The LYLAS Podcast
If you know what LYLAS stands for, then this podcast is for you! Two besties since middle school turned moms and psychologists dish on "the good, the fun, and the yucks" of life! We're tackling all things mental health, "mom balance" (whatever the hell that is), transitions in life (divorce, career, aging parents, parent loss, loss of friendships), self-care, travel, healthy habits, raising kids, and allllllll the things us midlife mamas are experiencing. We hope each week listeners feel like they just left a good ol' therapy session with their bestie! We'll dish on all the tips and tricks to keep your mental health in check and enjoy this thing called life! Meet your life's newest cheerleaders-- Sarah & Jen! LYLAS!
The LYLAS Podcast
"90s Fashion Revival: The Good, The Bad, and The Truly Regrettable"
Remember when your parents would cringe at your fashion choices and say, "We wore that in the 70s"? Well, grab your favorite flannel shirt and prepare for a reality check—we've officially become our parents.
This hilarious deep dive into the resurrection of 90s fashion trends starts with that uncomfortable moment of realization: the styles we once rocked (or questioned) are now being "discovered" by today's youth. From the fashion cycle that brings trends back approximately every 30-40 years to the psychological reasons behind our nostalgia for certain eras, we unpack why some styles deserve a comeback while others should remain buried in time capsules.
The fashion trend battlefield gets heated when we discuss our personal "absolutely nots"—chokers that are banned in one household, the universally unflattering mom jeans that somehow made a comeback, and the thin eyebrow trend that comes with a desperate warning: "If I save one eyebrow, one set of eyebrows, I will consider this mission accomplished. Because don't do it, your eyebrows will not grow back." These passionate pleas come from experience and regret.
Not all returning styles face such resistance, though. Combat boots, leather jackets, and the vest-as-a-top trend receive enthusiastic approval. The conversation takes a nostalgic turn when we recall our most regrettable high school fashion moments—blue eyeshadow paired with dark complexions, homecoming dresses with pantyhose, and hairstyles that should never see the light of day again.
Whether you're embracing the return of 90s fashion or fighting it with every fiber of your being, you'll find yourself laughing and nodding along as we navigate the cyclical nature of trends. Follow us on social media @LylasPodcast and visit lylaspodcast.com to join the conversation—what 90s trend would you never bring back?
Please be sure to checkout our website for previous episodes, our psych-approved resource page, and connect with us on social media! All this and more at www.thelylaspodcast.com
today's episode is really about those 90s trends that are. First of all, I just want to acknowledge I can't believe that we're old enough to have had like a cycle. Trends repeat themselves. I think that's part of what's like blowing my mind a little bit, because I can like hear my mom being, when we started Like boot cut flare jeans, basically bell bottoms she was like, well, we wore those in the 70s. And I was like so, and now I'm like looking at what is coming back and I'm like, oh, we wore those in the 70s. And I was like you're so lame. And now I'm like looking at what is coming back and I'm like, oh, we wore those in the 90s, you know, and I'm lame, basically is what it boils down to.
Speaker 2:And what we've learned from this is we are now lame.
Speaker 1:Is that we have entered the lame? I hope not, but it's true. There are so many things that are circling back that you're like I can't A like. Didn't we learn the first time? Like what wasn't good, what was not flattering? And then why do you let's get a little psychological here for a second like why do trends tend to recur?
Speaker 2:I mean it would just be a hypothesis. I guess that this, well, I mean there actually is from a trend standpoint and fashion wise, I can't speak as scientifically about it, but I think that there's a certain nostalgia or secondary rediscovery that comes with things, and so, um, you know curiosity sparks interest. Yeah, curiosity sparks interest in younger generations and whether it be through musical influences, art or television, whenever they get exposed to things they want to kind of reconnect with it and then kind of bring it back, and I think that that is a cyclic pattern.
