7 Iconic ’90s TV and Movie Characters Whose Style Still Hits Today
Why we can’t stop dressing like Cher Horowitz, Rachel Green, and other onscreen fashion faves.
Cher’s yellow plaid suit in Clueless. Angela Chase’s Kurt Cobain plaids. The Fly Girls nailing Rosie Perez’s choreo in bright crop tops and biker shorts. The images pop right into your head, right?
These iconic looks are so indelibly ’90s, yet so incredibly right now. Because just as the beloved characters and their stories are evergreen, so are their trendsetting — or in many cases trendmaking — styles.
So, after last week’s fun team-up with Ministry of Pop Culture to cast the never-ending run of ‘80s TV reboots, Kirthana Ramisetti and I decided to revisit and celebrate the ’90s icons we still find ourselves dressing like right now.
Xo Fawnia + Kirthana
As always, forgive any stray typos — I’m my own editor — and if you’re reading this in email, the full experience lives in your browser. If you’re feeling generous and still wear Cher and/or Angela plaid, please tap the ❤️ at the bottom — it really, really helps!
TwinningCore
There were quite a few memorable moments in the pivotal 1991 “Spring Dance” episode of Beverly Hills, 90210: Steve (Ian Ziering) finds out he’s adopted, sophomore David (Brian Austin Green) hints at some early-Vanilla Ice energy, and Brenda loses her virginity to Dylan (Shannen Doherty and Luke Perry — and forever legends). But the plot twist that remains a talking point to this day is Brenda and Kelly (Jennie Garth) — cool girl and rival for Dylan’s affections — accidentally showing up in the same black-and-white formal dress for the West Beverly Spring Dance.
I accidentally twinned with a classmate for junior prom in the analog era, when there was only one store in the suburban Midwestern mall that was remotely boutique-y (Gantos!). So the thought of that episode still triggers me and brings the strapless LBD with the white bow at the bodice immediately to mind. The provenance of Brenda and Kelly’s dresses, under costume designer Dianne Kennedy, remains a mystery, but they look so quintessentially 1991 — straight from the mall. But, in March 2026, spawns of the infamous Spring Dance Dress proliferate. Lookin’ at you — Self Portrait, Valentino, Nadine Merabi, Rachel Gilbert, Celine, and Alessandra Rich. Guess Kelly Taylor really did earn that Best Dressed superlative at West Beverly — just like I always imagined. - FSH
Grunge-Maxxing
If you mention the name “Angela Chase” (Claire Danes) odds are the first visual that comes to mind is red hair, plaid and Doc Martens. The latter two became a staple of every teenager’s wardrobe in the early ’90s, and sure, Kurt Cobain and the Seattle grunge scene were a big part of that. But many Gen X and Xennial girls started wearing them because Angela did. And not just once: the character consistently re-wore her oversized red plaid shirt, patterned cardigan, and overalls, along with other staples of her wardrobe. Besides Claire Danes’ expressive acting, the fact that Angela repeated clothes just like a real person is what made her so real to viewers. (Here is where I admit I bought a purple-and-green flannel zip-up sweater I wore nearly every day for a semester of high school directly because of her.) And there was never a sense that a costume designer was pulling looks for the character; each time we saw her on the show, it felt like Angela had opened her closet that day and decided what she would wear.
Of course, there was a lot of thought and care put into how Angela dressed. “I was thinking about the grunge movement and Kurt Cobain, but also the softness and silhouettes in Annie Hall,” My So Called Life costume designer Patrick R. Norris1 told Vulture. Angela’s clothes communicated that she was a teenage girl still figuring out who she is, and who she wanted to be. It’s what gives her wardrobe staying power beyond the ’90s, an aesthetic that each subsequent generation has adapted and molded into their own. -KR
Main Character Energy
If anyone understood the art of manifesting through fashion, it was Hilary Banks (Karyn Parsons) of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — or the show’s costume designers, Violette Jones-Faison and Judy Richman. And that never goes out of style.
