The 2010s may be full of hipster beards and top knots (we blame Game of Thrones), but the men's styles of 20 years ago were just as embarrassing.
We've already explored the Rachel haircut and Kelly from Saved by the Bell's crop top, but what about the '90s dudes we idolised back in the day?
1. THE HIP-HOP STYLE OF THE FRESH PRINCE
Whether you were ripped or skinny, you wanted to give the mainstream hip-hop look a try. Or at least you envied those at school who were brave (or tall) enough to get away with it. Not the actual gangsta fashion of NWA or Public Enemy, rather the PG-rated version of Vanilla Ice, LL Cool J and Will Smith. Bright jackets, gold chains, dodgy earrings – even 'NSync attempted it. We'll leave it up to you to decide if they succeeded.
2. DAWSON'S CURTAINS
The girls had their bangs, the guys had their curtains. For a bizarre few years in the late '90s, this fringe-with-a-peephole was all the rage – though for some reason it looked much better if you were blonde. James Van Der Beek was the king of curtains in Dawson's Creek – and everyone from David Beckham to Leonardo DiCaprio followed suit. There was always one kid at school who was the heartthrob. Guaranteed he had curtains.
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3. THE JACKET AND TURTLENECK COMBO
Shown off here by Tom Jones (on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air – the epicentre of '90s fashion), this little number showed off your softer side, while also making it clear you're a fantastic lover. If you weren't in sixth form yet, then you probably weren't ready for this. Only bigger boys could pull this off.
4. BRAD PITT'S SPIKY TIPS
This was in the very late '90s, just before spiky hair went full Gareth Gates in the millennium. Tyler Durden in Fight Club made it look so effortlessly cool (it helped that he had Brad Pitt's face). But when we tried it, we looked more like Freddie Prinze Jr in the photo above – ie as if we'd been electrocuted. You got bonus points if you coupled it with bleached blond hair. The amount of pocket money we spent on hair gel was just silly.
5. DONALD FAISON FROM CLUELESS' KANGOL HAT
A spinoff from the hip-hop entry above, the Kangol Hat took on a life of its own and found itself on pretty much any bonce you can think of. Not quite a flatcap, not quite a baseball cap. In the previous decade it had been adopted by the likes of LL Cool J and Run DMC – ten years later and everyone from Adrien Brody to Liam Gallagher had ruined it. Either way, we wanted them too.
6. SPIKE FROM BUFFY'S SUPER SLICK HAIR
Once you got through the curtains phase, you moved on up to the slick step of puberty. You saw Spike do it, you saw Zack Morris do it. Why can't we do it? Chicks dig hair as combed back and as wet-looking as possible, right? Martin Wells in 8C gets all the girls and he has slick hair. Who cares if we look like a budget Danny Zuko?
7. THE SWEATER VESTS OF CHANDLER BING
Nowadays, we like our clothes as tight-fitting as possible. But in the 1990s, the baggier the better. This certainly applied to the combination of huge shirts, ties and best of all: a sweater vest. Matthew Perry knew how to wear them well (somehow) in Friends, Carlton from The Fresh Prince not so much. If you were mid-to-late teens back then, you no doubt gave them a crack.
8. THE FRESH PRINCE (AGAIN)'S WONKY DUNGAREES
What can we say? Big Willie Style meant something back then. Both guys and girls of various eras (including the current one it seems) bring back the dungarees, but did you try it with one strap down? That's when you knew you were rad. It was easy to get it wrong though - you could either look super cool like Tupac Shakur, a right dweeb like Elton John, or a psychopath like Eminem.
Photo Director, Hearst UK
Shyvonne Thomas is Digital Spy's Photo Director, looking after Digital Spy's and Hearst's digital brand visuals across the board. She also writes and conducts interviews specialising in the Power shows, anything Beyoncé, family days out, as well as championing content across Black TV shows and movies.
Having started her career as Shopping Assistant for Mother & Baby and Pregnancy and Birth magazines in 2010, Shyvonne moved on to become Picture Assistant at heat magazine in 2012, before joining the Daily Star, Express and OK! websites as Galleries Editor in 2014.
Shyvonne is an NCTJ-accredited journalist and studied an honours degree in Journalism. In 2021, Shyvonne was shortlisted for the PPA Unsung Hero Award. Shyvonne is also a proud mum.
