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ratchets-old-hands · 1 year ago

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TF Rise of the Beasts: A Basic Guide to Writing/Drawing for Fashion in 1994

Someone sent me a message that has now disappeared (!!) which was asking for some tips on what was stylish in 1994, for the purposes of writing a time period accurate ROTB fic.

I'm sorry I don't remember their username otherwise I'd tag them, but I figured I'd provide some notes here just in case anyone else might find it helpful for ROTB fic writing or fanart! :)

1994 Style: The Coolest Magazines

So as far as I remember, there were three big fashion/culture magazines at the time:

Sassy Magazine - This one was aimed mostly at women, but was hugely popular and would be a good place to look for styles for Elena!

i-D Magazine - This is a British publication but had international distribution by the 90s. Most of their early 90s issues featured fashion shoots from both large brands and indie fashion houses, with an emphasis on styling outfits. The articles were pretty good, and covered pop culture, music, and other similar topics. This one includes styles for both men and women, and was one of the only mainstream magazines to include what would now be recognised as queer fashion (they featured Boy George etc. as cover models, too).

The Face - This one is also British but had international distribution, mostly in large cities like LA and New York (which means it's fine to reference for ROTB's setting). Similar to i-D, it featured articles on fashion, music, culture, and highlighted some subculture styles which were harder to find in other more popular magazines like Vogue at the time. This included more "casual" outfits being featured, typically as part of style guides. This one had men and women's fashion, and also featured queer celebrities or genderbending style!

And of course, any magazines from 1994 would be good to look through-- Just keep in mind that magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, etc. were primarily aimed at women only (most of the menswear mags for fashion were still finding their audience at this time), and typically only featured higher end fashion, so not a lot of it was actually reflective of what people were wearing on the street.

Look at Sewing Patterns!

For the best idea of fashion and style in terms of what the average person was wearing in 1994, look up sewing patterns!

Simplicity and McCall's brand sewing patterns provide the best idea of what most people were wearing on a day to day basis.

General Style Notes

Patterned vests were in style for all genders. Typically this was layered over a long sleeved shirt or turtleneck. Some guys would just wear a vest over a tank top or even just by itself, but that was more rare. The backs of the vests were typically left plain, so the pattern was often only on the front of the vest. Some vests were made of velvet, or thickly embroidered fabric.

Denim!!! Oh my god, people loved denim. Denim everything. Double denim (jeans and a jean jacket or a denim shirt) was a popular look, although this started to taper off gradually. Usually this was styled with a patterned vest, scarf, or accessorised with a felt or denim hat.

In terms of fit, everything was slightly long, or slightly baggy. Sometimes both. Coats were baggy in the arm and shoulder, which was a carry over from the 80s trend of shoulder pads. Shoulder pads persisted into 1995-1998, mostly in women's wear, although men's jackets and suits often had high or wide shoulders too.

1994 is where fuzzy fabrics and nylon/synthetic fabrics started getting popular; This is most noticeable in the windbreaker trend, in which a lot of windbreakers were nylon/polyester or made of textured cotton/poly blends.

Quick note on early 90s synthetic fabrics: They hadn't gotten the textures quite right yet, so even though there were some minor improvements on the late 80s synth textiles, most of these fabrics were still terribly scratchy and somewhat uncomfortable to wear, unless you had a long sleeved garment underneath. This is why you might see a lot of people wearing multiple layers of long sleeved shirts or jackets, even though it might seem excessive!

90s synthetic fabrics tended to be scratchy and crinkly, and could actually cause skin irritation in some people if you were sweating a lot--Which is why you mostly see winter clothing made out of this stuff, they were intended to only be worn in layers. Most 90s jackets that used synthetic fabrics were shell jackets, meaning only the outer layer was synthetic and the lining was either polyester or cotton in most cases.

Popular department store brands were Tommy Hilfiger, United Colours of Benetton, Moschino, and Burberry.

Popular department stores were Dillards, Burdines, JC Penny, Macy's, and Bloomingdales.

Popular runways in 1994 were Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood, which were partially influenced by 80s punk and the new Grunge trend.

Bucket hats for adults were starting to become more popular, but they were already popular in children's wear, so Kris could have a bucket hat!

Facial piercings were not common, although they were starting to get a little more popular around this time. Typically this was only a nose piercing-- Anything other than that would get you stared at and judged pretty harshly. Only subcultures like goths or punks had multiple facial piercings, or lip rings/eyebrow piercings, for the most part.

Tattoos were also less common, unless you were in a particular style subculture.

