SWV and XSCAPE Reveal The Classic '90s Fashion Trends They Still Wear
From chokers to fanny packs, find out which of these memorable trends the legendary R&B singers would revisit.
SWV and XSCAPE were mainstays in the ‘90s R&B music scene, and while some trends came and went, both R&B groups are here to stay, as featured in SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B.
Let’s be honest, we saw some things in the ‘90s that we can’t unsee (remember wearing jeans under your short dresses?). But with ‘90s fashion making a comeback, we wanted to hear from the iconic songstresses about which ‘90s fashion trends they wouldn’t mind revisiting today.
Though XSCAPE’s Tameka “Tiny” Harris copped to owning a cardigan back in the day, for most of the other ladies — including SWV’s Tamara “Taj” Johnson, Leanne “Lelee” Lyons, and XSCAPE’s Kandi Burruss and sisters LaTocha "Tocha" Scott-Bivens and Tamika Scott — cardigans were a hard pass.
SWV’s Cheryl “Coko” Gamble, however, seemed to like them now more than ever.
“I didn’t wear them in the ‘90s, but I definitely wear cardigans now,” she told The Daily Dish.
Though the ladies weren’t all fans of cardigans, most didn’t mind neck chokers and even continued wearing them today.
“I like chokers because I like to be choked,” Tamika joked. Tiny added that the right choker could be “cute and dainty.”
“There’s nothing like having a fresh bob cut and then having a little choker on, thinking I was doing something,” Kandi recalled.
Lelee confessed to wearing one in recent days, with Tocha contending, “We need to bring that back.”
Taj specifically remembered feeling like Ivana Trump when wearing a diamond-encrusted choker but said she’d be less inclined to wear one today.
“I would wear a choker now, but my neck is bigger,” said Taj. “So now it would look like a straight rope, so uh-uh.”
Regarding headbands, the ladies were more in favor of bandanas, part of their ‘90s R&B signature.
“Tiny would wear hers to the back because she loved Tupac,” recalled Tocha.
Others weren’t as fond of the headgear, including Taj, claiming to have “a big head,” and Coko, who said they could trigger her migraines. But what about cat eye sunglasses? That seemed to be a popular accessory for most of the ladies — all but Kandi and Taj, that is.
“I always wore the cat eye sunglasses,” Coko told The Daily Dish.
Tocha said she would “rock that all day, even now, boo boo.”
And let’s not forget about biker shorts. Do you remember those Spandex-type and often colorful tight shorts that were as popular back then as today’s leggings? They weren’t for the ladies of SWV who said they didn’t wear them back in the ‘90s.
“Let me tell you, we didn’t wear that,” said Coko. “Because if you wore that in our day, you didn’t have no money.”
Kandi, however, questioned whether they ever went out of style.
“Biker shorts are coming back, baby,” said Tamika. “Because I got me a pair. I ain’t riding no bike, either.”
“They just call them Spandex now,” said Lelee.
And who could forget bucket hats? Made famous in the ‘90s by the likes of LL Cool J (though they’d trended in and out of decades previous), Kandi said the accessory is “a must, still.”
“I have a slew of them at my house,” said Taj.
Tamika said her daughter still wears a “blinged-out” version of the hat today.
As far as pants, it was a toss-up between wide-leg pants, mom jeans, and cargo pants.
“I don’t really like the wide-legged pant,” said Tiny. Taj added she was a “straight-leg kind of girl.”
“Because they never make [wide-leg pants] for a woman who has, like, butt and hips,” said Kandi. “That’s kind of for the woman who has no butt.”
Mom jeans may be a thing of today, but back in the ‘90s, they were synonymous with Steve Urkel, the lovable character from the hit sitcom “Family Matters,” as pointed out by Tamika. (Did I do that?)
It seemed the women of SWV and XSCAPE wanted nothing to do with the trend, though Taj admitted they could be flattering on a woman’s figure.
“I have some mom jeans now, only because I like the way they fit,” Taj told The Daily Dish. “They’re loose, and they hang, and I ain’t gotta worry about my stomach.”
They also weren’t fans of cargo pants.
“Didn’t rock them then, wouldn’t rock them now,” said Tocha. “Next!”
Coko, however, said, “the more pockets, the better.”
Taj admitted she didn’t rock the fanny pack decades ago, but copped to owning a ton of them since the accessory’s recent comeback.
“Oh, baby, I have my fanny pack blinged out,” said Tamika.
Tiny also admitted to owning a few designer fanny packs, as did Tocha, who said she had one by Christian Dior.
“I don’t think fanny packs will ever go out of style because they’re so convenient,” said Taj.
We’re as excited by ‘90s fashion making a comeback as these two girl groups making their epic return in SWV & XSCAPE: The Queens of R&B, where fans get an inside look into the two groups ahead of a one-night-only performance. To see more, tune in on Sundays at 9:30/8:30c on Bravo and stream the next day on Peacock.
