I recently found myself clicking around on Netflix and stumbled across the 90s movie section. I randomly decided on watching Hope Floats, a movie I remembered but hadn’t seen in 15 years. OK, it isn’t amazing, it has a 33% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes. But the fashion is amazing. It’s everything I love about 90s fashion.
As a fervent thrifter, I find myself drawn to all things 90s. The only type of style I don’t like is anything overly ironic. I appreciate the simplicity of the 90s, with its florals and pastels and high necklines along with knotted dress shirts. Hope Floats encapsulates a lot of things that I love about finding 90s clothes while thrifting. I definitely have nostalgia for that time, though I definitely came of age fashion-wise in the 2000’s.
For those who haven’t seen the movie, it’s about how Sandy Bullock got cheated on and moved back home to Texas with her kid. That’s pretty much all you need to know. I wanted to share some of my favorite style moments from Hope Floats. For this film, Anna Abbey was the Key Costumer. Released in 1998, this movie does a great job at encapsulating the late 90s style as we moved into the early 2000s.
Layered Necklaces and Southwestern Jewelry
Romona Culvert, played by Gena Rowlands, had a very distinct 90s style of wearing jewelry that has remained kind of timeless. Her character wore layered necklaces, at least five at a time with one cross. I liked the pairing of the layered necklaces with distinct turquoise and Southwestern jewelry, which remains classic. It’s also worth noting that Hope Floats played it right. The grandma was the only character who really wore a ton of jewelry. Most other characters kept it simple aside from a watch or basic necklace.
High Neck Sheath Dresses
Birdie Pruitt, played by Sandra Bullock, was outfitted in many quintessentially 90s dresses. In this scene, she wore a high necked floral sheath dress with pastel colors and a cardigan. Sometimes the matchy matchy-ness of the 90s irks me, but I still love this style. I like how this outfit is coupled with simplistic hair and minimal jewelry.
Clear Framed Glasses
I also appreciated the stylistic touch that Abbey put on Bernice Pruitt, played by Mae Whitman. In movies, kids can be easy to gloss over. One aspect that stood out to me about Bernice’s style was her clear framed sunglasses, which have been making a come back as of late, especially with adults who are perhaps feeling nostalgic for the eyeglasses of their childhood. Warby Parker is calling them “crystal” instead of clear, but you know, they’re clear.
Front Tied Men’s Shirts
A front tied men’s shirt on a woman is a style that’s both very 90s and 50s at the same time. So in other words, a throwback to a throwback. I really love this take on it. It looks like an oversized men’s shirt was cuffed at the sleeve about three times and tied in the front. The crisp whiteness of it makes it classic all around.
Classic Texas Menswear
Not to be overshadowed, the styling for Justin Mattisse, played by Harry Connick Jr., is so quintessentially Texas. Pictured hear in a graphic tee, loose Levi’s and a cowboy hat, I can guarantee you that I routinely see men in Texas dressed this same exact way today. There’s also some great scenes of him in denim-on-denim looks. The styling for Justin is both 90s and classic.
I hope you enjoyed this Hope Floats roundup! I think we can all agree that it’s not a great movie per se, but it is very 90s!
