Why is 1990s the best decade

As a person who still occasionally gets carded — and who still gets fairly excited when that happens — I am loath to dissolve any age-related mystique I may have drummed up over the years as an opinion columnist. On the other hand, what the heck: Both my high-school years and my college years were firmly sandwiched within the s, so you can do the math. In fact, I could go ahead and have a rip-roaring midlife crisis right at this very moment, and it would actually count!

In short, with apologies to Hank Williams Jr. All my rowdy friends are getting Botox. Stop before you begin to resemble that infamous plastic-surgery-addicted New York rich lady who now looks almost exactly like a human cat! Sort of. Not really. Also, this is all rather beside the point, as you might have already guessed. I actually have an important argument to make, and it has nothing to do with wrinkle relaxers or cat ladies or the roller coaster in the Mall of America that I may or may not have ridden three times in a row in the not-so-distant past.

My point has to do with the single most important lesson of the s, one that often gets lost in the nostalgia for boy bands and the good, clean, family-friendly presidency of William Jefferson Clinton. It felt like nothing. It felt blank. In , Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history and everyone believed it. No matter what genre — rock, rap, pop, punk, country — the music was just incredible. The Fashion.

Plaid was everywhere; somehow the work clothes of outdoorsmen became a fashion staple for every Gen Xer. More than that, the 90s promoted function over fashion. High-waisted ripped jeans, bike shorts when walking, windbreakers, bandannas, and combat boots; 90s clothes were more than style statements, they were also really comfortable.

That might be why many believe it is the most unfashionable decade. However, I know I looked cute in my light-up sneakers, pink overalls with one hook down, of course and backwards Chicago Bulls cap. Thus, the 90s saw the rise of the most popular, longest running shows ever. If you think the romantic escapades of Kim Kardashian are a doozy, the 90s had its fair share of tabloid-worthy love affairs. Even though most of these pairings didn't survive, pictures last forever.

Remember slap bracelets? What about Lisa Frank and Trapper keepers? The abundance. The bottomless goodwill of everyone here. Writer Douglas Coupland as the 90s drew to a close. It felt like nothing. It felt blank. In , Francis Fukuyama declared the end of history and everyone believed it.

The 80s, whatever they were, were over and we were collectively entering what felt like a blank sheet of white paper. But when I moved there I was also the only human being under the age of 35 in the entire Coachella Valley — a region that spans from Palm Springs at the north, to Indio at the South. These days everyone knows the name Coachella — which is shocking to me, as I chose Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley to live in and write in specifically because it was the closest you could get to being in a non-place while still being on planet Earth.

It was pre-gay, it was pre-mid century modern. It was pre-hip. It was this weird Californian chunk of asteroid real estate under a bell jar, inhabited by eightysomething film industry people who purchased their last decorator throw-cushion the day Richard Nixon resigned. It was published in March And then suddenly there was a decade.