Mariah Carey’s 1990s Outfits Are Actually A Brilliant Source Of Style Inspiration

The ’90s were the era of sloppy, grungy threads and sleek, understated minimalism. It was slip dresses, shirts and barely-there sandals. It was Jennifer Aniston in a tank top, combat pants and flip flops and Sarah Jessica Parker in a simple black dress and biker boots. It was the decade of low-maintenance style.

Except it wasn’t that for Mariah Carey. But she never claimed to be low-maintenance did she? (A telling indicator of society’s double gender standards, this means she has been repeatedly cast as an, ahem,difficultdiva whereas men? Well, they can be as tricky and demanding as they want with little to no clapback). But Mimi doesn’t likely give a falsetto hoot about what anyone thinks, and in fact leans into her unabashedly high-maintenance life and style. In her new memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey she even acknowledges her ‘propensity for extraness’. Having experienced a grim childhood, who could really blame her for revelling in the lavish spoils of her success?

And so, Carey’s 1990s style was anything is, indeed, extra in the best possible way. Her go tos? Super-tight silhouettes, cropped tops, thigh-grazing hemlines and dangerously high slits (worn with opaque tights, curiously, at the 1996 Billboard Awards - she is only human). It was a look that didn’t so much belong in the spotlight as outright own it. Gold and opulent embellishment are also recurring themes in her fashion arsenal because, well, go figure – she is royalty.

That’s not to say Carey didn’t know how to do dressed down as well, albeit in a private-jet and limo kind of way. Admittedly there are concessions to the decade’s more relaxed favourites – hello jeans with cut off waistbands and bomber jackets worn shrugged off the shoulders. Even the humble cardigan got the haute treatment in Mimi’s hands – she wore them with everything from Clueless-style plaid skirts to jeans and vest top. Whether on or off duty, however, she was and is always impeccably coiffed.

There are many things that no doubt spring to mind when you think of Mariah Carey: the voice, the riders, Christmas, Glitter (it would probably be best for all of us if that was forgotten) but her style isn’t usually one of them. The thing is, however, whether you love it or loathe it, you have to admire her for owning it. She doesn't make an empty show of being ‘just like us’. And good for her, because she is not just like us – she is Mariah Carey for goodness sake.

You have to admire the unflinching confidence and vision of a woman who wears what the hell she wants, simply because she feels good and looks unapologetically hot in it. Carey gets dressed on her own terms. Why blend in when you can stand out? Her approach to clothes is rather like her approach to interior design, it’s about locating her own comfort zone, whatever that looks like: ‘I chose to do the colours neutral so they’re not jarring,’ she explained in her seminal appearance on MTV's Cribs in 2002. ‘Because I have enough jarring things that happen to me on a daily basis’. Amen to that.