Belts were a very popular accessory, with large belts and belted coats being super popular. Thinner belts were often worn two at a time, or a thin belt with an extra long end left hanging down out of a beltloop. Most jeans were worn belted, with the shirt tucked in.

There was a fine line between fitted and baggy and just looking messy-- This is why belts were so popular, as it helped create more shaping to big coats and shirts. This became less of a thing as the bagginess went out of style, but for a while a lot of people wore belts out of habit, even after clothing trends switched over to being more fitted.

Flannel shirts became huge amongst all genders, and were typically tied at the waist and not buttoned or left fully open. Men would wear flannel shirts tied at the waist, with a solid block colour t-shirt underneath.

Graphic tees existed, but were not actually as popular as they are today; They were considered more of a kid/teenager thing. Band shirts were ever-popular, though! The print technology/quality at the time was a little rough, so expect any graphic tees to deteriorate quickly after a couple washes-- It was normal to see most letters/designs very patchy or flaking apart on graphic tees, which is part of why so few of them survive in vintage stores today unless they were printed in a more high end way.

Patterned fabrics were big as a statement piece, and not just for vests. A patterned shirt or jacket would be paired with block colours, and typically any accessories would be made out of the same patterned fabric so they'd match. For women's wear, headbands and scrunchies would be made to match a shirt or jacket. For men's wear, a belt would sometimes be made out of the same fabric as a patterned shirt.

Converse shoes remained ever-classic, and were one of the most popular sneaker/trainer brands. Nike was also super popular. Kris might have had some light-up Nikes, as they were a top item for kid's clothing. "Street shoes" in general were pretty popular as part of an athletic and every day look. High tops were the most popular, but platform sneakers started to get pretty popular, too.

Short shorts and baggy shorts!!! For all genders! This was the summer look of 1994, tank top and patterned shorts with a long sleeve t-shirt tied at the waist over top. Knee length baggy shorts in patterned fabrics were super popular. Short shorts were typically for the workout/jogging crowd, but were fairly popular outside of that during summers.

Knits were pretty popular, especially with synthetic wool and acrylic textiles becoming more common. Patterned sweaters/jumpers and chunky knits were among the top sellers, but this started to taper off a bit towards the mid-90s as it was a hold over trend from the late 80s. They still remained a commonly worn item, though.

In terms of sunglasses, funky tint lenses were starting to get popular, with blue, yellow, pink, and green tint lenses in bottlecap sunglasses or round lenses being a significant trend for a while. Round lenses for sunglasses were fashionable, but people also wore Ray Ban Aviators as a style classic. Smaller lenses were getting more and more popular in general, leading to oval glasses with wire frames becoming a common glasses frame style for both sunglasses and regular prescription wear. This was in contrast to the 80s, were large plastic chunky frames were popular.

The trend of making everything a little longer and baggier than it needed to be applied to most clothing items, including pants/trousers-- Jeans were often cut a little long, so rolling up the cuffs made a come back for a while, and yes, patterned baggy puffy trousers were popular for a couple seasons (although 1994 would have been near the end of that trend).

In terms of fine textured hair, feathered and fluffy hair was the goal, with volume being the biggest consideration for all genders. For black hair, Bantu knots got pretty popular for a while (you can see this reflected in some film/media well into the late 90s/early 2000s), and natural hairstyles were starting to make a big come back in contrast to the highly permed 80s.

For accessories, headbands, hats, and necklaces/bracelets were the big ones (as belts became less popular over time). Earrings tended to be plain hoops/studs or big chunky statement earrings, with very few options in between. Clip-on earrings were still really popular at this time. Fake small hoop earrings were also worn, instead of getting multiple ear piercings. For men, ties and scarves were the key accessories. Digital watches became popular accessories for all genders, and were part of both casual and professional wear.

Socks! White or black, almost always cotton. Sometimes white with a couple stripes at the top. Leg warmers were more of an 80s thing, although in some areas they were still worn in 1994, typically only as part of gym gear by this time but sometimes outside of that. Knee high socks started getting popular (especially paired with shorts or skirts), and socks in weird colours or patterns also started getting more popular, but they weren't super common and tended to be hard to find or more expensive. White socks with lace tops were popular among little girls and teens, whereas the sporty striped socks were more often found in men's departments.

Leggings as they exist today were not a thing outside of the gym, same with yoga pants-- Instead, it was just tights. Thick, relatively uncomfortable tights. These were usually office wear or for special occasions, or when someone felt like dressing nicely. The skin colour ones mostly went out of fashion for casual wear and were mostly for office attire; Thick black tights that you couldn't see through were the default for most casual outfits around this time. Some people still wore the skin colour ones for casual outfits, but the black ones were seen as more stylish for most of what was in style.

