Style guide
90s minimalist fashion: the outfits and the rules
Straight jeans, a white shirt, a long black coat, a slip dress. 1990s minimalism is the most copied look of the last decade, and it runs on three or four colors and good proportion.
In the 1990s, designers such as Calvin Klein, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Miuccia Prada stripped clothes back to clean lines, plain fabrics and a short list of colors, in reaction to the loud logos and big shoulders of the 1980s. The style is still everywhere, usually under the names “quiet luxury” or “clean girl”.
The pieces
- Straight or slightly loose jeans in mid-blue
- A crisp white or beige shirt
- A fine black knit, often V-neck
- A slip dress or a black column dress
- A long, unbelted black or charcoal coat
- A pencil or A-line skirt below the knee
- Loafers, simple pumps, knee boots
- One structured bag, no logo
Nine outfits
The colors
Black, white, one warm neutral (camel, tobacco, chocolate or beige), and denim. That is the whole palette. If you add anything, add one print — leopard is the classic — and keep the rest of the outfit plain.
Camel column
- Ink
- Coffee
- Espresso
- Cream
Black knit, camel skirt, brown boots.
SoHo staples
- Cream
- Denim
- Ink
- Taupe
Beige shirting, blue denim, black leather.
Leather and tobacco
- Ink
- Charcoal
- Coffee
- White
Black on black with one warm brown.
Why it is hard to get right
Minimal outfits have nowhere to hide, so small decisions matter: the exact shade of camel, whether the coat is black or charcoal, how much white shows at the collar. A coloring page is a good place to practise those decisions. Color the Look is a fashion coloring app for iPhone and iPad with 250+ outfit pages in 29 collections. The ’90s Minimalist Edit has nine looks, and The City Edit adds twelve more city wardrobes.
Free printable
Prefer paper? Download this page as a free PDF and color it with pencils or markers. All free printables →
Frequently asked
What is 90s minimalist fashion?
A style from the 1990s, associated with designers such as Calvin Klein, Jil Sander and Helmut Lang, built on clean lines, plain fabrics and a few colors: black, white, camel and denim, in pieces like slip dresses, straight jeans, white shirts and long coats.
What colors are used in 90s minimalism?
Black, white, grey, one warm neutral such as camel, tobacco or chocolate, and mid-blue denim. Prints are rare; leopard is the usual exception.
How do I dress 90s minimalist today?
Start with straight jeans, a white or beige shirt, a black knit, a long dark coat and loafers. Limit each outfit to three colors and choose fit over decoration.
