‘Cruel Summer’ rekindled those ’90s fashion trends – get the look!
free-form Cruel summer is currently one of the hottest summer TV shows for 2021. It’s a concept series that follows two teenage girls involved in a mystery for a series of days, but each episode skips through the years 1993, 1994 and 1995. love tune in every tuesday night to watch a new episode on the old ABC family or on demand on Hulu, we’re also completely obsessed with the old and new ’90s fashions featured on the show.
Cruel summer takes place in a small town in Texas, and costume designer Taneia Lednicky was responsible for creating the looks to bring us back to that precise place in time.
Kayla Cobb of Decider interviewed Lednicky about her period-specific choices and found that much of the inspiration came from the old JCPenney and Sears catalogs from 1993 to 1995. “I got some inspiration. luck with nice city directories around Dallas-Fort Worth because I want this time to be fair, but wanted to keep some flavor of Texas here. I feel like it’s something I do and that’s why people come to me sometimes because we want to taste but not too strong, ”explained Lednicky. “It was really important to go back and look at those catalogs. It sounds silly to us, but if you do enough, you create this world. We left out the ugliest things from that period, I have to say. So that’s what I needed and then to accentuate the differences between the years that were perhaps artificial. A little bit of color control, just to help us get our bearings real quick because color is something, without thinking about it you might recognize you’re in another year by the colors.
Lucky for us, this is really happening, and many of our favorite trends are back in fashion now. Here are our favorite 90s products from Cruel summer you can buy now.
1
These boyfriend jeans from the brand Good American by Khloe Kardashian go with all Cruel summer the style of the girl at one point in the show. Comfortable and loose, they offer a straight leg and a high waist, to better show off that ’90s-inspired crop top. The jeans come in five different shades of blue to help you find the perfect wash.
2
Jeanette (Chiara Aurelia) wears a choker that features in the original mystery in the early episodes of Cruel summer. But it was the tattoo choker that rocked the fashion world in the early to mid-90s. You can get this pack of five July 4th themed necklaces in time for the holidays from accessory giant Claire’s. or check out some of their other offerings, including a Set of two lace stars ($ 5) or this Ombre Mermaid Cowrie Shell choker ($ 5).
3
Okay, the Mallory we know and (maybe?) Love didn’t wear a ton of slip-on dresses, but before she was kidnapped, Kate spent a lot of time in those little numbers, usually on a fitted t-shirt. We love this cowl neck slip dress from Urban Outfitters because it comes in 10 different colors and patterns and has adjustable straps to help you create the perfect fit.
4
It might be a little grunge, a little rock n roll, but that ’90s style is still going strong. Slip this Asos Boyfriend shirt over jeans and a tank top or tie it around your waist. In any case, you will channel the whole Cruel summer crew.
