Aesthetics Alison, my grunge girl and my first faceup

Good luck!!! I’m really excited to see how she turns out!!

 

What a cool idea! I love the 90s style too and Garbage is one of my favorite bands! I can’t wait to see how this turns out

 

I was a male grunge teenager in the 90s in the UK. Everything was about second hand clothes that were worn out. When people go for grunge aesthetic with their dolls, it looks far too polished and neat, because doll clothes are custom made and new. Grunge was all about not giving a f about how you looked and was worn by teenagers who were mainly poor and bought second hand or had hand me down clothes.

Ripped jeans were basically worn out jeans and not made to look that way, so if you want rips in denim, then wear them down with sandpaper, bleach them a couple of shades lighter in places, and wear leggings/longjohns underneath, rather than slash the fabric. Layers for men were a big thing. Flannel was too: I wore my dad's old shirts that were brown/grey/blue. These days flannels are brighter, like red and black, which isn't very 90s to me. I once accidentally ripped the elbow off a shirt and I never stitched it up, I just left it like that. Again, we just didn't care if we looked a mess.

Everything was about knitted cardigans or sweaters (especially mohair and wool ones) that ran too big and were worn out. I had cardigans with thumb holes poked in, that were unwinding in the elbows and had busted pockets. Hand made band t-shirts were also a big thing, written on with Sharpie pens that would gradually fade in the wash. Converse trainers are a must, but yet again, these must be absolutely busted up. Flapping off soles, sharpie writing on the side, filthy laces etc.

More feminine: for dresses, check out baby doll listed ones, the ones with short skirts and lace collars. They basically either look like something your grandma would wear, or your 6 year old sister would. My friend worshipped Courtney Love and found a lot of similar dresses in second hand shops that always looked a little too baggy and had wear in them - the odd stitch unpicked here and there, frayed lace collars etc. Tights/stockings had runs in them, Mary Jane shoes were a big thing.

As for face ups, hand blushing and wigs: Chipped nail polish, smeared whorish red lipstick, badly painted on smokey eye makeup that had been rubbed around, with hairy eyebrows. Matted, badly bleached hair that looked like it hadn't been washed for a month no matter what gender. Sometimes bleached hair would be so overly bleached that it would go crispy, break off and frazzled. Sometimes hair would be dyed with food dye!

Basically, the clothes have to look like you have slept in them for a couple of weeks, so no ironing, wrinkle them up. Any teenager who claimed to be grunge and had brand new and neat clothing was labelled as a poser!

Basically, if you buy new, then you're going to have to be unafraid to F the clothes up!

Anything else I can help with let me know!

Signed, an early 90s grunge teenager who had a large circle of grunge friends. Great times!

(Also check out Babes In Toyland as you're a Hole fan, as they had a great 90s grunge/kinderwhore style. I prefer their music to Hole!)

 

Seconding Babes In Toyland!!!
I am also thinking of Kurt’s iconic MTV unplugged sweater :’)

 

The green felted cardigan? Honestly spent years trying to find one similar haha!

Also Garbage were a few years later from this time period for me. They were a little neater in look (thin eyebrows started to become the new thing!) but Shirley had the smeary black eyeshadow and red lipstick look. It was that period in the 90s where women wore short tops in garish materials with a simple graphic on. The skirts got tighter and shorter, and Doc Martins became a bigger thing. I feel like the Shirley Manson look is quite far away from the Courtney look. I'm not encouraging you, but it could be quite fun to have two dolls who do these two different parts of the 90s: one more scruffy grunge, one more neater and gothic.

 

Ha! My mom is in love with that cardigan... her goal is to try and recreate it!! She was going to make it for one of my dolls too at one point :’) fantastic look! Lets not forget Kurts kool aid dyed hair also :’)

And yes good point about Garbage! Also I feel like Kathleen Hanna sort of comes in between the two looks... ngl I kind of want a doll like that :’)

 

Also, flowey dresses with combat boots! I used to wear a lot of that in the 90s.
Wait, I still do.

 

Slip dresses too!!!

 

Slip dresses over t-shirts! Flowery dresses and combat boots - definitely a great 90s look.

 

Really look forward to seeing what you do, I love your ideas! Glad to be of help!

 

Ooh I was also thinking of Chloe Sevigny... I know she was a lil bit later on but she had a cool look. Maybe some of Larry Clark’s photos would be good inspiration also!!

I used to have a similar haircut to Imogen :’) Think it would look awesome on a doll!!

 

Also, Kim Gordon. Forever and ever.

Speaking of Kim & Chloe, here is an artsy fashiony rockstary 90's short:

 

Glad you had a listen to Babes In Toyland! I absolutely love Kat Bjelland's style. Two other bands to look up that bridge a great gap between grunge and goth are Jack Off Jill and Scarling, which are two bands that Jessicka Addams fronted. I think you'll love Jessicka's style, its like Shirley Manson and Courtney Love combined. Music is great too!

Some films I recommend to get style inspiration : The Year That Punk Rock Broke documentary which is set in the 90s and features Nirvana, Babes In Toyland, Sonic Youth etc. All Over Me which is set in the riot grrrl scene in the 90s with a lot of great female punk/grunge styles.

The riot grrrl movement in the 90s is an absolute must see when it comes to women's 90s punk/grunge style. You'll get down a rabbit hole of music videos full of some great grunge/punk aesthetics! If you want a more butch grunge style, look at L7; punk, go for Bikini Kill/Kathleen Hannah (she had a beef with Courtney back in the day); more feminine/cute, look up Helium/Mary Timony.

Man, I could go on and on. You're making me feel old haha but I love recommending and reminiscing. Feel free to DM me if you don't want this thread too derailed!

 

I am enjoying all of this so much, including any de-railing!