Sure, her ’90s power-shoulder blazers in vibrant colors, mix-and-match vest sets, cutouts, and LBDs have been trending for seasons now (and snapped up by thrifting Zoomers). But it’s the spirit of her outfits that will always feel timeless — and forever inspiring. (My ode to Hilary for Fashionista in 2017 may be one of my favorite essays, if not just so I could reference her “Dad, I need $300” and manicure-in-the-kitchen moments. Because, yeah, been there.)
Hilary had the best one-liners — beyond the iconic “ew” — but she also knew how to use fashion to take up space and amplify her voice. Her bold style dared you to underestimate her, to make assumptions — only for her to prove you wrong, and charm you while doing it. Back in the day, I definitely had a ’90s Limited Express blazer like Hil’s black-and-white Chanel-esque one above — and I even copped a similar vintage skirt suit from Barcelona’s Los Féliz a couple years ago. Excuse me while I find an occasion to wear it out now. -FSH
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The (Fashion-Forward) Girl Next Door
Rachel Green started Friends as a waitress with career aspirations to work in fashion and ended the series with a dream job with Ralph Lauren. So it makes sense that costume designer Debra McGuire says more than twenty years since the comedy has gone off the air, viewers still want to know where they can get the many stylish looks that Jennifer Aniston wore throughout the show.
The one that has arguably most captured viewers’ imaginations is a yellow dress that fits Rachel perfectly (yes, so perfectly that the word requires italics): a butter-yellow strapless sheath with delicate embroidery and side slit.
It’s a perfect date night dress, which was Rachel’s original intention for wearing it. But she looks so good in it, no wonder she wants to skip her date to comfort Ross, still smarting from his breakup with Emily after he accidentally said Rachel’s name during their wedding vows. (Whoops.)
“I wanted her to just look amazing,” McGuire told Fawnia in an interview with Nylon. “I had a few choices of dresses, but that was just hands down the greatest fitting dress ever. That dress would look as good today as it did 20 years ago. And 20 years from now, it’ll still look great.”
Despite its timelessness, it is sadly unavailable: McGuire found the dress when Friends was filming Ross’ wedding in the UK, but the label, Idol London, has since gone out of business. (For those obsessed with securing their own version, this site identified a dupe of the dress as well as several other of Rachel’s looks.)
But just like “we were on a break!”, the original yellow dress continues to live on in fans’ memories. -KR
Forever Fly
As a kid, I’d never miss an episode of In Living Color. Keenan Ivory Wayans’ sketch comedy series was so on the pulse of music and pop culture, while breaking new ground with satirical, stereotype-busting characters, like Homey D. Clown and Men on Film. But I was just mesmerized with the high-energy, high-fashion dance troupe, the Fly Girls. As an Asian American kid growing up in the Midwest, seeing Carrie Ann Inaba — who the kids know from Dancing With the Stars — confidently dancing in The Fly Girls’ cutting-edge sportswear-meets-runway fashion each week just gave me life.
I may have them to blame for flouting a few classroom dress codes with vibrant, color-blocked biker shorts and tank tops. I wasn’t the only one inspired — I mean, Karl Lagerfeld’s hip-hop–themed Fall 1991 Chanel collection looked suspiciously a lot like the Fly Girls. And no wonder considering the source of Fly Girls fashion. The show’s costume designer Michelle R. Cole — who’s spent her long career creating the most fashionable wardrobes on TV — would hit New York Fashion Week and the coolest stores to dress them. “We were at the front of it,” Cole told me for TZR. (Sinners costume designer and two-time Oscar winner Ruth E. Carter designed the In Living Color pilot, so another mic drop.)
The most famous Fly Girl alum, Jennifer Lopez, gave Cole her flowers for the iconic, indelible style that still influences what we wear today. J.Lo credited the nine-time Emmy–nominated costume designer for their “couture look,” telling Vogue in 2024, “the thing about the Fly Girls was really about their fashion.”