Speaker 2:We're going to continue to see that be a cyclic pattern. Whenever it comes to like trends and culture, but I mean even just in terms of like the actual world and what happens like events and economies and things like that, it is on its own cyclical pattern and so we do see that happening like every 30 to 40 years. I mean, a anthropologist or a sociologist could talk about that better than what I could, but that is an actual factual kind of a thing that does tend to happen, whether that be with wars or conflicts or economic growth or child birthing rates, like all of the things just kind of tend to be on a pattern of sorts. So I guess we're all kind of stuck in a little bit of a wheel here.
Speaker 1:Of a cycle Interesting.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but there are some of those components of that wheel that I just they were not okay then and they're not okay now. Right, what are some of your top ones? So my husband and I both agree very much on this first one, and to the point we do not allow our daughter to have this item or wear it.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:If she does, she doesn't do it at our house. Yeah, okay. We are huge no-goes on the choker game. If you're wearing like those black you remember those Like those little black rubber, like chokers around your neck? I didn't do it then. Yeah, it's not okay now. It personally offends you. It probably makes me angry. I don't like it.
Speaker 1:I see I don't have that much hatred for it. I'm not gonna lie Like I felt it was more of like a witchy, like the craft the craft.
Speaker 1:I think of it more of like right, like you're sort of like grungy, like witchy type dark. So, yes, I mean maybe, if that's not the goth, sort of like, look you're going for, I get it. Um, I'm not, I don't hate on it. I'm pretty sure I wore a choker back in the day. I mean like a 99% sure I did at some point in the 90s, that's hysterical that you guys both are like just straight up H no, yeah, all right, I love that chokers personally offend you.
Speaker 1:For me, I think of my list that I made the one that probably offends me the most, or that I'm just like H no is. I am not a fan of a crop top shirt Never have been. Every now and again you'll catch me in a crop tank top and that's about as croppy as I'm going to get. A crop top for me is just not the answer. I'm 5'2", never been naturally thin and I didn't like them then and I don't like them now. I don't need anything making me look shorter than I already am. Love it for the 5'11 models. Good for them, but not for me. So I'm going to go throw some hate and some shade at a crop top.
Speaker 2:Yeah the crop top for me is okay if it's baggy, but if we're doing the baby tee crop top look, that's a no-go. Do you remember those baby tee crop top? Look, that's a no-go. Do you remember those? They were like baby gap t-shirts that adults were wearing. I was an offender of this one. This was. I was the offender probably.
Speaker 2:For whatever reason, and as if you can't tell, I am dark complected, my hair is actually naturally very dark, very dark person and for whatever reason, I thought it looked cool to have like bright, blue, shimmer eyeshadow on Hmm, that was not okay. Or the white eyeshadow Is that coming back? Do you remember that?
Speaker 1:Yes, is that back?
Speaker 2:Oh, I've seen that. See, I didn't have that on my list. I didn't see it on my list. Oh, it's so bad.
Speaker 1:I didn't. I will say I haven't seen that, but I also was an offender and I am not. This is I learned from my mistake. I have. I've actually mentioned it on this podcast before. I feel so passionate about it. The eyebrow trend Apparently, you you and Seth recently informed me in our team meeting that the thin eyebrows are coming back and I just want to say God love you. If anyone out there is listening, if I save one eyebrow, one set of eyebrows, I will consider this mission accomplished. Because don't do it, your eyebrows will not grow back. Don't do it. I don't care if it's on trend. Don't do it. Find a happy medium. You don't want to 86 your eyebrows. You don't want it. Don't let anybody tell you differently.
Speaker 2:I agree, I feel very passionate about that, passionately about that Like to fill in where their brows are. Most of those people that are having that done are people who were over pluckers and had that look going on Because, like you said, it doesn't grow back. And so you know it doesn't grow back, or like waxing.
