'90s: eBay, Etsy, et al.: luckymag.com

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FROM: eBay, Etsy, et al.

Do you apologize for your outfits? (and a very cute miniskirt!)

5:19 PM, August 20 2009 by Jennifer Romolini

In college in the '90s, two of my friends attended what they thought was a casual party wearing J.Crew roll-neck sweaters, pegged oversized jeans and some version of Timberland hiking boots. When they arrived, they realized that it was more of a classy soiree--girls were done up in dresses and pearls and the boys wore blazers and nice shoes. My friends spent the rest of the night feeling like lumberjack wildebeests, enduring snotty girl stares, futilely hitting on guys, and explaining awkwardly to everyone they met, "We didn't know it was dressy!" I have made them tell me this story one hundred times.

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FROM: eBay, Etsy, et al.

A new thing to love (insanely)...Versace shoes on eBay

3:21 PM, August 03 2009 by Jennifer Romolini

There's something about the late '80s/early '90s Versace image that makes me absolutely INSANE and flooded with love. It's decadent, but not in a way that seems gaudy; wild and sexy, but not sleazy or cheap. Versace clothes and accessories from this period seem like the stuff the coolest girl at the party would

be wearing while she drank champagne, flirted, told good jokes and stories, but never got too drunk. It is, in essence, my adolescent ideal of what a grownup woman should be. I'm even crazy about the bizarro vintage ads, which feature supermodels in perhaps too-bright attire jumping, standing on boulders, hanging upside down--all just really glamour-jubilant, triumphant in their own fabulousness.

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FROM: eBay, Etsy, et al.

J'Adore....

3:57 PM, July 06 2009 by Jennifer Romolini

Though I'm normally not much of a label person, I have a huge soft spot for vintage designer accessories. I love old, even slightly beat up pieces by Gucci, YSL, sometimes Chanel, and especially Dior. They just feel very glamorous to me in a way that's from-the-past chic, but not show-offy. Searching around eBay just today, I found these fantastic-weird sunglasses, a pretty and feminine makeup bag, this ultra-fashiony heavy-hardware necklace, a sleek black purse, and one fold-over clutch, which I'd pair with a silky, bright-red sundress and feel like the most sophisticated lady in all the land.

P.S. Serious question: If I bought and wore one of those J'Adore Dior t-shirts would it be cool and retro and like an early '90s supermodel or would I look like a jerk? I can't always tell if something is too soon...

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FROM: eBay, Etsy, et al.

Etsy: '90s grunge styles that actually fit

12:12 PM, June 30 2009 by Jennifer Romolini

Grunge was the look when I was in college and, while I clumsily rocked flannel and oversized blazers and Docs and men's undershirts and cutoffs (sometimes altogether), my biggest problem with the clothes was how they swallowed you whole and/or made you look bigger than you were. It's a little more than 15 years later, and grunge is totally back, but, this time, designers are smartly adding more femininity and refinement to the trend, especially when it comes to fit.

Take, for example, the custom-made, '90s-esque collection by Little Bird Designs, a California-based Etsy shop which sells floral, plaid, and chiffon items that retain the spirit of the era, but--since they're sewn to your exact measurements--are stylishly updated for 2009. I love its checked jumpsuit, ruffled floral dress, and you-choose-the-color high-waisted plaid skirt. Best of all are the time-warp prices: most of the pieces are less than 50 bucks.

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