Back from the 90s: Dresses over trousers are back and we’re not convinced

Anna Martin

We thought we had seen it all when low rise jeans began to creep back into the mainstream yet now people are bringing back another 90’s trend that we wish would stay in the past.

Dresses over jeans, jeans under dresses – whatever you want to call it – I think it’s a crime and should have been given life in fashion prison, but it seems that it was let out early.

Think those early episodes of Hannah Montana or even Gwen Stefani making a statement on the red carpet; boot cut denim grazing the ground and an asymmetrical hemline line on a tunic – it’s nightmare inducing.

Katie Holmes had us feeling nostalgic when she rocked up to the HeartRadio Jingle Ball in her bustier top, that graced way below her waistline over a pair of jeans and we hope – no we prayed – that would be the first and last of it.

But alas, we were wrong and here we are again post some of the major Autumn/Winter fashion shows and full to the neck of a ‘new’ take on the millennial trend.

Fendi even tried their hand at resurrecting the trend by pairing leather pleated skirts over trousers and to no one’s surprise it just didn’t work.

Then the high street gave it a shot with Urban Outfitters designing sheer dresses to go over jeans, because obviously it would be better if can see the denim underneath right? Wrong.

But for Gen Z’s on TikTok, who didn’t have to go through the trauma of putting their fit together for a school disco only to be asked to shift someone’s friend, it’s become a new obsession.

Just one example of this came from @lyyph who opted to wear wide legged jeans, a white t-shirt and you guessed it a red sundress over the top to complete the look.

@lyyph Dress over jeans >>> ?? – top & dress @kikicoler – jeans @uniqlo #dressoverjeans #grwm #fyp ♬ nhạc nền – lyyph

Now, in all fairness, she did make it work and it was quite cute to be honest but for people who were just living life in the 90s it seemed to bring up a lot of repressed thoughts and feelings.

‘Dresses over jeans is the one thing that no one can convince me looks good,’ commented one viewer as another seemed to agree adding, ‘I’m sorry this is the third time I’m seeing this and no one can convince me it slays.’

Slaying or not, Gen Z’s are looking back to the previous decades for inspiration and with coin belts and ballet flats starting to rear their heads, we are just going to have to start getting used to it.