“And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the
trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar
conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." ―
F. Scott Fitzgerald,
The Great Gatsby
Top left to right: Ashley; Mary-Kate (Met Gala, 2013)
Above left to right: Ashley; Mary-Kate (To Grandmother’s House We Go, 1992)
Double Trouble
The twins completely rock the world of fashion, they disregard whatever Vogue instructs people to wear and wear whatever they want. For years their street style has been a palette of blacks, greys and complimentary neutral colours. MK has often been described as a bag lady, being a firm favourite of the boho-hobo look, whilst Ashley has always had a slightly more glamorous Hollywood look. Both girls do androgynous well, although Mary-Kate is probably the twin whose known for these tomboy looks.
With a huge fashion following, these girls could rock any look and teen girls would run to the shops to try and recreate an Ashley or Mary-Kate street style look.
But it's those adorable kiddie stages when everyone fell for the Olsen twins, I mean who doesn't remember Full House and It Takes Two? Even if it meant you could only watch the replays on T.V. at ten-years-old because you weren't born until 1996 (like me).
Top: Rihanna's "Talk That Talk" album shoot
Middle and Above: Rocking the 90s denim look... street style; 90s celebrity overall fashion
Dungarees
Okay, so about two years ago the thought of wearing overalls made the vast majority trend setting bloggers go starry eyed with dizziness and give you a very severe look in the eye and say, "Why the f*** would I ever wear those? I'm not a throw back." They would then shudder at the memories of their parents forcing them into these denim beauties, swing their oversized Céline luggage bag back onto their forearm and strut away wearing limited edition pony hair Pigalle pumps.
Today, there's a different story. Acceptable in the 90s? Yes. Acceptable in 2010? Kinda. Acceptable in 2012? No way. Acceptable in 2013? Hell yes. But why? Is it because everyone who ever owned a pair threw them out to the charity shops because they were that hideous? Probably. Hence why almost every single vintage store is dripping with a multitude of blue hued denim pieces from their walls. Problem is with trends is that once they catch on and when the most fashionable of the fashion industry and pop culture wear them, it's hard not to turn your eye away with that same snooty look of distaste. Not only that but everyone had them in the 90s, meaning that they are easily available and can be found at dirt cheap prices, so you can nab a pair from £5.70 - £50.
Bindis
The ultimate accessory of the 90s, made popular by Gwen Stefani (the blue haired babe), is still popular now and this time round the girls who favour these Hindu forehead decorations include: Abbey Lee Kershaw (top, second) and Isabel Lucas (above).
Just be careful wearing these, because as cool as they are there have definitely been recent backlashes for celebrities who don them, even when they aren't Hindu.
Top to Bottom: Cher and Dionne (Clueless, 1995); Emma Watson (Teen Vogue, August 2013); Vogue UK's The Catwalk Edit (August, 2013)
Tartan Checks
Tartan is definitely making a comeback too as a solid A/W '13 trend. In Vogue UK's "The Catwalk Edit" they say that, 'last season's strict monochrome prints give way to softer, colour-drenched checks for autumn (...) squares have a witty, modern charm.' Sounds like Cher would be bringing out another tartan skirt suit if she could.
Top to Bottom: Kate Moss x Juergen Teller (Dazed and Confused, 1998); Kate x Juergen (Self Service, 2010)
Moss the Boss
Everyone's favourite model has been a style icon since the 90s, she was the original grunge girl, and has always known how to place her body in a photograph and the exact expression to use for the character she was modelling. Her rock star lifestyle has been lived up with her celebrity boyfriends from the iconic Johnny Depp to the hardcore drug addict 'The Libertines' frontman Pete Doherty and now her
husband the guitarist and singer/songwriter for
the indie rock duo The Kills, Jamie Hince.
Her grunge style emerged when she started dating Johnny and now whenever someone says "Kate Moss" and "street style" in one sentence I think of that famous outfit of hers: skinny jeans, battered boots, strappy vest (sans bra) and biker jacket clad Kate.
The ultimate 90's babe and forever fashion icon will always live on.
We love you, Kate.
(Click on this link to see the 1990 Corinne Day shoot that made Kate Moss the most covetable model ever)
Top to Bottom: Johnny and Winona (circa. 1990); Johnny and Kate (circa. 1995)
Johnny Depp
Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... you sure know how to make a girl's heart melt and then make it turn cold with envy for every girlfriend you've ever had. But whilst girls of the 90s felt jealousy radiating from the pores of their being at the sight of a new girl on Monsieur Depp's arm, there will always be the favourite Johnny girls of the 90s.
