FASHION

Bella Hadid Does '90s Business Casual Her Way

by Matthew Velasco

Bella Hadid is seen on December 19, 2023 in New York City.
Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images

It’s only day three of Bella Hadid’s street style return and she’s already provided enough style inspiration to hold us over until the New Year. After leaning into Y2K style in New York City on Monday, Hadid continued to turn back time just a day later with her very own twist on ‘90s business casual.

Hadid began her off-duty ensemble with fitted, high-waisted jeans and a statement belt complete with a cowboy-style silver buckle. On top, she layered a plunging blue top and elevated things with a black menswear-style blazer. Accessories arrived in the form of a Stella McCartney shoulder bag, cat-eye sunglasses, gold hoop jewelry, and a pink hair scrunchie.

The ’90s business casual style is as simple as it sounds. Popping on a roomy blazer and some straight legged jeans will have you looking like nearly every Hollywood star and supermodel from the era—like Julia Roberts who wore a near replica of Hadid’s look back in the early ’90s. Original super Cindy Crawford was also a major proponent of the jeans-blazer pairing, and it’s rather fitting that her new era successor, Hadid, has picked up the torch rather stylishly.

Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images

Like Crawford, Hadid’s ensemble follows a simple, yet high-impact, playbook: denim, a big belt buckle, and some sort of chic outerwear. Hadid, of course, blended her own style signatures into things too, like her favored hoop earrings and a nostalgic hair band.

Hadid’s comeback, after months away due to her “painful” battle with Lymes disease, took the public by (welcomed) surprise when she returned in a khaki trench coat and an upcycled shoulder bag last week. The model continued to test out the vintage waters on Monday when she debuted a chic take on Grandma knitwear and championed a Y2K-era Von Dutch gym bag later that day. As early aughts as those two outfits were, Hadid’s latest business chic look signals that her throwback style takes many different forms.

Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images/Getty Images