Speaker 1:Like I definitely got my eyebrows waxed and, like those bitches ain't been back, they said see ya In, like my early 30s, and they never came back. So don't do it. Some of these others I don't hate. I'll be honest. Like I love a flannel, I love some ripped jeans. You know I'm not an oversized hoodie. Sign me up. Athleisure, of course. Fanny packs in certain situations. Yeah, I'm going to rock a fanny to a Michigan football game. I have a nice one with a big M, block M on it. You will see it if you look at my Instagram. Fanny packs I'm not mad about, like you know, I'm not wearing one daily, but I think they have a time and a place. What are your thoughts on a fanny?
Speaker 1:I just I wore one today, oh yes, Because you needed to try it out or because Because I was on the golf course.
Speaker 2:I don't want something on my shoulders and I don't like tan lines, and so I also did another trend, probably definitely inappropriate on the golf course, at least I was told so after the fact um, big trend in the 90s I wore a tube top. It wasn't a crop tube top, jenny goes, oh, but I was. I mean, it's like 100 degrees here right now and on this golf course that we're particularly playing on over the last several days. There's usually tree cover on a golf course or places you can get under, and there's not on this one, so you're just out in the elements for the vast majority of the time and I wasn't about ready to get tan lines, you know, because that's a big pet peeve of mine on my shoulders and stuff like that, I know, but a tube top on a golf course, that just sounds like torture.
Speaker 1:A tube top on a golf course, that just sounds like torture, did you? I mean, I just imagine tugging and pulling and hot and sweat and wet Sounds like a terrible idea.
Speaker 1:I want to wear like a sports bra, a nice light. Why don't you just get like a nice light Viore tank? I would add tan lines. I'm going to give you a thumbs down on the tube top. I'm going to ask you to retire that. Never to be seen again. Trend over no tube tops on the golf course. No, definitely not there, oof. I don't know how you recover from that. I probably won't. But I can tell you one that I'm really on board with, and that is vests as tops. I love a vest, love a vest. I have a deep love for a vest and I love this vest top trend happening right now. I'm all over it. I've been all over it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm going to go with that. I think, that's going to be my outfit for our reunion on Friday night.
Speaker 1:A vest. You're going vest top? I think I might. Okay, yeah, I have planned nothing. You have everything planned. I've planned absolutely nothing.
Speaker 2:I have to Because, if not, remember, I'm not a big, you are all over it. I just get on it. Yeah, I'm a planner.
Speaker 1:I have to have a plan.
Speaker 2:But not like I like to do things spontaneously, like if I'm someplace like just yeah, let's go do this, let's go do that. But I want to at least have some things put down, because I think that opens the door for spontaneity, because I have everything else worked out All right.
Speaker 1:Big no for me Platform shoes, particularly like the black ones, and I'm going to say this too glad you said it. I'm not a yeah, I'm not a fan of the birkenstock, see, and I love my birkenstock sandals, like my, my go-to burks, like I'll ride or die those bitches forever. They've been all over europe. Um, but the platform, chunky heel sneaker, whatever it is like I'm so I'm with you on it. 100, it's a no-go for me. I can't, I can't bring that trend back. Learn from that one the first time. I also I'm a farm girl, you know. I grew up, you know, at least part-time on a farm. Um, I can't get behind the overall trend coming back just like the gene overall.
Speaker 2:Is that what we're talking about?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think any overall. I just I have a really hard time loving the look personally. If you like the overall, go for it. You know, I'm just giving you my hot take on this. Why? I don't know why? Because we wanted to talk about these trends 's right, but I just I, as a 43 almost 43 year old woman, I don't need anything to help me look more frumpy. I think we've established that. So to me, bib overalls is one of those like frumpy outfits, like you wanted to be practical because you can take it down, you know, but you're still having to take your clothes all the way off, like you might as well just wear a romper at that point. And those little like latches I don't know, I don't need latches. What about the slip dress? All I can think about is our dear friend Lindsay, who covered her entire wall in slip dresses or slips. I'm not really sure what that was. Do you remember that artistic moment she had in high school? She's so great. Not a fan. Wasn't a fan of them in the 90s. Not a fan of them now.