WINONA FOREVER
Winona met Johnny at the 'Great Balls of Fire!' premiere in June 1989; two months later they began dating. They got engaged for three years beginning in July 1990 and as a symbol of his love for her, Johnny D got a tattoo on his arm reading "Winona Forever," which he had altered to "Wino Forever" after their separation in mid 1993. Johnny couldn't get over Winona for ages, and I can imagine the feeling of major loss carried through with him to his relationship with Kate.
It was apparent that Winona's parents felt she was way too young to marry, Johnny was 27 when he asked Winona to marry her and Winona was a mere 19 years old.
This link will lead you to a page of quotes by Johnny and Winona as well as an insight to why they broke up. Here's one of the quotes that I read, one that I love:
"When I met Johnny, I was pure virgin. He changed that. He was my first
everything. My first real kiss. My first real boyfriend. My first
fiancé. The first guy I had sex with. So he'll always be in my heart.
Forever. Kind of funny that word." - Winona Ryder
LITTLE MISS MOSS
From 1994 to 1998, Kate Moss and Johnny Depp had a relationship. Just like practically every single girl Johnny ever dates, they were engaged for a couple of months, they broke up a few months later. This four-year relationship was never as big as Winona and Johnny's relationship, in terms of the fact that he didn't get Moss' name inked on his body and the fact that close friends of Johnny's also revealed they felt he never truly loved Kate, at least not like Winona. But it most definitely was a life defining relationship for Kate Moss and in Vanity Fair's December 2012 issue she said this:
“There’s nobody that’s ever really been able to take care of me. Johnny
did for a bit. I believed what he said,” Moss says. “Like if I said,
‘What do I do?,’ he’d tell me. And that’s what I missed when I left. I
really lost that gauge of somebody I could trust. Nightmare. Years and
years of crying. Oh, the tears!"
Top to Bottom: Heath Ledger; Julia Stiles; original movie trailer; poem movie clip
10 Things I Hate About You
The ultimate 90's movie that had every girl ever drooling over Heath Ledger and going "aww" for Joseph Gordon-Levitt. This adaptation of William Shakespeare's 'The Taming of the Shrew' quickly became a cult classic for teen girls everywhere and I could certainly vouch for this. Look, I could go on and on about this movie, as it is definitely one of my favourites. However, I've written a lot and instead I will let you reflect on this little gem by watching the trailer and hearing the poem that made teen girls everywhere recite it in their bedrooms, imagining themselves saying it to their crushes.
"O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
- Juliet Capulet
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio. Not really a style God but most definitely a sex God. Girls love Leo, not only does his name resonate a name of a Greek God, but his acting skills are beyond compare. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" (1993) and "The Basketball Diaries" (1995) were loved by everyone from film critics to brace-clad tween girls. However, it was WEGG that scored Leo with a nomination for an Academy Award as 'Best Actor in a Supporting Role'. Sadly he didn't win it, which left hardcore Leonardo fans extremely agitated, however this bitterness subsided when he was nominated for (and won) other awards for his acting in this 90s favourite.
His appearance in Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of 'Romeo and Juliet' (1996) solidified him as a firm favourite for girls internationally and the rest... is... history.
Top to Bottom: Kurt Cobain images (1 to 3); Gif of Kurt's infamous quote; Courtney Love video; suicide note; death certificate
Kurt Cobain
Rock's ultimate idol was (and still is) one of the best songwriters
to have been produced by the music industry. Admit it, when you first heard Smells Like Teen Spirit it was probably because your parents played it,
as you weren't even born when the song first came out. I bet you even told them
to turn it off because it hurt your delicate ears. But the moment you hit the
teen age, it was (maybe still is) your anthem and dared to play it as loud as
you could without your Mum nagging you to keep it down.
Alongside Smells Like
Teen Spirit, there's also In Bloom described as Nevermind's "most
metallic [track], lurching through gnarly chord changes that are augmented by Dave
Grohl’s explosive drum fills."
Sliver is also a firm favourite,
alongside Lithium, Come As You Are, Heart Shaped Box, and Lake of
Fire.
However, Kurt's suicide left the underground scene in shock and his wife Courtney Love was openly angry about the death of her husband. She even said in Vanity Fair (November, 2011) that she would kill him if he came back.
I don't want to write too much about his death as I wasn't even born when he committed suicide, so instead I have posted the suicide note, the death certificate and a YouTube clip of Courtney reading out her husband's suicide note above.
And once you've finished reading/hearing it why not turn up your favourite Nirvana song and rock out for Kurt.
