The Secrets To The Real Sexiness Of The ‘90s

Now, “‘90s love” has become a popular hashtag, where millions of people on social media around the world are curiously nostalgic for '90s-era ideals of romance and relationships. 

As a young high school girl in the ‘90s (class of 1995, to be exact), fashion for young women had a great deal to do with how young men perceived us. They set standards for young women in which they preferred girls to be more cutesy and down to earth. They idealized the type of girl that men would be proud to take home to their mother.

A more demure, wholesome, girl-next-door image among young women was highly sought after among boys our age. The way we dressed conveyed girlish sophistication and simplicity, along with some hints at being alluring where we would safely display what could be called “muted sexiness.”

How did women accomplish this “muted sexiness” in our fashion sense? What was considered sexy about it?

Never Showing Too Much Skin

Showing a lot of skin wasn’t considered sexy in the ‘90s. There was a stigma attached to dressing provocatively, and it caused young women to be much more selective in how much skin they would bare. Showing less skin represented so much more for both men and women alike. 

A bare midriff was considered widely appealing while the rest of the body remained covered. Aaliyah and Janet Jackson pranced around in music videos with a chiseled, bare midriff while remaining covered elsewhere from head to toe.

“School girl” attire was also very popular in the mid-90s, as was showcased in the iconic teen movie Clueless, where Alicia Silverstone and Stacey Dash donned plaid skirts and matching tailored jackets coupled with thigh-high stockings. 

We were encouraged to look playfully innocent as young women. Teenage innocence added to our appeal in our styling choices. It wasn’t unusual for young women to not show any cleavage or wear skin-tight clothing but instead focus on showing just their legs and arms in what would be considered the more risqué schoolgirl outfit.

Examples of ‘90s Sexy Demureness in the Movies

The ‘90s movie Friday comes to mind, in which two young women who embodied certain feminine characteristics for the decade really stood out as far as what was considered demure and sexy vs. what was deemed sexiness gone wrong.

Joi, Craig’s “fast” girlfriend, was featured wearing a crop top clear to her breasts and very long claw-like nails. She was portrayed as the loose, raucous vamp and villainess in the film, whom Craig’s mother encouraged him to discard in favor of Debbie, the girl-next-door type with a flattering pixie cut, a sweet demeanor, and an approachable, ladylike femininity. 

Pretty Woman with Julia Roberts, who played young Hollywood prostitute Vivian Ward, is another example of how scantily clad women got a bad rap, as depicted in the infamous scene where she was told to leave a high end boutique in Beverly Hills because of the way she was dressed. 

When she receives a wardrobe makeover and goes undercover in the film, careful not to reveal working as a lady of the evening around Edward’s business associates, she again shops Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, where they emphasize classiness in her being much more covered up in tasteful, expensive clothes. All the businessmen stopped to turn their heads when she then graced the boulevard wearing opera gloves, a form-fitting, white mid-calf length dress, and a large-brimmed hat. 

Demureness, elegance, class, poise, and great style made a woman sexy in the ‘90s. Dressing scantily and revealing a lot of skin was considered a big no-no. 

The Supermodels of the ‘90s

It has been said that the ’90s supermodel era will never again be duplicated. The most popular supermodels such as Cindy Crawford, Linda Evangelista, and Naomi Campbell gave us a glimpse into the culture of raw sexiness of ‘90s women. 

Many of these models weren’t waif-like and had womanly figures. The ultra-thin anorexic look typical of runway models wasn’t yet the standard. Tyra Banks had a very full bosom and the forever-coveted hourglass shape, as did Yasmeen Ghauri, a lesser-known model who retired in 1997 and chose not to pursue the heights of supermodel stardom with Tyra, Cindy, Linda, and Naomi.

What did these women all have in common, and what made them sexy? Was the “face card” a thing? 

In the ‘90s, a flawless face seemed to be the gold standard for supermodels. Faces were more emphasized as the determining factor of beauty rather than the amount of skin they displayed. Perhaps it was because there was a lot less skin on display in the culture overall, and people paid more attention to women’s faces.

Of course, ‘90s supermodels had to possess both the exceptional face and the body to make it in the business. Linda Evangelista recently expressed dismay in declaring, “Filters and retouching are the devil,” referring to today’s use of photoshop and excessive airbrushing that ‘90s supermodels didn’t have at their disposal. 

“When, back in the day, when we did a photograph, yes, we cheated. We tied our belts so tight and then put Coke cans in the back to cinch our waists,” she admitted. “We held reflectors to take out the bags [under our eyes].”

But Evangelista insists, “They didn’t retouch the photo. We did it perfectly on set, and what you saw was what you got. Today, it’s like, no matter what happens on set – like, a button will pop off, and they’ll say, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll put it on later.’ Your eyelash will be hanging off, and they’re like, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll fix it later.’”

It does seem a bit unfair to Evangelista that ‘90s supermodels had to meet much higher beauty standards, and there were no technological shortcuts to conceal any flaws. 

Closing Thoughts

It’s not at all farfetched to draw the conclusion that standards of beauty back in the ‘90s were much different than they are today. Everyday women and supermodels were both applauded for showing less skin while emphasizing facial beauty and elegance in fashion.

It was sexy for women to be in a natural state of feminine beauty where elegance was the norm, and I’m of the opinion we could use a lot more of that today.

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