Before social media turned everyone into a fashion influencer, we had TV characters to tell us what was cool. The ’90s gave us oversized sweaters, tiny tops, plaid, slip dresses, chunky shoes and enough questionable layering to last a lifetime. But plenty of those iconic looks still hold up. These are the TV characters whose wardrobes we’d happily steal today.
Rachel Green — Friends
Rachel could walk into Central Perk in jeans and a baby tee and somehow make everyone else look underdressed. She may not have known what she was doing with her career, but the girl knew what she was doing with a wardrobe.
Fran Fine — The Nanny
Fran would enter the Sheffield mansion wearing leopard print and somehow make Maxwell look underdressed. The children had a nanny. Maxwell had a secretary. We had a full time fashion icon.
Kelly Kapowski — Saved by the Bell
Kelly had Zack Morris, the cheerleading squad and enough ’90s outfits to make the entire school jealous. Somehow, even a trip to The Max looked like a fashion event.
Jessie Spano — Saved by the Bell
Kelly somehow survived breakups, friendship drama and approximately 900 crises while looking this good. Honestly, the real mystery of 90210 is how anyone was supposed to concentrate in class.
Hilary Banks — The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Will was busy being Fresh, Carlton was busy dancing and Ashley was growing up. Hilary? Hilary was busy making sure the Banks family had at least one person dressed for the occasion.
Topanga Lawrence — Boy Meets World
Topanga was busy teaching Cory about life, love and occasionally common sense. Her wardrobe was just as confident as she was, with enough boho energy to make everyone else look like they were trying too hard.
Angela Chase — My So-Called Life
Angela was questioning everything: her friends, her family, Jordan Catalano and probably the meaning of existence itself. At least she had the perfect flannel and Doc Martens to get through it.
Buffy Summers — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Buffy had school in the morning, vampires at night and apparently enough time in between to put together a great outfit. Saving Sunnydale is hard work, but somebody has to look good doing it.
Willow Rosenberg — Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Willow went from shy computer girl to powerful witch without losing her wonderfully quirky sense of style. Meanwhile, the rest of Sunnydale was just trying not to get eaten.
Sabrina Spellman — Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Sabrina had teenage problems, magical disasters and a sarcastic talking cat to deal with. Somehow, she still managed to make schoolgirl ’90s fashion look this cute.
Moesha Mitchell — Moesha
Moesha was juggling school, family, friends and enough relationship drama to fill several seasons. At least she always had a good outfit to wear while figuring it all out.
Khadijah James — Living Single
Khadijah was running Flavor magazine while her friends kept life interesting at the brownstone. She somehow managed to be the boss and have the wardrobe to prove it.
Elaine Benes — Seinfeld
Elaine had a career, a complicated dating life and one of television’s most unforgettable dances. Her wardrobe was significantly less controversial than the dancing.
Jackie Burkhart — That ’70s Show
While everyone else was hanging around the Forman basement, Jackie was dressing like she had somewhere much more glamorous to be. The boys had snacks. Jackie had standards.
Samantha Jones — SATC
Samantha approached clothes the same way she approached life: confidently and with absolutely no interest in other people’s opinions. Carrie may have had the famous shoes, but Samantha had the attitude.
Blair Warner — The Facts of Life
Blair arrived at Eastland with confidence, perfect hair and enough outfits to make the rest of the girls jealous. She was basically a walking reminder that subtlety was never really her thing.
Felicity Porter — Felicity
Felicity arrived at college with a suitcase, a crush and absolutely no idea what she was doing with her life. At least her oversized sweaters, simple dresses and bohemian layers knew exactly what they were doing.
Joey Potter — Dawson’s Creek
Joey spent a lot of time dealing with Dawson, Pacey and the general emotional chaos of Capeside. Her wardrobe, thankfully, was considerably less complicated than her love life.
Prue Halliwell — Charmed
Prue had a demanding job, two sisters and an endless parade of demons to deal with. Somehow, none of that stopped her from looking completely put together while vanquishing evil.
Carrie Heffernan — The King of Queens
Carrie had to deal with Doug, Arthur and the general chaos of the Heffernan household. Her wardrobe was one thing she could actually keep under control.
Lindsay Weir — Freaks and Geeks
Lindsay was busy questioning her friends, her future and whether she even wanted to be a mathlete anymore. Naturally, the flannel and oversized layers were there for emotional support.
Olivia Benson — Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Olivia spent her days solving cases and dealing with Manhattan chaos, but somehow always looked perfectly put together. The tailored jackets, practical coats and very ’90s workwear became part of her signature look.
Brooke McQueen — Popular
Brooke had popularity, cheerleading and a wardrobe that practically screamed high school royalty. She may have had enemies at Kennedy High, but her outfits were definitely winning.
Serena van der Woodsen — Gossip Girl
Serena could roll out of bed, throw on a dress and somehow look like she had just left a fashion shoot. Blair had the headbands and the perfectly coordinated outfits. Serena preferred to look like she simply woke up fabulous.
Lorelai Gilmore — Gilmore Girls
Lorelai had coffee in one hand, a sarcastic comment ready in the other and somehow always looked effortlessly put together. Between raising Rory and keeping up with Stars Hollow chaos, she still had time for a seriously good wardrobe.
