded me that I wasn't the only one who wore relaxed fits back then.
@K.Bean: Thanks for your input. I imagine that since you shop for your daughter, you have more first hand experiences with what's available for the young 'uns. I loved those looks back then. I plan to get old in a style that stinks of the mid 90s. Combat boots with tights and skirts is such a great combo.
@Michelle: Those were the best, weren't they? Thanks for stopping by.
In the 90s I wore oversized acid wash denim carpenter pants. Had big pockets and loops for hammers and such. The only way to be cool and accepted was to wear shirts that said "Abercrombie and Fitch" of which I owned one, and always basked in the glory of all the compliments I'd receive when I wore what I would today refer to as a completely boring and ugly tee shirt.
ReplyDeleteI remember wearing more androgynous clothing in high school in the early 90s, but I think that was partially because I was a complete and total tomboy until I got to college. I remember other girls wearing tight Guess jeans though, and seem to remember the 90s for super-girly models like Cindy Crawford and Anna Nicole Smith, than as a really grungy period. Maybe that was late 80s though? I don't know - I wasn't very fashionable then. I wore whatever pants I could find that were long enough.
ReplyDeleteHmm the 90's. well I was in my early teens in the late 90's and I was all about brit pop - so I did wear a a lot of mini dresses - big boots and such. I had these horrible spice girl shoes as well. But, I think the overall look mixed feminine pieces with what we think of as tougher more masculine pieces. Chunky boots and minis - girly dresses and army jackets. I think some of that is coming back in the realm of fashion- but from what I see not so much in high schools.
ReplyDelete