Speaker 2:It's a no for me. Yeah, I'm not a fan of them either, especially if they're the kind that have like that rectangle pattern to them, like up top and then like a little spaghetti strap. I can't be looking like a rectangle, you know what I mean. I'm not walking around like a shape Frumpy Again.
Speaker 1:Back to frumpy, I'm going to go on leather jackets. To me they never went out of style. Like love a leather jacket, and again in the right setting. Don't get to wear a lot of them in Charleston, south Carolina. Are we talking the brown leather jacket, any leather jacket? Just like a moto jacket, like a motorcycle?
Speaker 2:Like a black jacket. I remember always wanting one of those.
Speaker 1:What about combat boots? I loved a good pair of combat boots back in the day and they have returned and they were kind of like coming back for a while with the really with the young kids.
Speaker 2:But like, what are your thoughts on? Come on, like doc martin's, right, I am a fan of combat boots. Um, I think whenever maverick, that movie came back out, I think I even bought a pair and was you know what I mean? Wearing them around with my?
Speaker 2:rocking dirty to me, goose shirt yeah, yeah so um yeah, shouldn't have done that either, probably, but um, whatever, but I do like those. I think they're kind of fun to wear. Um, they can be really cute. You can dress them in different ways, so I don't mind that. I don't mind those a bit.
Speaker 1:I I don't know if we've talked about this I've had the hardest time with jeans lately. Like this total, like 90s, like mom jean style has come back in and I'm not sure who it looks flattering on. I haven't figured that out yet. It's not me. I'm going to go ahead and tell you that I have figured that much out. So for me, the whole mom jean trend like just I'm so deflated by it, but it's a no for me. Why, like why didn't we learn the first time? I don't know. And they're all short on me and I know.
Speaker 1:If they're short on me, like how are they on you or anyone that's taller than five, two like I don't. How are people doing this? How are people finding jeans? I haven't figured it out yet. Every pair I buy I swear they're uglier than the pair before that and I bring them home and I swear my husband just wants to like immediately burn them. He absolutely hates it, as are like any kind of cargo situation, like also again going back to the baggy, frumpy, oversized. I'm not doing cargo pants and the mom jeans. I've got to go, and I'm actually talking to myself on this, because there are still some rotting away in my closet as we speak.
Speaker 2:That's hilarious like licensed, trained I don't know carpenter or electrician or somebody that needs to have like a lot of pockets and like hoops in your pants. Do not ever wear fucking carpenter pants and you may need to beep that out but that is the absolute, yeah the carpenter pants that like whatever they were.
Speaker 1:I know, those are just I do do. It's a no-go.
Speaker 2:No, there's never been a man that that looks good on. Definitely not a chick, no, no-go. No, I'll tell you another thing that I kind of I'm just and this I am sure that I am a lone ranger in this boat.
Speaker 1:Okay, I just have a problem.
Speaker 2:I don't know that it's a problem. I just am a big no on the women dressing up in like cowgirl outfits, Like why are we doing? And it's on Halloween. You know what I mean. Like.
Speaker 1:I just Are they going to a festival?
Speaker 2:I mean, I think sometimes or maybe like, sometimes like going out to dinner or whatever else there's.
Speaker 1:Again, I think there's a time and a place, right, You're going to play it up. You're doing a bachelorette in Nashville yeah, I'm probably going to dress like a cowgirl. You go into a festival out west? Yeah, you're probably going to dress like a cowgirl. Like time and a place right, Play the part. We all love that. But you know, day to day cowgirl wear, you know that's a personal preference, Different parts of the country might feel differently. Maybe A hundred percent, yeah. Is that a trend that's back the cowgirl era.
Speaker 2:Again, did it ever?
Speaker 1:leave. That's what you've seen, okay, well, you live in West Virginia too, though.
Speaker 2:And the like, glittery, like what were they? Miss me jeans, bedazzled kind of stuff. Like I am a pageant girl through and through. I like glitter and gems and like a lot of stuff Like I am a pageant girl through and through.