Colour palette: You had three main options -- Denim, Block Brights, and Earth Tones. There were of course other options, but these three are probably the most common. Pastels and block brights were especially popular for kids.

Makeup trended towards natural looks or Earth tones. Burgundy shades were popular lip colours, and browns were popular eyeshadows. If you wanted to look cutting edge, you went for metallic eyeshadows in blues, with a sharp orange-red lip colour-- But this was not an every day look! Blush was used, but sparingly, unless you were going out for an event. Subcultures had their own distinct makeup preferences, which did not generally permeate popular style guides. The modern internet makeup guru culture did not exist, and most people got their makeup advice from magazines, close friends, or TV shows. Avon makeup was popular, as was Clinique. Drug store brands included Eckerds, which was an affordable option if you couldn't go to a department store.

For perfumes, CK One and Tommy were among the most popular. Calvin Klein was a mainstay in perfumes, following the success of their perfume Obsession in 1985, which is a scent that most people will associate with that decade! A lot of people continued to use it well into the 90s.

This is all I can think of at the moment, but I wouldn't mind adding more if this was helpful or interesting for anyone! :)

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ratchets-old-hands · 1 year ago

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because it's cold and my circulation is shitty because I am old and disabled lmao, I've been thinking...

Concept: Old Bots in Cold Earth Weather

there are different kinds and degrees of cold, of course

but surely, snow/ice/damp winter weather would be not great for mechanical lifeforms

sure, we know rust is a perpetual concern to begin with

and in TFP, we know there is a hard limit to maximum safe cold exposure for bots in general

but what about old bots with more sensitive joints and cabling?

maybe their minor fuel lines suffer stiffness during cold weather similar to how vascular construction from cold can cause circulation problems in human beings (Reynauds Syndrome, anyone?)

it would also be comparable to winter damage to rubber lines and materials in cars, where the cold causes the rubber components to become more brittle and less flexible over time -- might also affect tires

in TFA, they're all by Lake Erie/Detroit. cold as hell in winter. there's no way Ratchet is having a good time. his ass is out there unable to feel his servos for a good five months out of the year.

I know this, because I used to live just outside of Erie, in Allegheny. And holy fuck, my joints hurt just thinking about it. Now I live in England, where it's a different type of cold, but it fucks up my circulation and my lungs. lol

maybe it's not just damp cold weather that can impact older bots more severely, but dry cold weather.

perhaps "breathing in" cold air through their cooling systems and fans might cause difficulty with internal temperature regulation, possibly even causing spark dysregulation in the way humans can suffer tachycardia/arrhythmia from extreme cold exposure.

TFA Ratchet is having a rough time, I'm telling you. He's a medic, he's watching his own systems carefully, but he's not having a good time. lmao

But even TFP Ratchet, who has been acclimated mostly to the desert climate of Nevada, surely would not have an easy time trying to bridge himself over to a colder climate in order to pull an injured bot out of the field or try to carry out field repairs in a blizzard etc.

Or G1 Kup, who would absolutely be feeling the cold in miserable ways what with being in charge of field drills for the younger recruits (and therefore having to be outside all day), but he would absolutely strategically call Hot Rod over so that he could warm himself up with the excess heat rolling off of the exceptionally hot-running speedster.

The longer his stories are, the longer Hot Rod has to stand there next to him. LOL

all of the old bots would refuse to acknowledge their own difficulty in cold weather, lmao -- If Ratchet drops a tool because he can't feel his digits at all, you did not see it, it is fine, yes Bumblebee does pick it up and it's totally not embarrassing to be taken out by EARTH WEATHER of all things

if he trips because his pedes have started to ice over and his fuel circulation is going to hell, you did not see it. (Everyone sees it. Bumblebee and Optimus are first to offer help, and if the snow piles up too high, Bulkhead might even jokingly offer to carry Ratchet back... Ratchet starts yelling back, which gives Optimus the opportunity to sweep in and pick him up instead. "It's not a problem, old friend. We all stumble at times.")

lots of grumbling about how the vacuum of space is far colder and they've handled that before etc. (until someone points out that space doesn't have snowfall etc.)

anyway my break's over so I gotta get back to work, apologies for any typos, I'm writing this on my phone lol :')

#reynaud’s syndrome is so wild to experience #people ask me what’s wrong with my skin a lot #very cool idea to apply it to transformers

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