The 90s style has returned with a big bang. Both the popularity of shows like the modern “Love Story” and streaming originals “Seinfeld” “Friends” and others, the 90s and 00s revival of fashion is apparent. Here’s where to find 90s style sewing patterns.
You can get great 90s style in sewing patterns by buying the actual 1990s pattern! Today across my feed came a pair of 90s style dresses – loose, oversized, long sleeveless dresses. This was a hallmark of the 1990s summer style.
If you don’t want to FIND a vintage pattern, here’s a great one that has the same vibe as these dresses but in a modern sewing pattern: I actually sewed this in the 1990s (I was in my 20s), twice, in a linen fabric. And I think I might just make another one now from something in stash.
The 1990s had a lot of oversized clothing, coming out of the big-shouldered 1980s with a lot of short/tight looks, the 90s was a more relaxed, heavy-on-the-neutrals decade of oversized, wider leg, looser fit clothing. Before we usher in the 2000s again (shorter, tighter, skinnier), we are going to love this time of wider/looser and more comfortable. If you can’t find vintage patterns locally (my LFS has a large vintage collection at their store you can pore through a few times a year for super cheap or even free), eBay and Etsy are good sources of “lots” – as are local rummage sales.
New patterns like the Ann Normandy Designs maxi dress shown here have that loose 90s vibe in a modern pattern. But even the vintage ones from the 90s are available online, if you search for them. I’ve even seen sewing patterns on Mercari and Poshmark, and of course, there is the venerable Candy Goeller Patterns: https://www.ebay.com/str/curvygreek
Here’s another great list of 1990s patterns (looks and patterns you can buy right now!)
The 1990s was a great decade – we did have the internet (1995 the first modern browsers, but before that AOL and CompuServe and MCI mail kept us together.) We did not have cell phones, as in the early 90s they were still the size of bricks. We did have some compact cameras though they were mostly film; it wasn’t til the late 1990s when digital cameras (DSLRs) first came on the scene. Pros shot with film for a long time after. Free time was spent doing stuff, listening to music, mostly on CDs at that point, being together with friends. No cell phones.
1990s looks are well within your reach with large stocks of vintage patterns out there to fit the bill. Most were reasonably size inclusive (remember a 1990s 12 in the store is closer to a size 8 or 10 now), but sewing patterns haven’t changed that much – so use your measured size on the envelope and consider the 90s ease in everything.