"What's the Frequency Kenneth?"

   Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the 1990's.  Actually, scratch that.  In truth, I'm always thinking about the 1990's.  I'll even state I've never really left this decade.  That's one of the reasons why I'm so thankful that pop culture seems to always come full circle.  Now that the '90's is old enough to be considered semi retro and trendy, I can finally admit publicly that I never stopped wearing flannel shirts, grandpa sweaters, and most importantly my Screaming Trees T-Shirt.  I mean, what else does a '90's girl wear to the coffee shop?

   A few days before I photographed the pictures above, I was trolling St. Vinny's Thrift Store and stumbled across the most magnificent specimen of crochet work I've seen in a long time.  There it was hanging on the end of the rack like it had been waiting for me since about 1993.  I caught my breath and admired my soon to be newest sweater.  It was one of a kind handmade, a titch over-sized, and begging to be styled with every graphic t-shirt in my closet.  In other words, it was perfect!

   That night I sat in front of the TV watching old episodes of, "Northern Exposure," on DVD and thought, "I could see any one of these characters wearing that sweater I snagged today."  Furthermore, I could imagine the quirky individuals featured in this '90's classic wearing my sweater with just about any other article of clothing.  I say this because that's how the '90's were.  "Matchy-Matchy," was out and dumpster diving bum was in.  Yes, the reason I've never left the 1990's can be summed up in one word.  Grunge.

   In my opinion, grunge fashion was wonderful.  It helped control upper class elitism and allowed the everyday individual to partake in cutting edge style.  Grunge also helped promote thrifting, which in turn, helped get people into recycling without them having make the conscious decision to do so.  I guess, one could make the argument that Grunge had the capability to SAVE THE WORLD!  Not to mention, save my checkbook from designer brand temptations.  

   The best thing about the Grunge craze was duh...the music.  However, the second best thing was the clothing.  I adore this style that revolves around sloppy, often mismatched secondhand finds.  As a person who finds herself to be extremely controlled in her actions, I welcome the lack of control offered by the fashion of the 1990's .  To put it simply Grunge fashion made no sense.  A floral print may have been mixed with a plaid shirt.  Likewise, Grunge music made no sense.  For all the public knew, bands like Nirvana may have been singing about these same floral prints and plaid shirts.  Lastly, TV shows like, "Northern Exposure," often made little sense.  Plot lines revolved around abstract and philosophical ideas that in today's world may be considered bizarre and silly.  

   I guess what I'm getting at here is the pop culture of the 1990's was often nonsensical. Kinda like me being more proud of my $3.00 thrifted sweater than the expensive pair of boots I'm wearing. Yep, the 1990's gave us the delightful nonsense of shows like, "Twin Peaks," songs like, "What's the Frequency Kenneth?", and sweaters with crocheted pom poms that are worthy of the likes of Kurt Cobain.  Life doesn't get any better than that.

-r.

Sweater:  Thrifted (Handmade)

T-Shirt:  Purchased at Target

Jeans:  Miss Me

Boots:  Sorel

Purse:  Coach

Ring:  Purchased at a craft fair

Sunglasses:  Vintage  https://www.etsy.com/shop/ELOFSON