… not much has changed, but, if global warming gets any worse, we might be living under water.
It was once said that fashion consistently runs on a 20-year cycle. The 20-year rule is used as a way to predict the trends that are popular today will be popular in the fashion industry in 20 years. As designers approached the new millennium, there was this need to push the envelope and go beyond what any fashion brand had done before, which is perhaps why 2000s fashion is ‘that way.’ We saw a lot of preppy looks, graphic tees, in-your-face designer wear and tracksuits. Many people were not sorry to see these looks go, and today we look back on those days and wonder, ‘What were we thinking?’
Looking back at the last decade, you could make a case for the existence of this 20-year rule; we saw the resurgence of many ‘90s elements between denim, matching sets, and punk culture toward the latter end of the 2010s. Graphic tees really bridged the gap between the ‘90s and ‘00s. As we enter a new decade with graphic tees already considered trendy, it might be time to break out those low-rise jeans and Ed Hardy tee taking up space in the back of your closet and revisit the ~rich culture~ that you can only find in the 2000s.
A wise man once said that the horseman of the Y2K fashion apocalypse will be the resurrection of the Juicy tracksuit. Though Juicy hasn’t officially made a comeback on the fashion scene, Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton were recently seen on an outing in Kim’s new SKIMS velour loungewear. Since loungewear has made a strong bid for its return to everyone’s closet this year, making it a little more fashionable in a variety of neutral tones, a contrast to the bright colors brought into trend by Juicy.
Designer everything has been something people have leaned into for a little while now. Looking back to the ‘00s, we see a lot of iconic prints from Burberry, Louis Vuitton, Fendi, Coach etc. Designers have mostly relaxed in terms of making obnoxiously obvious prints that some might now refer to as ‘tacky,’ but they do put elements into their designs that heavily allude to their brand. This type of design allows people to establish themselves as consumers of this brand, giving them the opportunity to claim ‘status’ or ‘clout.’ Examples of this can be seen in the form of belt buckles, graphic tees, and yes, a brand’s print from time to time.
The ’90s loved denim so much that, by the 2000s, we overdid it a little too much probably. Let’s be real though, can you really overdo denim? In short — yes. Canadian tuxedos were top tier fashion paving the way for Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears’ memorable red carpet moment at the 2001 American Music Awards.
Showing a lot of skin in general was a trend that we could see come up again. Between crop tops, low-rise jeans, tank tops, halter tops, miniskirts and garments with unnecessary holes, the 2000s was a sexual revolution in some ways where everyone was essentially vying to show as much skin as possible. The celebrities that wore the least always received the most amount of coverage. Maybe this decade we’ll see a rise in these bare necessities.
Shirts on shirts on shirts are what we saw in the mid to late 2000s. If you wore a short-sleeve shirt over a long-sleeve shirt it meant you were probably more of a hipster who was into music. Girls wore collared shirts over another collared shirt and a sweater on top of that. This might not seem like the most essential of trends, but it was fashion! And sometimes fashion doesn’t need to have a reason.
Maybe another trend we let go too soon was the dress-over-pants look. But also maybe not. Regardless of how you feel about this hotly-debated trend, you’re likely going to see a comeback from it at some point within this decade. Teeny-bopper icons like Hannah Montana, Ashley Tisdale and Hilary Duff indulged in this outfit combo and it was A Choice™. Perhaps when we see this look come back, it will be with maxi dresses with skinny jeans, t-shirt dresses with leggings, and long-hem blouses with ripped jeans.
We are by no means headed toward a new millennium or end-of-the-world moment (God willing) looking to change any landscapes of fashion. It will be interesting to see how stylists and designers adapt these looks to be fashionable by today’s standards. We may not see these looks come back in full force, but they may return in a much more subtle way. If nothing else, the fashion from this era was care-free, unique and unforgettable (no matter how hard we try), so this could point us toward trends that embody that essence as well.