Pop Culture Characters That Changed My Style

Streaming platforms have given us thousands of shows and movies with characters that rock styles from when the show aired. The Y2K era in particular showed us low-rise jeans, chunky flip-flops, graphic t-shirts and orange makeup. These iconic looks came after cinema from the 90s brought back baggy jeans and chain necklaces. 

As people, we tend to mirror other’s styles and take inspiration from their outfits. Television has given us many icons wearing upscale clothing that make us run to our laptops to order the cute dress our favorite character has. Today, style consists of many older trends coming back as what we now call ‘vintage.’ 

I personally love Y2K fashion rocked by celebrities like Paris Hilton and Rachel Bilson. I typically like to style low rise jeans and a graphic baby-tee which was pretty common in early 2000s culture. The combination can also be seen in iconic shows like “One Tree Hill” or “The O.C.” My style, and often the style of my friends as well, is just a culmination of outfits from the era of our favorite T.V. shows. Here are three of the icons that I draw inspiration from when getting dressed in the morning.

1. Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman in “Freaky Friday”

The grunge look that Lohan sported with her low-waisted cargo pants and tight band t-shirts really shaped my view of fashion. The amount of cargo pants that inhabit my closet would concern even a rocker like Anna Coleman. She styled a lot of darker colors, chunky boots and mini skirts that shaped my personal style. This movie also showed me how grunge looks can be cute and stylish and that trench coats are not the only way to dress like a rock star.

Whenever I am feeling an Anna Coleman outfit, thrift stores have a lot of cool, old-school pieces like 90s cargos or baby-tees. Stores that sell clothes aligned with her style include Subdued, Urban Outfitters and H&M.

2. Julia Stiles as Kat Stratford in “10 Things I Hate About You”

Kat Stratford is my fashion icon. Every outfit I wear is inspired in some way by her outfits in this 1999 film. She solidified the power of tiny shirts and baggy bottoms throughout the movie. I love her simple yet stylish outfits that can easily be picked up at any local thrift store.

The party scene where she dances on a table in a tank top and low-waisted baggy pants is one of the best outfits from Y2K styles. Her outfits seem so effortless yet always have a cute and grunge element to them. She is an icon. 

Kat Stratford inspired outfits can be found at any basic thrift store, browsing the shelves to find basic tank tops and baggy pants. Urban Outfitters also has some great pieces in their “Y2K” section.

3. Rachel Bilson as Summer Roberts in “The O.C.”

Bilson sports the classic California style from the wealthy neighborhoods of Orange County. She usually wore low-rise jeans, cute and colorful tops and was always wearing a pair of chunky flip-flops. She really sold low-rise pants as she made them so casual, cute and perfectly styled. 

She was always wearing graphic baby-tees with cute slogans or pictures on them that perfectly described her persona as a feisty popular girl. Her hair was always perfectly styled to show off her long brown waves. She is the image of an early 2000s California girl: a constant shopper wearing seemingly effortless, but always expensive, outfits. 

To parties, she wore dresses and skirts with bikini tops that were always colorful or printed. She styled halter tops and mini cocktail dresses that made her look expensive. I really love her style because her cute outfits and accessories show how easy it is to combine already owned pieces of clothing into a stylish and envied fashion. 

Her luxury clothing was often used to show off the money that her family had, but it is super easy to style yourself like Summer via thrift stores, Urban Outfitters, Garage or Cotton On. Her jeans have similar vibes to Levis and Lucky Brand, and I like to shop for dresses similar to hers from Frankie Phoenix.

• pop culture
• style
• Y2K Fashion