90s & Early Aughts TV Shows For Fashion Inspiration – Essence

It is no secret that we’ve been reminiscing about the 90s for a few years now, and especially in the fashion world. The trend cycle is obviously one that is very fickle but what remains consistent is the looks served in the ’90s TV shows that brought these trends to the forefront. From oversized denim to microbraids to Phat Farm and Sean John, the 90s was an era that will forever bring a warm nostalgic feeling.

If you were born in ‘99 or the early 2000s, to say that you weren’t experiencing some of the 90s would be a shame—- TV show re-runs are a thing. Lots of you early aughts babies were definitely watching some of these shows growing up and are still influenced by the storylines and fashion on these iconic shows. From A Different World to Sister Sister, take a look through our top picks to grab inspiration from.

A Different World 

The plot of the show was brilliant, and on top of that, there were endless amounts of people, from main characters to background characters, wearing the best outfits. The type of uniqueness that can only come from a college setting where young Black people are really learning about who they are and who they want to become. Lisa Bonet is one of the standouts, of course; although her character departed early, her outfits were unforgettable. 

Living Single 

Not many know that Living Single inspired Friends. Between Khadijah, Synclaire, Régine, and Maxine, it’s hard not to notice the looks that were pulled off. There’s a perfect mix of feminine and masculine as the working woman became more prominent on TV in well-tailored suiting. 

Sister, Sister

Tia and Tamera were among the it-girls in the 90s. In the earlier seasons, matching outfits were kind of inevitable, but as the seasons progressed, you really got to see each twin develop their own sense of style. The satin dresses during their dances are drool-worthy.  

Girlfriends 

Now even though the friend group kinda broke up toward the end, can we just say that Toni was that girl. Like she was really wearing John Paul Gaultier, and even that was on the more casual side for her. Lynn had the best everyday bohemian looks, not too boho but just enough. Maya and Joan had to keep it professional at the office, but the after-hours were full of asymmetrical skirts and low-rise jeans. There’s also a whole Instagram dedicated to every single outfit on Girlfriends. 

Moesha 

They really left us hanging at the end of this show, but they made sure to leave zero crumbs when it came to the costume design. TikTok had a moment of parodies of Moesha’s diary voice-over, and the interpretations of her style were pretty spot on. She loved a matching set as the show was full of skirt and denim sets. She played around with color coordination and fun patterns. Her microbraids were ever present as her style evolution continued to mature in later seasons.