I'm very curious to hear why you feel that way. Windows 95 always felt like more of an amalgamation of CDE and what Mac OS was doing at the time, than anything to do with NeXTSTEP.
NeXTSTEP's interface (1988–1989) used subtle shading and depth for buttons and windows, creating a dimensional appearance. Its visual design pioneered the use of shading for depth in GUIs.
Microsoft's timeline:
CTL3D.DLL: Introduced circa 1991–1992, primarily for Windows 3.1 applications (not the OS itself). It added 3D effects to dialog boxes and controls but was optional for developers.
Windows 95: Introduced native 3D controls (e.g., recessed buttons, drop shadows) as the system-wide default in 1995, eliminating the need for CTL3D.DLL
This is the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. A 3D appearance is 1 superficial element of a GUI. And Windows 2.0 had 3D shading in 1987 even though limited.
