The 2000s were a time of iconic fashion discovery when people went above and beyond for the sake of style. So many Y2K styles have crept their way back into modern day trends, from low rise jeans to butterfly clips, and baby tees. However, as cute as some of these are, some trends are best left in the 2000s. You’ll know what we mean when you see them!
1. Chunky Highlights
Chunky highlights were the go-to Y2K it-girl hairstyle. The thick streaks of lighter-dyed pieces in contrast with darker hair paired perfectly with the glitzy and glamorous aesthetic the 2000s adored so much. Eventually, such an outdated and loud hair trend fell out of style and was replaced by a more subtle and natural balayage.
2. Ed Hardy Everything
Ed Hardy gave us the hot girl trucker look in the 2000s. When you think of anything by Ed Hardy, you immediately think of rhinestones, tigers, skulls, and gothic fonts on fashion items from t-shirts to ballcaps. Eventually, the overexposure was their downfall, which turned this must-have brand into a tacky Y2K reminder.
3. Trucker Hats
Speaking of trucker inspiration, the trucker hat itself flooded the early 2000s with its influence. People were obsessed with trash glam and would wear different styles of the foam-front mesh caps, detailed with ironic and flashy logos, in a multitude of styles. However, it went from being ironically cool to just ironic.
4. Overly Plucked Eyebrows
Eyebrow trends have undergone numerous transformations, and during the Y2K era, the thinner they were, the better. Pencil-thin brows with high arches are a pinnacle of Y2K makeup looks, with fashion icons such as Pamela Anderson being the symbols of thin brows. People eventually started favoring thick, bushy brows with clean edges, and those who had overly plucked their brows in the 2000s often regretted it.
5. Chain Wallets
Wallets tucked into back pockets, often with a visible chain linked to them, were an iconic accessory in punk and skater gear. It was a mix of function and rebellion, but for the most part, it defined the 2000s alternative subculture. They fell out of mainstream fashion scenes when they began to be seen as bulky and cliché.
6. Shutter Shades
We have pop stars to thank for the shutter shade epidemic. They were representations of a good time and would be worn by celebrities in videos depicting a party. They rose in popularity when Kanye West wore them in his “Stronger” music video, but they faded out as they were seen as impractical and cartoonish.
7. Ties Over T-Shirts
Ties over T-shirts was an attempt to be edgy and ironic, with inspirations drawn from punk rock princess Avril Lavigne. It was trendy among the rebellious crowd but ultimately lost its footing in mainstream fashion due to its link to forced rebellion and fake punk.
8. Ultra Mini Skirts with Uggs
TikTok – jennifersanchz (right)
Popular girls of the 2000s were often seen wearing ultra-mini skirts and Ugg boots. It was popularized as cute and trendy, but these days are seen as tacky and impractical. It is both weather-inappropriate and mismatched, and doesn’t fit in the new millennium.
9. Scene Haircuts
These hairstyles were super teased and layered, choppy with extreme side bangs,and dyed with bright neon colors. The MySpace era was overflowing with icons of the emo and scene community. Nowadays, the scene aesthetic is seen as dated yet kitsch, and generally is a niche subculture that only a few participate in.
10. Arm Warmers (For No Reason)
Like the 70s, the 2000s enjoyed fashioning arm warmers for no real purpose other than for style. During this era, emo and scene aesthetics prioritized patterned arm warmers to give punk and anime-inspired outfits. As they were pointless and very loud, we gladly left them behind.
11. Tattoo Necklaces
Tattoo chokers made a recent comeback;however, we have since then tossed them aside like we did in the 2000s. The stretchy plastic chokers that resembled barbed wire or lace were huge during Y2K. Because of its overuse, it fell out of style and lost appeal to older groups.
12. Platform Flip Flops
Chunky footwear paired perfectly with 2000s glam, just as other chunky accessories did. Teens and college girls wore basic flip-flops decked with 2-4 inch foam soles with their flirty bootcut jeans. Like most things that came from the Y2K fashion era, people stopped wearing them for their impracticality.
13. Logo Mania
A lot of the 2000s fashion was loud and flashy, but in a cool way. In contrast to recent years, wearing clothes with huge, visible logos smackdab in the middle was a symbol of status and brand loyalty. As minimalism and anti-label movements crept in on the fashion scene, anything with obvious branding became tacky and inauthentic.
14. Lip Liner Way Darker Than Lipstick
Lipstick lined with darker lip liner gave diva and hot girl vibes. Makeup in the 2000s was influenced by 90s Latina and hip-hop styles, which gave a bold and hot look. Trends these days, though, have shifted towards blended and natural looks.
15. Skirts Over Jeans
Skirts over jeans may seem redundant, but in the 2000s, they were so fashionable that stars even wore them on the red carpet. Layering was big during Y2K to create unique and outstanding silhouettes. These days, layering is seen for more upscale events and no longer holds traction in everyday casual fashion.
16. Layered Polos with Popped Collars
You couldn’t leave the house if you weren’t wearing a minimum of 2 polo shirts at once with the collars dramatically popped upwards. Kids rummaged through their piles of polos to style the perfect outfit, fueled by prep culture. We gladly don’t see this frat-boy aesthetic look anymore.
17. Faux Layered Tees
Reddit – Think-Ganache4029(left)
Speaking of layering, sometimes actually layering shirts became too hot, so the birth of faux layered shirts rose in popularity. T-shirts were pre-sewn with visibly layered sleeves or hems, giving the illusion of multiple shirts. This got left behind with other 2000s fashion trends and became tacky and cheap.
18. Crimped Hair
Hair that is textured into tight, zigzag waves using heated crimping irons was a borrowed trend from the 80s that saw a revival in the 2000s. Most of the time, people liked to crimp only small sections of their hair, leaving the rest pin-straight in contrast. This was overthrown by modern preferences for natural waves and blowout bouncy textures.
19. Puffy Shoe Tongues
Streetwear fashion in the 2000s leaned towards bulky silhouettes such as baggy bottoms, shirts, and oversized shoes. Padded tongues that stuck out of branded shoes like DC or Osiris were crowd favorites. Eventually, the oversized sneaker look became outdated and was replaced by sleeker and narrower sneaker profiles.
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