The rising emergence of the early 2000s

written by taneya prince

photos by athena merry

Oh the 2000s. What a time to be alive. Who could forget the iconic cartoons and reality shows that shaped us as the bad bitches we are today. It was a time of fashion risks being a hit or miss, a personal sense of style being an embarrassment, and essentially a time for all kids born between ‘95 to the early 2000s access to a premature gateway for emerging trends. From low cut jeans to “Baby Phat” remerging on the scene, the 2000s nostalgic feel is at its peak in 2020. And honestly, i’m not mad at it.

Looking back I realize that the early 2000s were such a happy time for me. I didn’t have major responsibilities, school wasn’t as hard as it is now. I watched my favorite movies from “Bratz”, “Rock Angelz” to “My scene: goes to hollywood”, and my favorite shows such as “Winx Club”, “Powerpuff Girls”,and “Totally Spies”. However, who can forget the fashion that these shows and movies showed us? I still remember wanting to be a Bratz doll and dress like them in my everyday life. It was my dream.

For me, the early 2000s were such a prominent time, especially reality tv as it was something I grew up watching and enjoying. Who can forget “The Simple Life” with Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie? Or the early seasons of “Keeping Up With The Kardashians”?

Thanks to the biggest app right now and the trends that come out of it, Tiktok, has helped young creatives express themselves and remerge styles that were once considered part of the past. The comeback of the early 2000s fashion, movies, tv shows, and music, whilst in quarantine has made all who love it feel like their childhood style icons.

Due to Covid 19 and not being able to socialize in big groups, it ultimately has brought us back to our childhood and what it felt like to be in the house and watch your favorite cartoon shows, reality shows, and movies, and experience that feeling of genuine happiness whilst not being able to go anywhere. And with the booming of TikTok, the early 2000s trend has gotten even bigger and Y2K fashion has essentially become many peoples' form of expression from girls to boys to feel comfortable in their own skin. Thus, making it comfortable for them to express themselves fully and not care what others think as many iconic people from the early 2000s lived their own lives.

Due to the nostalgia washed over teens and young adults, a lot of brands have been coming out with early 2000s inspired clothing. I mean I can't tell you how many girls I have seen on Tiktok and Instagram with the IAMGIA low cut pants crop top set. In addition to low cut vintage jeans, Von Dutch trucker hats, baby tees, Playboy anything, Betty Boop, are all back. . The early 2000s style is something that is remerging on the scene and with the creation of Tiktok it has given more people to see how cute the early 2000s style was. You go on Depop and search up Y2K you are hit with an array of different sellers selling iconic pieces that give off early 2000s vibes and some that are true vintage.

Y2K Fashion Trends That Are Set To Remerge

RHINESTONES

Who can forget the bedazzled belts, phones, shoes, shirts, glasses, and everything else present during this time? In the early 2000s the phrase “less is more” was used to no extent. I remember as a child almost everything I owned had rhinestones on it. As a child I remembered wanting the “Baby Phat” by Kimora Lee Simmons flip phone, not because it was pink and cute, but it had rhinestones on it. Bedazzling everything and having rhinestones on almost every piece of clothing was the norm. You could even buy bedazzling kits to add rhinestones to anything in the comfort of your own home. I however sadly didn’t own one of these kits but I envied the ones that did.

In today's style climate, there has been a reemergence of rhinestones. Especially subtle rhinestone details on accessories like sunglasses and baby tees that are being worn by almost every teen on TikTok and Instagram.

LOGOMANIA

Logos have always played a prominent role in society as it has always held certain people with power and money to show off that they have access to these high end designer brands. Logo obsession was and still is everywhere. Throughout the early 2000s brands such as Tommy hIllfiger, Dior, Moschino, and Louis Vutton boldly blasted their logos on their clothing. Thus, creating a certain status symbol for people who could afford these outrageous designer brands. Ultimately though when the early 2000s and its fashion was coming to an end so did the big logos on clothing.

