What Early Aughts Looks Are You Sporting In 2025?
Juicy lips, tube tops, low-rise jeans, butterfly clips: are we talking about 2005 or 2025? Due to the cyclical nature of fashion, the looks we waved "bye bye bye" to over ten years ago seem to be coming back in full swing, spurred on by nostalgia for a simpler time, and Gen Zer's propensity for bold, fun, and playful visuals. The early 2000s brought about an aesthetic that was uniquely eclectic and accessible, symbolic of economic and technological shifts that were happening at the time. Even though they would've only been little kids, the prevalent fashion at the turn of the century clearly struck a chord with the generation that's now designing the clothes and calling the shots in the fashion world. Here are 20 iconic Y2K looks that are in style again.
1. Low-Rise Jeans
For the last 10-plus years, waistbands seemed to keep getting higher, with mom jeans being very much preferred over the uber-low-waisted Paris Hilton look of the early aughts. Now, it's come full circle, back to the low-rise look that was in vogue at the turn of the century.
molcatron / Alejandro Páez on Wikimedia
2. Butterfly Clips
Somewhere in the last ten years, the playful hair accessories we donned in the early 2000s fell out in favor of more minimalist hair aesthetics. Happily, Gen Zers have been bringing back butterfly clips and other hair accessories that millennials had long forgotten about.
3. Denim On Denim
The "Canadian tuxedo" denim on denim on denim was an iconic look in the early aughts. It resurfaced again in 2024 but with more modern silhouettes such as wide-leg jeans, three-piece suits, and dark-wash denim.
4. Baguette Bags
Remember those cute little bags that fit snugly under the arm? They were a staple of the early aughts but somewhere in the 2010s, they went out of style in favor of larger, more versatile handbags. Now, they're back, generally featuring bold colors, unique shapes, and modern embellishments.
5. Tinted Sunglasses
Everyone was literally wearing rose-colored glasses in the early aughts. Y2K sunglasses were tinted in vibrant colors, rimless, and often gradient. This look, although still considered retro, has made a comeback for summer.
6. Cargo Pants
Skinny jeans have gone the way of dinosaurs. It's cargo pants time (again). Loose fitting, with an olive green or khaki color palette, drawstrings, and a whole lot of pockets.
7. Trucker Hats
Trucker hats which have donned the shelves of thrift shops, untouched, for the last ten years are finally a hot item. They're characterized by their mesh backing and foam front usually featuring a trucking or farming supply logo. They were originally promotional giveaways but they made an unexpected leap into mainstream fashion in the 2000s, as they're now doing again.
8. Wide-Leg Jeans
As stated above, skinny jeans are so 2010. Now is the time for not just wide-legged jeans, but extremely wide-legged jeans which came into mainstream fashion once more after the pandemic, with all of us cringing at the thought of squeezing into our fitted pants again.
9. Bandanas
Over 20 years after Beyoncé immortalized the look, Gen Zers have hopped back on the bandana bandwagon, favoring them for their versatility and vintage aesthetic. While you can never go wrong with the classic paisley print, high-end fashion houses are reinterpreting the bandana using high-quality materials and modern prints.
10. Chunky Sneakers
It wasn't that long ago we wouldn't be caught dead wearing chunky dad sneakers. That is until Balenciaga's Triple S sneaker, unveiled in 2017, re-ignited the oversized "ugly sneaker" trend.
11. Baby Tees
Every early aughts girl was wearing a baby T-shirt, characterized by the super snug fit, crew neckline, short sleeves, graphics, and soft cotton fabric. They're becoming a staple in everyone's closet once more, favored for their comfort, wearability, and contrast with those loose-fitting cargo pants.
12. Tube Tops
Fueled by 90s and early 2000s nostalgia, the tube top is back in a big way. It's a hit under blazers or paired with wide-leg pants and can be dressed up or down.
13. Bomber Jackets
Bomber jackets, originally known as "flight jackets," were first designed for pilots in WWI before evolving for civilian wear. While they never went out of style per se, they've seen a lot of different iterations over the years, and the oversized "boyfriend" silhouette that was big in the 2000s is everyone's current go-to once more.
14. Halter Tops
Halter tops are sleeveless shirts where straps wrap around the neck, leaving the back exposed. While they originated in the 70s, the Y2K trend of showing a lot of skin brought them into mainstream fashion. Today, they're favored again as a casual and sexy daytime summer look.
D Max Photography L.M on Pexels
15. Crop Tops
As far as we're concerned, crop tops never really went out of style. However, they certainly declined in popularity for a while as people opted for the exact opposite aesthetic (baggy shirts over tight pants). Just like in the early aughts, people of today aren't afraid to show a little (or a lot of) midriff, pairing low-rise pants with high-cut crop tops.
16. Chokers
The sometimes surfer, sometimes goth, but always sexy choker has come back in full swing and we couldn't be happier. Particularly "tattoo" chokers made from stretchy plastic that were all the rage in the early aughts are cool again, but also velvet ribbons, beaded, or studded ones.
17. Bucket Hats
It's hard to go to a concert or event these days without seeing a sea of bucket hats. They largely fell off around 2010 in favor of fedoras and flat-billed caps but made a big comeback towards the end of the decade.
18. Slogan Tees
Ah, the trashy but lovable slogan T-shirt. They've always been a medium for social commentary, but whether they were "cool" or not depends on the era. They were huge in the 2000s when boldly branded items were in, but today they're more subtle and refined.
DISPLACED BY DESIGN CLOTHING on Pexels
19. Pink
Pink was the color of the Y2K era as hyper-femininity and the girly-girl aesthetic took hold. Today's playful fashion vibe has brought the color back in vogue for girls, guys, and everyone in between.
20. Shiny, Colorful Makeup
People are trading in their smoky, matte color palettes of the 2010s for colorful, fun, and shiny finishes. Just as fashion is getting more playful again, so is makeup. Juicy lips, glittery eyes, and metallic finishes are taking hold again, sparking joy and expressiveness.
