Remember the 1990s? They didn’t seem that great at the time, to be honest, but such is the way of things: those rose-tinted glasses we all balance on our noses after a decade or so has passed seem to be really working hard on this epoch of raves, Britpop, bucket hats and baggy sweatshirts. Now, the fashion world has decreed, this is all once again the height of elegance and sophistication. What, you hadn’t realised? Really?

The 1990s sportswear trend might be a bit of a leap for those who didn’t come of age to a soundtrack of Oasis, Nirvana and Sir Mix-a-Lot. But it’s not ultimately all that complicated, and a lot of fun, if you’re game. Scroll down for three principles to live by, if you want to make this slice of nostalgia your own.

In the 1980s, people wore T-shirts in the hope they might “Save the World” or get people to “Stop Killing Whales”. In the 1990s, people wore T-shirts because they had cool stuff printed on them. This modern-day example, proffered this season by Stella McCartney, is a wry tribute to the latter school of thought, with its zine-like, collage graphic and quasi-nonsensical slogan. Wear it with a pair of acid-washed jeans from Acne Studios and set off for your nearest rave. Or, you know, brunch.

Who could be bothered, at a musically manic time when the dominant mode for one’s limbs was invariably “flailing”, to fiddle around with buttons? No, in the 1990s, it was all about the zip, preferably embedded in a shell suit or Sergio Tacchini track top. Though we’re not currently offering up those highly flammable pieces on MR PORTER, we do have this stylishly updated take on the archetype from US brand Noon Goons, which we would urge you to enjoy like it’s still 1996. Go the whole hog with a pair of classic Spezial sneakers from adidas Originals – the brand that pretty much shod the entire decade.

When it comes to trousers, the side stripe is actually a detail derived from military uniform. But in the 1990s such things took on a life of their own. Of course then, everyone was obsessed with adidas, and one stripe wasn’t nearly enough – you needed minimum three. But now we can nod to such pieces without going overboard, a fact exemplified by these subtly side-striped jersey track pants from Prada. Wear them casually with a grey sweatshirt (if you want to be really authentic, go for one size up). We’ve selected this particular example from Loewe because it also has the very 1990s touch of an enormous logo on the front. That sort of thing was very prevalent back then and thus, is also quite the current statement now, would you believe it.