The Fashion Forward Ladies from "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"

I’m pretty sure when you were watching The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air back in the day, you were watching more for Will Smith’s goofy but oh-so-cute self, rather than scoping out the fashions the female characters were donning. Call me a multi-tasker, but I used to watch to do both. In the six years that the show was on (didn’t it seem like longer), the style of Hilary, Ashley and the ever-changing matriarch Vivian Banks always evolved with the trends of the ’90s. Pastel-colored suits, bowl hats and Chanel bags, belly shirts, thigh-high stockings and flannel sometimes for Ashley–what you had on, they were wearing too. Only better. So here’s an ode to the ladies who should have received just as much
love as Willy from Philly for their style moves.

Laced Up and See-Through

I can’t really remember if people were wearing lace this hardcore back in the ’90s, but Hilary, the spoiled and not-so-bright oldest of the Banks children wore this ensemble well. Paired with the lace gloves and minimal jewelry, as well as the big but contained hair, homegirl looked quite fetching. But she wasn’t the only one that went the lace-loving route, so did her baby sister.

Crayola Colors

As with all ’90s attire, everything was colorful and cheeky on the chicks in the house. Pinks, red, blues and purples paired with prints were a staple at the beginning of the series, and if you didn’t have at least five turtlenecks during winter time back in the day, you couldn’t be taken seriously.

Accessories are Everything

As you should already know, a few cute accessories can jazz up any and every outfit to make it look brand new. Accessorizing is something that Vivian and Hilary Banks did extremely well. Throw a pin on your blazer jacket, a hat on to sass up a simple top and never get caught dead with accessories of different colors. Gold stays with gold, silver colored with silver. Follow their lead…

Prints are Pristine

Ashley and Vivian were especially good at making quirky colored printed pieces fresh. Plaids and stripes, as well as floral prints were a good look on all three ladies, and taught folks that it was very cool to step out of the box and still look professional. Remember, Viv was a college professor and she was never dull-looking.

Throw a Blazer Over Everything, or a Vest

Who didn’t have one of those ornate vests with some crazy graphics on the front and then the satin back? Those joints were so cool! Well, these ladies had that and more, including a sick collection of colorful blazers and skirt suits. They had so many fab events and places to go it only made sense they liked to keep it cool and clean. It’s actually funny to see these same pieces on folks all these years later, but then again, good fashion never fades out for good.

Youthful Looks Don’t Have to be Bland

Sure, out of the three, I’m sure you think Ashley was the least best dressed. But from her cute and frilly dresses as a pre-teen, to her belly shirts and clothing that had to be inspired by TLC (see above), Ashley took a lot of chances with her looks. Not all of them were memorable, but they sure were funky.

 Keep Your Hair Right and Tight

This one is honor of Vivian. The ORIGINAL. Sorry, but the second Vivian just bored me most of the time, and her hair never changed! The original, Janet Hubert, would try a bit of everything with her sleek black hair: chic updos, down and bumped, curly and cute. She was fresh from head to toe (though I rarely saw her feet).