So, I found myself going down a bit of a rabbit hole the other day, thinking about Mariah Carey’s fashion style. It wasn’t something I set out to do, really. I think I was just channel-surfing and an old music video of hers popped up, and it just sort of… started from there. You know how these things happen.
Anyway, I started actively looking up photos and clips. I pulled up a bunch of her looks from the 90s and early 2000s, because that’s when her style really seemed to cement itself in my mind. I spent a good hour or two just scrolling, remembering some of those outfits. It was quite the trip down memory lane, actually. I wasn’t trying to replicate anything, mind you, more just observing and trying to get a feel for what it was all about.
What I Noticed About Her Vibe
And looking back, her style was, and still is, pretty distinct. Here’s what I kind of pieced together from my little dive:
- Sparkle, and lots of it. Sequins, glitter, anything that caught the light. It was a signature.
- Body-conscious stuff. She definitely knew how to pick outfits that showed off her figure.
- Glamour, even in casual settings. Like, even her “dressed down” looked more put-together than my Sunday best.
- A touch of diva, always. Even in simpler outfits, there was an attitude that came with it.
It was interesting to see the evolution, but also how some core elements just stayed consistent. That’s real personal style, I guess.
Now, this whole Mariah fashion exploration got me thinking about something else entirely. It’s funny how one thing leads to another. Looking at all those 90s styles – the tiny tops, the low-rise jeans she sometimes rocked, the big hair – it really transported me back. And I remembered this one specific incident from my own life, probably around ‘97 or ‘98.
There was this party, a friend’s birthday, and I’d seen some celebrity – probably not Mariah, but someone with that kind of vibe – wearing this slinky, sort of shimmery dress. And I thought, “I can do that!” Oh, the confidence of youth. So, I went out and bought this cheap, knock-off version. It was probably polyester, a terrible color that looked okay in the store lighting but ghastly in daylight, and it clung in all the wrong places. I vividly remember trying it on at home before the party, thinking I looked so sophisticated.
Well, I got to the party, and let me tell you, it was a disaster. I was so uncomfortable. The dress kept riding up, I was constantly tugging at it, and I felt like everyone was staring – and not in a good way. I probably spent most of the night hiding in a corner, nursing a drink and wishing I’d just worn my usual jeans and t-shirt. My friend, Sarah, bless her heart, eventually came over and whispered, “You okay? You look a bit… constricted.” That was her kind way of saying I looked ridiculous. I ended up borrowing a baggy sweater from her for the rest of the evening. Mortifying, absolutely mortifying at the time.
It’s funny now, of course. But looking at Mariah’s confident style, how she owned every single outfit, it just reminded me of how much of fashion is about confidence and really knowing what works for you, not just what’s trendy or what you see someone else wearing. I definitely didn’t have that understanding back then. I was just trying to copy something without any thought to whether it suited me, my body, or even my personality.
So yeah, my little dive into Mariah Carey’s fashion ended up being a weirdly personal reflection on my own past fashion faux pas. It’s fascinating how style can do that, how it can unlock memories and make you think about different times in your life. Her style is undeniably iconic, very her. And I guess my little experiment back in the 90s taught me that it’s better to be comfortably me than uncomfortably trying to be someone else. Still, it was fun to look back at her unapologetic glamour!