Speaker 2:I like glitter and gems and like a lot of stuff, but crap, yep. But again, I'm not, I don't know, wearing it to the grocery store, I don't know, just out, you know what I mean To a school function Like it's wild to me Some of the same, some of the things to come back, but things I'm here for.
Speaker 1:If I look at this list, I mean it's like half and half I would say I'm here for it, half I'm not. But I'm always curious, like what's going to be the next thing, that's gonna what next trend, you know? Do they go in order? What's next? The 2000s I guess that means the thaw, the, the early 2000s.
Speaker 2:I'm like I think that was what I think about was the low rise jeans with the thong up above, like on the hips.
Speaker 1:See, I think about that like late 90s, but like when I think about going out, like in my early 20s, we were almost dressing like we just came from the office.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it was like yeah, and maybe that's the time in life you're like trying to kind of be taken seriously, like it just came from work. Okay, like I go back and look at some pictures, I'm like what, uh, what was I thinking? What was I thinking? Who decided that this was a good look on me that.
Speaker 2:That's the blue eyeshadow for me.
Speaker 1:Right, the blue eyeshadow. That should have been obvious now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was a very regrettable mistake. Regrettable.
Speaker 1:You know what else I noticed, and maybe this was a West Virginia thing, but I was going through photos for our upcoming reunion 25 year reunion and we I don't know if you did, but like most of us all had hose on for our home, our freshman homecoming day I know Was that the trend. Like everybody wore hose, it was cold and it wasn't like like snowing, but I'm like what's up with all the hoes?
Speaker 2:I don't know, I don't know if I don't know. That is also a very regrettable decision, because I found some of mine too, and I nearly died.
Speaker 1:In your freshman homecoming we all had hoes on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Maybe your parents made us do it.
Speaker 1:I'm just gonna just out myself and tell you I also had sleeves on my dress. I had on a short sleeve dress. Everyone Basically what my seven-year-old has on today is to my freshman homecoming with hose and flats, and flats. So I guess the moral of the story is maybe you shouldn't be taking fashion advice from me.
Speaker 2:I had the top part of my hair almost like in um, oh, I don't. Cornrows. Then with the big curls that again you did not brush out Probably with the blue eyeshadow.
Speaker 1:Vividly, and the blue dress, if I recall correctly it was. It was a sight to behold, was that one? The white dress?
Speaker 2:It was the white white two piece and I was rocking the new tattoo.
Speaker 1:The new fully covering your stomach. Leopard with sun rays coming out of the bottom tattoo across your stomach. Yeah, I do remember that. That was special. That was special, I'm sorry. What was the trend we were focusing on here?
Speaker 2:though I don't know, it sounds like just being skanky at the moment. Hose is what got us on this hose.
Speaker 1:It is what it is. We're going to leave those looks right where they belong preserved in time. That's all I can say. Right, we can't go backwards. What a time to be alive, though. My favorite thing you said decisions were made, times were had, you know, looks were looked and you got to move on after that. So the moral of today's story is don't take fashion advice from us. If a trend appeals to you, then ride it like the wave of time that it is. It will come back, and you know what are some of your favorite trends. We would like to hear them and see if we missed any. Find us on social media. You can follow us at Lylas Podcasts. You can find us on Instagram and you can find us on YouTube and Facebook. And do you upload anything on TikTok? Yep, upload on TikTok too.
Speaker 2:We're on all of it TikTok too.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, we're on all the things Lylaspodcastcom. You can, of course, find it. It is our hub for everything show related, and be sure to like and subscribe and share with your friends and family. We've got some more great episodes coming this season. On season five, we're honing in on 100 episodes. So thank you so much to our loyal listeners and everybody that shares the Lylas podcast on social media. We're so grateful. Make sure you're following us over there and until next week, week y'all liless peace out.
Speaker 2:How about that from the 90s?
Speaker 1:I love it awful, just awful, awful you.