However over time I have seen a resurgence of brand logos everywhere from all types of people. Even if it’s a bootleg, it is still being worn—and everyone isn't so hung up on the real thing. In addition, I would like to give credit to the legendary Dapper Dan. If you don't know who Dapper Dan is, he is the man behind logos being used in an unseen way. At the time back in the 80s and 90s logos were not seen on everything, it was more subtle. However Dapper Dan took those same brands such as Louis Vuitton,Gucci, Chanel, and so much more, and made actual clothing pieces for people, specifically black people in the hood that didn’t have the money to spend loads of money on actual designer pieces. He made big designer brands more attainable to non white clientele. The large bold logos you see today on the runway from Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Moschino, Gucci, and so much more all derive from the legendary Dapper Dan. Due to his ideas he ultimately paved the way for these big designer brands to stick their logo on everything from clothing to shoes, and accessories. If you want to learn more about Dapper Dan and many other blak people that have created these trends and iconic looks on artists from the 90s and early 2000s I suggest looking at the documentary called “The Remix” directed by Lisa Cortes and Farah X on Netflix.

LOW CUT EVERYTHING

Low cut jeans, and skirts were such a notable thing of this time period. Everyone was rocking low cut jeans whilst showing off their midriff. It was the staple of the time, and 20 years later it has come back into the scene. As somebody that has always loved high rise jeans I would have never thought to myself that I wanted to own a pair of low rise jeans but after seeing them countless times on TikTok, Pinterest, and Instagram, it has only fueled my longing to get a pair. In addition, mini skirts are making its resurface back into the scene. As the iconic Paris Hilton once said while talking with W Magazine about her favorite Y2K trends, “Skirts should be the size of a bet, life short take risks”.

HALTER TOPS

The halter was one of the most prominent things to come out of the early 2000s— as they were seen on celebs like Christina Augiliera, Aaliya, Paris Hilton, Rihanna, Beyonce, and many more. However, halter tops and halter dresses date way back to even further than the 70s as they were worn by the likes of Cher, and Marilyn Monroe. Halter tops always seem to come back into style whilst female empowerment movements were at an all time high in society. Thus, creating a liberating feeling for women in society to feel like they had control over their own bodies and mind. In today's climate the halter style is widely versatile as seen on Bella Hadid who has been photographed countless times wearing the halter top from casual to dressy. Almost every girl on Instagram and TikTok is seen rocking the halter top and I think every girl or guy should own a halter top.

Y2K BRANDS SET TO REMERGE

Baby Phat

Curated by Kimora Lee Simmons in 1999, Baby Phat had such a prominent role in the early 2000s, especially for the urban community as it geared towards women and ultimately the hip hop community. Baby Phat was able to gain attention and traction from many celebrities from Aaliyah, Naomi Campbell, Lil Kim, and so much. I'm sure we have all seen the iconic and infamous picture of Cam’ron rocking the pink fur jacket and headband with the pink phone. It truly was a moment in fashion history. From many celebs rocking the Baby Phat baby tees, the demand for the brand increased and it soon became a black woman's very own high fashion line and became the standard for women’s fashion as it appeared on countless tv shows and music videos from the early 2000s. However, by the end of the decade the hype for Baby Phat had died down. In recent years Kimora Lee Simmons has relaunched the brandI’m honestly excited to see what's to come with the brand, since as a child I grew up wearing it.

Von Dutch

For quite some time Von Dutch has not been seen nor worn by anyone for quite some time. When its designer Christian Audigier went off to design for Ed Hardy, the brand took a plummet.However with the reemergence of the early 2000s and notable fashion brands it has made its comeback. From seeing Alexa Demie wear it to many other celebrities today and back then, it's safe to say that Von Dutch is making its return back into the fashion scene. From its trucker hats to purses, many influencers on Instagram and TikTok have made an appearance or two rocking the iconic logo and its cute pieces.

Juicy Couture

Now when anybody is talking about the early 2000s you cannot forget the iconic track suit that made its staple in the era, Juicy Couture. Who can forget seeing paparazzi pictures of Paris Hilton in her juicy couture tracksuits in each and every color. Their iconic velour set has become synonymous with the Y2K aesthetic. In its heyday it was worn by almost every celeb from Beyonce, Brittany Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Kim Kardashian, and so many more. It was a must have for every woman and young teen and became the first wave for making athleisure more wearable for everyday. However, Juicy Couture didn’t just make tracksuits, they also made perfume, purses, and accessories. Juicy Couture is making its major comeback in the new age of millennials and Gen Z in the 2020s.

Want to dress Y2K?

If you're looking for inspo for early 2000s style or how you can put a twist to it in today's style, below listed is a handful of people I think would be great for fashion inspo on y2k fashion and its entire aesthetic.

Instagram:

Xobrandababe

Isthisfate

Virtual.Brat

Aimebbyyy

Pimpinthepatriarchy

TIKTOK:

Kassidyallin

Artsynya

Hotcheetoqueen

Claire.hornbeek