What were you doing in 1990?

How apt that I’ve already written quite a long post about what I was doing in 1990. It was the year after I’d finished school and I was living in Italy with 3 girlfriends tasting freedom (and proper gelato) for the very first time. I had an Italian boyfriend and was learning to swear in another language. I bought a pair of sequinned converse high tops in Florence and I was growing out a short haircut which I had bleached blonde. It was not a high point in my hair history or my wardrobe.

Let’s take a trip down 1990 street to see what YOU can remember…..

1990:  THE YEAR IN REVIEW

vogue

MUSIC

Stop. Collaborate and listen, 1990 was a huge year in music…do you remember reciting the lyrics to Vanilla Ice’s hit, Ice Ice Baby?

The Top 5 Songs of 1990 were:

1. Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares to U

2. Madonna – Vogue

3. Deee-Lite – Groove is in the Heart

4. Mariah Carey – Vision of Love

5. MC Hammer – U Can’t Touch This

Sinead Connor’s hit Nothing Compares 2 U, spent 8 weeks at number 1 and M.C. Hammer and his ‘hammer’ pants had burst onto the scene. New Kids on The Block, Roxette, Wilson Philips, Bell Biv Devoe and Janet Jackson all had high selling singles. Milli Vanilli sung “Blame It On the Rain” and won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist before they were exposed for lip-syncing.

Roseanne Barr sung the US national anthem at a baseball game– The comedian delivers a horrendous performance of the American national anthem. She also proceeds to grab her privates and spit on the field, leading to her new nickname “enemy of the flag”.

Madonna was going gangbusters this year on her “Blonde Ambition” tour, wearing pointy bra cups and making us all vogue. Vogueing  was a style of dance that emerged in New York in early 1990, and included standing in the middle of a nightclub striking poses favoured by fashion models.

 

FASHION

If you were at primary school, high school or working in 1990, there is a pretty high chance you owned one or more scrunchies. These were THE hot item, from fluorescent green to your school uniform colour they were best added to ponytails in multiples.

the year of the scrunchie

Fashion and make-up became more natural no doubt as a move away from the gridiron-like shoulder pads, masculine tailoring and overdose of blue eyeliner popular in the 1980’s. In March, Vogue declares: “Pretty Makes a Comeback.” Designers show softer suits, jackets with softer shoulders, curvy tailoring, and asymmetrical fluid skirts and pants for women. 1990 was coined the Year of the Supermodel after Linda Evangelista famously said: “I won’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.” She has also been quoted as saying “no one is born with perfect eyebrows” and “it was God who made me so beautiful.”

Kate Moss in 1990 pic credit: Corinne Day for The Face

Kate Moss was an awkward 15 year-old, Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington and Gail Elliott were all queens of the catwalk.

Denim jackets, hot pants, mini- skirts, rolled jeans and slouch socks over leggings were all hot trends.

The birth of grunge style began after 1970’s “hippie” and 1980’s “punk” decades, and Dr. Martens were the footwear of choice.

The acid-washed look was rejected in 1990 in favour of stonewashed denim.

Credit: AP Photo/Reed Saxon

Actress Kim Basinger wore this to this one shouldered white satin gown to the Oscars. It was not well received.

Sports clothing was having a moment with nylon shell tracksuits and basketball jerseys a staple amongst teenagers, Stussy and Mambo were popular streetwear brands in Australia.

MOVIES

The Top 10 Movies for 1990 were:

Julia Roberts' breakthrough role in Pretty Women

1. Goodfellas

2. The Godfather: Part III

3. Home Alone (number 1 grossing film in the U.S.)

4. Edward Scissorhands

5. Ghost

6. Dances with Wolves

7. Pretty Women

8. Jacob’s Ladder

9. Total Recall

10. Back to the Future Part III

Pretty Woman, Richard Gere played high-flying executive Edward Lewis, George from Seinfield was his inappropriate colleague, Philip Stuckey and Julia Roberts character was Vivian the fast-talking hooker who won everyone’s hearts, who could forget the shopping spree on Rodeo Drive…

 

POP CULTURE

Kylie Minogue was breaking away from her squeaky clean image and dating Michael Hutchence from INXS.

It was the year the Internet was first conceived– The World Wide Web and the first web page was created by Tim Berners-Lee.

Television sitcoms like The Simpsons and Seinfeld debuted, along with Will Smith in the Fresh Prince in Bel Air.

Tom Crusie had a mullet and was voted The Sexiest Man alive by People magazine, in February he had divorced actress Mimi Rogers and by December 24 married Nicole Kidman. Whom he had met earlier this year whilst filming Days of Thunder.

how times have changed..

• Zsa Zsa Gabor did time for slapping a Beverly Hills cop.

• The first Hard Rock Cafe opens in Las Vegas, Nevada
• Planet Hollywood opens in Los Angeles.
• Time Warner is formed from the merger of Time, Inc. and Warner Communications, Inc.
• Marvin Gaye gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• The Oprah Winfrey show was in its fifth season.
• Demi Moore and Bruce Willis were referred to as Hollywood’s Hottest Couple in People magazine.
• Teenage Mutant Ninja turtle toys became the latest craze, along with Tamagotchi
• Kiefer Sutherland dumps Julia Robert days before their wedding.

WORLD NEWS

nelson mandela

• 1990 signalled the end of apartheid as former South African President Nelson Mandela was released after 27 years of imprisonment.
• Margaret Thatcher resigned as British Prime Minister. George Bush (George W. Bush’s father) was the President of the United States.
• Iraqi troops invade Kuwait and seize petroleum reserves, setting off the beginning of the Persian Gulf War.
• On October 3, East and West Germany formally reunited, after the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.
• First free elections in Taiwan were held.
• Hubble space telescope is launched into orbit on April 25.
• 50,000 fans watch The Rolling Stones play the first of 10 concerts at Tokyo’s Korakuen Dome, the beginning of the Stones’ first ever tour of Japan.
• Screen legends, Greta Garbo and Ava Gardner die along with music man, Sammy Davis Jr, aged 64.

AUSTRALIA

• Collingwood win the premiership and end a 32 year drought.
• VFL is officially changed to AFL.
• At the 1990 Logies, funny man Mark Mitchell hosted the night, John Travolta
  pic credit: tv week

  was a guest at the ceremony and the winners were:

• Neighbour’s Craig McLachlan for the Gold Logie & Most Popular Actor.
• Rachel Friend won Most Popular Actress.
• Nicole Kidman also wins Outstanding Actress for Bangkok Hilton.
• Jason Donovan won Most Outstanding Actor.
• Neighbours voted most popular TV series.
• Johnny Young from Young Talent Time was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

 

FUNNY ADS IN 1990

Thanks Madeleine.