Thinking back to my research into the 90s hip-hop aesthetic, I cherry-picked three things that come up most often in the style–which included bucket hats, emphasis on shoes like sneakers and Timbs, and big chunky chains. Oversized clothes are often also included as well as bold patterns and colours in pieces. So to have the opposite of these would be as follows: no hat, or some type of other colourless, plain hat; basic shoes — or ones that don’t allow for customization and/or protection against winters; no chains or dainty pieces. My first thought, before this systematic “oppositization” was something like “sad beige”–but I think it does fit quite well. The primary focus of the aesthetic is, well, beige. This aesthetic, in addition to being a modern one, is seen as void of personality and colour. If there is colour, they tend to be pastel and very limited. More so, everything is muted and plain, with a focus on “tranquillity” and peace. This seems more like a “room decor” aesthetic, although the aesthetic does translate to fashion. Hats: looking at examples, it seems like hatting options include knit beanies. Shoes: didn’t seem like there is any “sad beige” shoes, but I saw more bare feet than I would have liked to see. Jewellery: necklaces and bracelets with small chains. There is one point of similarity between these two aesthetics–which is the loose-fitting clothing. Fashion in the sad beige aesthetic tends to include cardigans and cotton chino pants. The whole aesthetic, to me, is saying, “Don’t overdo it”–which is think is quite the opposite of the boldness of 90s hip-hop.
Another aesthetic that may be “opposite” to 90s hip hop could be the emo or “Hot Topic” aesthetic. Perhaps not the most modern, as this aesthetic was most popular in the 2000s. Everything was black. As My Chemical Romance once said, “Welcome to the Black Parade”. (Totally disregard the meaning of this song….). Hats weren’t really a thing, as the famous comb-over hair needed to be on full display. The jeans were tight. And I mean, TIGHT. Shoes tended to include converses–including the high, laced-up ones. Jewellery included homemade bracelets, studded belts, and gloves. This does mean then that this aesthetic shares a different similarity to 90s hip hop than the latter–which is the boldness. I mean, look at that eyeliner. How else were you supposed to softly nudge the people around you that you didn’t feel as loved as you needed to be?
We come to the marriage of these two aesthetics: pumpkin spice latte autumn girl. This combines the natural colours–or more so autumnal colours, from the sad beige aesthetic. It also takes the tight clothes from an emo aesthetic. I think it also aligns itself with the fact that one is not an individual, but instead, trying to be like everyone else. It seems as if this style takes a bit from the bohemian aesthetic, with the brimmed hat (I believe it is called something like Viva Rancher).
Overall, there is not one aesthetic as a complete one-to-one antithesis to the 90s hip hop fashion. Perhaps a perfect one would be a beige emo? (they are both sad, too!) If I were to make my hat in this opposite aesthetic, I would have to change the style of bucket hat to another–such as the Viva Rancher. Denim would make things slightly complicated; it would be better to use a different fabric, such as cotton.
[1] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fdictionaryblog.cambridge.org%2F2023%2F10%2F30%2Fnew-words-30-october-2023%2F&psig=AOvVaw1QeY4CM2lqkw9EtK61hraj&ust=1708064783352000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCJigg6zbrIQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD [2] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Faminoapps.com%2Fc%2Fbands%2Fpage%2Fblog%2Fclothing-brands-other-than-hot-topic%2FBYxV_q1Uwu5mlmL58W2vBqp1JxwwxpPVLY&psig=AOvVaw13HJ0ilGCYgQ4vAdhShjlx&ust=1708064946783000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCOiiyvfbrIQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD [3] https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2Ffavorite-fashion-bloggers–440015826090217181%2F&psig=AOvVaw1hdTsYPoyxtHaRROxJdxKb&ust=1708064980170000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBUQjhxqFwoTCPDvvYXcrIQDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD
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I really loved this detailed look. As an elder Emo, I’m not sure if they’re exactly opposites? Lots of Emo music is inspired by struggles happening at the time, and often has a resurgence around economic downturns (the spike in 2008, the recent spike in 2020). Like Hip Hop, they also wore big chunky clothes and jewelry (spike bracelets, chokers, TRIPP pants which I shamelessly still wear). The two aesthetics feel a lot more similar than opposite, are there other examples of them being opposites?
Originally I just thought, “one colour” and “skinny jeans” to being opposites when I realized they are pretty similar. I just called it “boldness” but everything you said is true. I was already too far into the post to just delete it though!
Hi Tiana! Wow, this is a really great perspective on what the opposite of your aesthetic is. I really liked how you considered every part of the 90s hip hop aesthetic to find the opposite of from the colors to the type of clothes. When thinking of aesthetics to choose, I would have never come up with the pumpkin spice girl, way to be creative!
Thank you, Sophia! I am curious of what you would have come up with?
Hi Tiana,
I like how you didn’t just pick one aesthetic but thought about 3 distinct opposite aesthetics. I think I could be interesting if you also explored making a small simple sketch of what your hat might have looked like. Then maybe added a few notes on the changes next to the picture.
That would have been more beneficial than just talking about the design, huh? I will add that next time.