Well, now I want to wear a bright crop top and biker shorts — but probably with a big ’90s-style blazer over it. -FSH
The Cool Girl
Lisa Bonet is the first person I ever saw on television who embodied the concept of “style.” Coming of age in the ’80s, I saw that all of the sitcoms of that time featured parents and kids who dressed like people I would see at school or at the mall. But Denise Huxtable, Bonet’s character on The Cosby Show, radiated “cool older sister” energy, someone you both idolized and longed to be.
Through Denise, Gen X and Xennials were introduced to a range of aesthetics from boho chic to menswear. She favored bold, colorful looks, often with clashing prints, in which accessories like scarves, hats, glasses and jewelry were integral parts of her ensembles rather than afterthoughts. (And of course, Denise was a fashion designer of sorts too: who could ever forget this Gordon Gartrell knockoff she made for brother Theo?)
Incredibly, the character’s memorable looks were accomplished as part of a weekly $3,000 budget allotted to costume designer Sarah Lemire to dress the whole cast. Of all the characters, she had an affinity for dressing Denise. “Lisa always had great taste and liked great things,” Lemire said in a 1987 interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “For me, it was like dressing myself if I was 20 years younger.”
When she went to college on A Different World in the ’90s, Denise continued to dress with an eclectic effortlessness that favored comfort (think oversized sweaters and baggy jeans), contrasting with straitlaced Whitney’s business suits (Jasmine Guy), whom A Different World costume designer Ceci2 initially outfitted by buying off the rack at Neiman Marcus.
Similarly, I wrote a novel with a main character who equated great style with wearing luxury brands. This is the opposite of Denise, who dressed with confidence and self-expression in mind, and always with a distinct point of view. It’s what has given both Denise and Lisa Bonet such staying power as style icons. And with a revival of A Different World currently in production, no doubt the new generation’s looks will take inspiration from its most fashionable alum. -KR
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A True Betty
I have witnessed in person — along with Kirthana! — the absolute frenzy caused by the mere mention of Cher’s (Alicia Silverstone) plaid yellow miniskirt suit from Clueless. (Or if they’re presented with current day riffs on the outfit, like at a party for costume designer Mona May at the chic Luisaviaroma Soho flagship last summer. The sharp, charming, and effervescent Cher and her fashion — whether in her most capable outfit, her white collarless shirt from Fred Segal, or “an Alaïa” — transcends generations and decades.
“Mothers in their 50s are coming with their 16-year-old daughters,” Clueless costume designer May told me at the bash, during a rare moment in between styling sessions with gushing fans.
Cher’s canary yellow Jean Paul Gaultier skirt suit is even immortalized — along with all May’s costumes in the movie — in her book The Fashion of Clueless. Of course, the checks, like the red Calvin Klein buffalo plaid set Cher wears for a standing ovation during lunch, are timeless and totally hold up now — like when May had me try on a strapless, ruffled version, complete with a beret. But like Hilary over in Bel-Air, it’s not just the clothes. It’s the spirit of the eternally sharp and charming Cher Horowitz (and Silverstone) that stays evergreen. -FSH
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Fun fact: Norris became a prolific director of teen shows, like The OC and Friday Night Lights. -FSH
While Deirdre Naughton did the pilot, Ceci was the main costume designer of the series. -KR
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So many great fashion character references here! I personally loved Raeanne Graff's look in My So-Called Life
I am always on the lookout for yellow plaid, thanks to that amazing suit! I definitely channeled that big-shouldered oversized blazer look (thanks for letting me steal your blazers, Dad!), and loved the fashion in "A Different World", "The Nanny" and "Fresh Prince" of the era. The colour-blocking totally appealed to me. And I never missed an ep of "Living Colour"!
Thanks so much, Fawnia! Loved this!