Rewindthe decade!Explore the bestof 90s trends.
Your ultimate guide to the fashion, toys, tech, cartoons, icons and trends that defined a generation.
Start exploring ›Pick your rewind
Explore the biggest 90s trends by category: 90s fashion and streetwear, 90s party ideas, toys and snacks, video games and gadgets, Saturday morning cartoons, and the hairstyles and makeup of the decade.
Grunge, hip hop, minimalism and the looks that are back.
Parties & costumesThemes, food, playlists, costumes and party games.
Pop cultureToys, snacks, slang, fads and design.
Tech & gamingConsoles, gadgets, Pokémon games and cards.
Cartoons & TVSaturday mornings, Nickelodeon and anime.
Hair & beautyButterfly clips, brown lip liner and frosted tips.
The 90s, year by year
What was popular in every year from 1990 to 2000: the trends, toys, songs, shows and gadgets that defined each year of the decade. Pick a year to rewind.
Featured guides
Start with our biggest guides to 90s trends: the fashion that is back in style, complete 90s party plans, the most popular 90s toys, the best 90s cartoons and the tech that came before smartphones.
Cartoons & TV
Cereal in one hand, remote in the other. Relive the 90s cartoons, Nickelodeon shows and anime, including the arrival of Pokémon, that made Saturday mornings and after-school TV the best part of the week.
Throw a 90s party
All party ideas →Throwing a 90s themed party? From 40th birthdays and class reunions to baby showers and trunk or treat, these are the most popular 90s party ideas, with food, drinks, games and decorations to match.
Press play on a 90s party
Music was the soundtrack of every 90s trend. Start your 90s party playlist with these dance-floor fillers, then grab all 60 songs in party order.
- Wannabe · Spice Girls, 1996
- Gonna Make You Sweat · C+C Music Factory, 1990
- No Scrubs · TLC, 1999
- Jump Around · House of Pain, 1992
- Tubthumping · Chumbawamba, 1997
Tech & gaming
All tech & gaming →Before smartphones there were pagers, Discmans and dial-up. Explore 90s tech gadgets, every 90s video game console, and Pokémon games and cards, from version exclusives to spotting 1st edition cards.
Pop culture rewind
All pop culture →The pop culture trends of the 90s: the toys worth money now, snacks and candy you can still buy, the slang everyone used, wild 90s fads and the Memphis design that covered everything.
Style & beauty
All fashion →90s fashion trends and beauty looks, from grunge and hip hop style to platform sneakers, butterfly clips and the iconic 90s brown lip combo, plus how to wear every trend today.
What were the biggest 90s trends?
The 1990s sat between the analog world and the internet age, and its trends show it. The decade started with neon leftovers from the 80s and ended worrying about Y2K. In between, it gave us grunge, the boy band boom, the first home internet connections, Pokémon and a toy aisle full of crazes that sold out overnight. Here is the short version, with a link to our full guide on each.
Fashion: from grunge to minimalism
Early-90s fashion was a reaction against 80s excess. Flannel shirts, ripped jeans and combat boots came out of the Seattle music scene, while hip hop fashion made oversized logos, baggy denim and work boots mainstream. By the middle of the decade the opposite look took over: sleek 90s minimalist fashion and bias-cut slip dresses. Read the full story in our 90s fashion trends guide.
Toys and fads that caused stampedes
Few decades had toy crazes like the 90s. Virtual pets were banned from classrooms, Beanie Babies were bought as "investments" and parents fought over Tickle Me Elmo in 1996 and Furby in 1998. Our list of popular 90s toys walks through them, and our guide to 90s fads covers slap bracelets, pogs and more.
Tech and gaming: pagers, CDs and Pokémon
The 90s were the last decade before smartphones. People paged each other with number codes, burned mix CDs and listened to the dial-up modem screech. On the TV, the console wars raged, and in 1998 Pokémon arrived in America. See 90s tech gadgets and 90s video game consoles.
Cartoons: the golden age of after-school TV
Saturday morning blocks, cable channels made just for kids and imported anime made the 90s a golden age of cartoons. Start with our list of 90s cartoons.
Beauty: thin brows and brown lips
90s beauty meant thin arched brows, matte brown lipstick with darker liner, frosted eyeshadow and body glitter. Hair ranged from layered cuts to zigzag headbands, butterfly clips and frosted tips. See 90s hairstyles.
Why 90s trends are everywhere again
Trends tend to come back 20 to 30 years later, when people who grew up with them have spending power and their kids discover them as "vintage". That is why baggy jeans, claw clips, slip dresses and chunky sneakers are back. Our guide to the 90s trends coming back tracks what has returned.
Frequently asked questions
What were the biggest trends of the 90s?
The biggest 90s trends included grunge flannel and baggy jeans, hip hop streetwear, slip dresses, platform sneakers, butterfly clips, frosted lip gloss, virtual pets, pogs, Beanie Babies, Pokémon, handheld game consoles, pagers and frosted tips.
Are 90s trends coming back?
Yes. Baggy and straight-leg jeans, slip dresses, claw clips, brown lip liner, chunky sneakers, minimalism and film cameras have all returned. Fashion tends to recycle styles from 20 to 30 years earlier. See our guide to 90s trends coming back.
What is considered 90s style?
90s style mixes relaxed, oversized shapes (baggy jeans, flannel, big tees) with sleek minimalism (slip dresses, simple neutrals). Add bold logo streetwear, chunky shoes and small accessories like chokers, butterfly clips and tiny sunglasses.
What toys were popular in the 90s?
Popular 90s toys included virtual pets, Beanie Babies, Furby, Tickle Me Elmo, pogs, Polly Pocket, Super Soakers, Bop It, Talkboy and Pokémon cards. See our full list of popular 90s toys.
How do I throw a 90s themed party?
Pick a sub-theme, send a pager-style invite, play a 90s playlist, serve nostalgic snacks and set up a few games. Our 90s party ideas guide has a complete plan.