Admit it, the ‘90s were the best.
It was the time of grunge fashion, family computers, baggy pants, boy bands, and girl groups. The decade was a sweet spot in history that bloomed various trends into global fads, rolling out the essentials of every 90s kid’s memory arsenal.
What’s so good about the ‘90s is that it was the last breath of the analog era when people still had freedom to move and mess without any record of it in a digital universe. Unlike today, people then did things simply for the joy of it instead of likes and shares.
Remember being clueless where your folks were after leaving the house? Yeah. How we wish to have it back.
That is why, more than any decade, it was the ‘90s that people often reminisced about.
With that, let’s look back at some of the most iconic things that we loved about the ‘90s.
- Grunge fashion
Remember when shredded and faded denims, flannel button-downs, and worn-out oversized graphic tees were your thing? Yes, you did. You even completed your look with combat shoes, choker necklaces, and weird glasses, right?
The grunge fashion that defined the ‘90s was a breakaway from the polished look of decades prior.
It might not exactly be stylish for today’s young generation, but it was for the Gen Zs of yesteryear.
- Grunge music
Fittingly, the fashion of the ‘90s matched the music of the decade.
Just like fashion, the era saw the rise of grunge music from underground clubs to the mainstream.
Having started in the late ‘80s, grunge became a phenomenon in the ‘90s. The genre, more than anything, gave kids a voice that helped them feel less alone. At the onset of the decade, kids, through music and fashion, found an avenue to express their anger and frustration.
This is why groups like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, Alice in Chains, Melvins, Mother Love Bone, and many others gained global music supremacy.
Locally, bands like Eraserheads, Rivermaya, Introvoys, Parokya ni Edgar, Wolfgang, and True Faith revived the local music scene that became known in history as the Golden Age of OPM.
- MTV
The music, fashion, and culture of the ‘90s come together on MTV.
In the years that followed its launch in 1981, the channel was able to propel new bands into the global spotlight, thereby giving birth to a new culture that defined a generation.
Music videos, as the name suggests, became a phenomenon. Aside from the music, the video that told the story of a song also made a lasting impact on kids then and even now.
It was also the platform that introduced what ‘90s kids thought was the coolest job on earth—being an MTV VJ.
Imagine personally knowing international artists, reading fan mail from all over the world, and delivering the hottest buzz in the music industry as your job.
And yes, there have been a number of Filipino celebrities who were once MTV VJs.
Living the MTV VJ dream were Donita Rose, KC Montero, Belinda Panelo, G Toengi, and Regine Tolentino.
- Boy bands
We just cannot miss them.
Replacing the techno pop era of the ‘80s was the refreshing pop sound of the ‘90s brought by boy bands that dominated the decade.
Before the dawn of K-pop, boy bands like the Backstreet Boys, NSync, 98 Degrees, Westlife, Boyzone, A1, Five, Hanson, Boyz II Men, The Moffats, LFO, and so many others exploded on the MTV charts.
Now, many of these boy bands are resurfacing and performing sold-out world tours to the delight of their still-loyal fans.
- CDs and cassettes
Yes, Gen Zs, there was such a thing.
Before the era of Spotify, YouTube, and music streaming, there was a much more organic way of listening to music—through CDs and cassettes.
Back then, a music lover would have to go to the stores to buy CDs and cassettes, which are played on a walkman or a discman.
Usually, cassettes have a running time of 90 minutes per side. So back then, if you had one tucked in your pockets or in your bag, you were a cool kid.
