1993 Spring/Summer Sears Catalog - Children's Section

Back in March, I featured the women's section of this particular Sears catalog. I seriously love looking through these to see how all the common people lived back in the day (myself included). So here's a  peek into what was available for children in 1993:

Little boys could be Batman badasses, chillin on a fence

 I'm really digging the hat

 I'm thinking this cake ended up an unwilling participant in a prank

 This was definitely my brother's style back then

 And finally, this guy. There's a kid in my neighborhood that looks exactly like this.. we refer to him as 'Skip', or 'The Skipper'. And now I know he shops out of old Sears catalogs.

Fashion Friday #6

Let's take a moment and recognize Barbie for all her contributions to the fashion world. In the 90s she was truly an inspiration, convincing me to wear every neon color in one outfit, use Dep gel on my hair, and wear t-shirts with giant screen printed stuff.

I still think these particular outfits look pretty fly...

source

Alloy - Spring 1998

So, I'm just finally getting used to the fact that winter is over. After experiencing literally the worst winter of my life here, the warm temps seemed too good to be true. But as the weeks go by, I can finally believe that the warm weather is real! And continuing! I can finally switch out my wardrobe for summer clothes! If you're in the same position and are also looking for some outfit inspiration, here's what was available from Alloy in 1998, when skater fashion was in its mainstream heyday.

I remember being waaaay into this look. Let me tell you though, being a shorty and wearing men's wide leg jeans isn't the best combination.

I most definitely had a swimsuit like this. Board shorts and halter tops all the way.

These were the iconic skater looks to me. And they were unisex!

I've uploaded the entire catalog for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!

Fashion Friday #4

Without further ado... some American Apparel outfits that the ladies of Beverly Hills, 90210 may have favored:

I call this one the "Donna Martin choice"

This would be "season one Brenda"

The "Valerie Malone, minus un-slimming white skirt"

And finally, the "Clare Arnold"

I should mention that this post is 100% not sponsored by American Apparel. If there was some sort of corporate kickback, you can bet I'd be hooked up with some sweet crop tops and American flag tights.

Fashion Friday #3: Delia's Spring '97 Catalog

My favorite part of these old catalogs is how you could email your order by sending it to their AOL address. And there wasn't a Delia's site to speak of yet.

I've scanned the whole catalog but flickr is being a jerk and won't upload the pics. So here are a few for now, and I promise to link to the album once it's done. In the meantime, I'm totally inspired to recreate all these outfits. Too soon for a 1997 revival look?

**Update: All catalog pages now available for your viewing pleasure on flickr!

Fashion Friday #1

This is by no means a sponsored post, but today I stepped into an American Eagle store and laid eyes on this scrumptious dress. Yes, scrumptious. It inspired me to new levels of outfit planning. Can't you totally see all of these items on a page of Seventeen magazine from 1994?

So obviously I'm really loving all the 90s revival stuff coming out and hope to feature some each Friday. Please share if you come across anything spectacular!

1993 Spring/Summer Sears Catalog - Women's Section

Last year I found this Sears catalog from 1993 at a flea market. 

This is the kind of thing I love most to find at flea markets: the garbage that should have been tossed out long ago, yet some weirdo (in this case, a grandpa who probably just liked ogling the ladies in the bra pages) just couldn't bring themselves to let go of.

Here are a few women's items for sale back then:

*Dresses and suits that Barbara Bush would approve of

*The "padded plus brief"

*An awkward maternity shirt that looks like it should have been for the baby, not the expectant mother

*This pretty sweet swimsuit

*And of course, the most awesome Reeboks (still sold today!!)

Something I noticed in particular is that they offered all kinds of sizes to fit all kinds of ladies, which is commendable. And yes, Sears does still offer print catalogs. Did I sign up to get one? You bet I did!

More photos of the women's section can be seen here, on flickr. Later I'll feature more of the other departments (home fashions is the best!!).

Fashion Aspiration

Nose job evidence aside, Quinn's fashion club rocked some pretty sweet outfits. Babydoll tees & dresses, shortalls, bare midriffs, striped shoulder athletic shirts, chunky heeled shoes, and those ponytail holders with big, plastic balls on them. Total betties.

Delia's Catalog - Fall 1996

Another classic Delia's catalog, this time for the fall season of 1996. Lots of chunky-heeled shoes, baggy skater clothes and space-dyed tops. Want all of it!! Okay, maybe not the camo pants.. but everything else, yes!

Full catalog on Flickr

Sneak Peek

I'm in the process of scanning the next Delia's catalog; should have it done by the weekend. In the meantime:

Corduroy carpenter pants from Bulldog!

This Just In

Platform tennies at Target! And they're on clearance!

These come in weird sizes (who wears a 5/6 for an actual shoe?), but they're decently 90s. Available in black, white and leopard.

Ace Ventura Follow-Up

I've finished watching Ace Ventura and filed away the VHS tape, but I had to do a quick post about some pretty sweet 90s outfits Courtney Cox was rocking in the movie. This type of floral print dress has been showing up in stores again, and I am totally down with that. Now where can I find the hat in image 2?? I would swap out the shoulder bag for a mini backpack though.

Alloy Catalog - Fall 1997

Since my Delia's catalog scans were a hit on BuzzFeed, I figured I should get moving on my need-to-scan pile. Today's feature is the very first Alloy catalog I received. Just like Delia's, this brand morphed over time to meet the interests of the next generation. So, kids don't wanna be skaters any more?? What's up with that? I don't think Alloy sells any guy's clothing at all now either, and yet back then they wanted everyone to dress like dudes. And it totally reeled me in. I had the huge wide leg jeans, baggy striped sweaters, skate shoes, wallet chain, pixie-cut hair, and of course a Dickies mini messenger bag. Here's my embarrassing secret: I didn't even own a skateboard nor know how to ride. And while I was part of my school's ski club, I was too chicken to try out snowboarding. Feels good to admit it after all these years! Haha.

Catalog is located here on Flickr.

A Note on Why the BSC Costume Designer Rules

Why does the costume designer for the Baby-Sitters Club tv show deserve an award? Mostly because of all the turtlenecks topped with baggy v-neck sweaters, highly-saturated colors galore, scrunchies, neon sunglasses and a smattering of acid-wash denim. But then there's this:

That's right, Kristy is wearing a shirt with a giant truck on it.

Delia's Catalog - Summer 96

Confession time: if there was a warehouse out there in the wild blue yonder filled with Delia's deadstock from the mid 90s, I would snag everything in my size and then some. I was such a maniac for this stuff that I actually kept all the catalogs that arrived in my mailbox. While I ended up throwing out every issue of Seventeen, Teen and YM that I owned, I couldn't part with these. Today I finally got around to scanning one, the Summer '96 edition. I still pine for the printed shift dresses and Vans Wally's.

Whole catalog can be viewed on flickr: Delia's Catalog - Summer 96

Fly Threads

This chick's outfit meets all the requirements of 1998:

1. Wife beater tank top

2. Baggy green khakis (she would get bonus points for cargo pockets)

3. Beat-up skate shoes. These appear to be Airwalks, but Vans are also acceptable

4. Ball chain necklace

5. Large plastic thumb ring

6. Hair in two buns with butterfly clips