JOANNE Watkinson
Does anyone else recall referring to the year 2000 as Y2K back in the actual year 2000?
When our computers didn’t crash at the stroke of midnight the term was all but forgotten. But, inspired by young celebrities such as Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid tapping back into trends like butterfly tops and belly chains, searches for Y2K fashion on resale sites such as Depop have exploded in the past 12 months.
While I’m not averse to delving into trends gone by, this has never applied to Noughties fashion.
I’ve been more than happy for this era to stay right where we left it, especially those Von Dutch trucker caps.
My standout memories of fashion between 2000-2009 are of Britney
Spears and Justin Timberlake at the VMAs in double denim, Christina Aguilera’s chaps in her Dirrty video and Paris Hilton in rhinestone embellished Juicy tracksuits.
I decided to dig a little bit deeper into the decade of halter-neck tops and layered vests to see if my judgment of Y2K fashion was too rash.
It was Jennifer Aniston’s wardrobe that helped me reassess my disdain for Noughties looks. The Friends star took the best trends from the pared-back 90s – strappy sandals, basic T-shirts and loose tailoring, and dragged them into the new decade by adding the must-have accessory of the time – the choker.
She also knew the value of a pair of kick-flare dress pants, something I can totally get on board with.
From Jen I found my way to Destiny’s Child, back when they were a foursome (remember that?). Despite most of their co-ordinating outfits being pretty gaudy they did offer up one gem. The feathered pencil skirts the quartet wore on the red carpet look just like the current season version from Prada.
Another tick for Noughties fashion.
I had to work my way through a basket of bad taste items – bandanas, super low-rise jeans, pointless scarves and ponchos, before I got to the good stuff of the era but it turns out there are some fashion hangovers from the Noughties that work as well now as they did then.
Cases in point – waistcoats, baguette bags and square-toe sandals. I am even warming to the 2022 version of cargo pants.
But if you spot me with any sort of embellishment on the back of my track pants, do me a favour and have a word.