Remember the time when you listened to Destiny’s Child’s Survivor and danced along to Britney Spears’ “I’m a Slave for You”? Remember raiding the nearest Limited Too to copy your favorite outfits from Lizzie McGuire, or reciting all the quotes from Mean Girls? If you said “yes” to both questions, you know that Y2K is officially back.
While everyone remembers the ‘00s for its pastiche of reviving earlier trends from the last two to three decades, what’s unique about the ‘00s was that it was all about taking things to the next level – to the point where idea of what constitutes good taste was being questioned. As novelty fashions were on the rise, the fleeting trends were (ironically) a classic mainstay that should be worth reviving.
Despite being born in the ‘90s, I felt like I was a ‘00s child at heart. I had a strong sense of nostalgia of the fashions and pop culture that I endlessly consumed from that decade. Here are some trends that should be worth reviving:
1. Embellished Denim
Jeans were not just what you could wear on a daily basis. Whether it’s crystallized, embroidered or cut off, and in some cases both, wearing these types of jeans felt like you were wearing a party on your pants! Despite its novelty status, you can go to the nearest Michael’s to buy some fabric scissors, crystals and E6000 to emulate what Queen B and the rest of her Destiny’s Child crew did here on MTV’s Spring Break in 2001 now. If you want to wear it low like Christina, make sure it’s hip-hugging AND tight!
2. Torn Tops
Alright, I know that I shouldn’t be mentioning this, but who did NOT like to look at a ripped up top? Back when Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed were on Thirteen, their matching torn shirts were super fresh when paired with low rise jeans, micro-braided strands and hoop earrings. While torn tops scream trashy with a capital T, it can be done in a more clean-cut manner á la Britney Spears. If you want to try this look, a little can go a long way – an X-Acto knife is a must and if you want bigger rips, fabric scissors is the way to go. But it’s always better to do a combination! Try doing this on a top that you no longer wear.
3. Slogan Tees
“Free Winona!” “Team Jolie!” “Team Aniston!” “A LITTLE BIT DRAMATIC.” What do all these phrases have in common? They were all immortalized on plainest white shirts. Simple yet loud, these slogan tees were easily wearable. Even Winona herself wore one on the cover of W in 2002! If you want to score a “Free Winona” tee, you can head down to Y-Que in Los Feliz. For all other slogan tees, it’s best to search through the bargain bin or buy some fabric paint.
4. Army Pants
Do you recall your big sister wearing army pants with flip-flops? Well, she sure did! She most likely paired it with a choker and black tank top just like Lindsay Lohan. It’s no wonder that army pants were super popular back in the day. Baggy or fitted and flared, army pants could be easily worn with anything and everything! But if you wanna keep it current, try wearing army pants with sleeker silhouettes like blogger Sincerely Jules.
5. Super Glossy Lips
Slick, shiny and eye watering, the glossy lip was a light-hearted counterpart of the ‘90s dark lip. As seen on Jennifer Lopez, she paired super glossy nude lips with a faux tan. At the height of its popularity 10-15 years ago, I’m sure you remember going to Limited Too to snap up a lip-gloss palette of the shiniest glittery glosses. Speaking from personal experience, the best lip-glosses were always shiny, shimmery AND edible! Mary-Kate and Ashley capitalized on the trend, which they released for their beauty line at Wal-Mart. Even Jessica Simpson had her lip glosses traced with flavors of your favorite desserts for her brand, Dessert Beauty! Now that they are discontinued, you can find these lip glosses on eBay. The closest things you can find to these shiny lip glosses are Black Up’s Lipshines, Bonnebell’s Lip Bites and/or Nyx’s Butter Glosses. It’s time to put away your Kylie Lip Kits.
*