The thing that 2000s fashion seemed to have figured out above all was functionality. Balenciaga city bags were larger than life, sunglasses were big enough to actually do what they were intended to do, and ballet flats were the most reliable way to get around elegantly without rolling your ankle on the train to work.
Puka shell necklaces have made a triumphant return thanks to the popularity of the “island girl” aesthetic, which took off on TikTok and Instagram.
Puka is the Hawaiian word for "hole" and refers to the naturally occurring hole in the middle of these rounded and worn shell fragments. These natural beads are made into necklaces.
Numerous inexpensive imitations are now widely sold as puka shell necklaces.
Low rise pants & skirts had a chokehold on the 2000s, with celebrities favoring belly-baring bottoms. The controversial trend has been revived two decades later as labels including Stella McCartney, Versace and Diesel sent low-rise designs down the runway for the spring 2023 season.
Uggs took the 2000s by storm, with stars pairing the comfy shearling slippers with everything from velour tracksuits to bedazzled microminis. Calf-length Ugg boots were the most popular style of the decade, but these days, shorter styles are in. Ugg minis and the brand’s Tazz slippers are current bestsellers.
Thanks in part to Carrie Bradshaw of HBO’s “Sex and the City”, nameplate necklaces had a major moment in the new Millennium. Last year, they were among the top trending Y2K accessories on Google.
Cargo pants became a style staple in the 2000s. As it turns out, baggy trousers featuring plenty of pockets were also a major runway trend during the spring 2023 season, with LaQuan Smith, Isabel Marant and Givenchy reviving the cargo craze.
Denim skirts of all lengths were popular in the 2000s, with stars favoring mini, midi and maxi styles. In 2023, the ever-popular indigo textile appeared on the runways of Bottega Veneta, Blumarine and Givenchy, while Courrèges and Alberta Ferretti channeled the 2000s by debuting microminis on the catwalk.
Flip-flops were taken to new heights in the ’90s, with platform sandals becoming a staple piece by the early 2000s. Today, labels including Coperni, Gia Borghini and Loewe have released their own versions of platform flip-flops, while flat variations of the casual beach sandal populated the runways of Miu Miu and Chanel during the spring 2024 season.
Rimless sunglasses were popular among star singers like Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears and Eve in the early aughts. These sleek shades have now made a comeback thanks to brands like Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Gentle Monster, who recently debuted similar styles.
Wearing skirts or dresses over pants was particularly en vogue in the new millennium. While the controversial fad was eventually labeled a fashion faux pas, it’s now back in style as designers like Peter Do, Chopova Lowena and Connor Ives make the case for layered bottoms.
As shorter hemlines became fashionable in the noughties, so too did capris. Cropped pants of varied fabrics and patterns are stylish once more in 2024, with Jacquemus, Sandy Liang and 3.1 Phillip Lim, to name a few, setting the updated trend.
Is there a brand more associated with celebrity culture than Juicy Couture? The founders, Pam and Gela, sent celebrities into a candy-coloured craze for at least half a decade with their velour tracksuits. There was no occasion where a Juicy outfit wasn’t acceptable: red carpet premieres, Kitson shopping excursions, and lounging on Range Rovers all fit the bill.
Nothing screams 2000s fashion quite like Takashi Murakami’s multicoloured Louis Vuitton bags. If there was one thing I had to have from the era—the thing I lived and died for—it was this.
Magnetix
Magnetix were the magnet-driven toy that inspired countless 2000s kids to take a leap of faith and pick engineering as their major in college. Granted, an equal number of them were sent to the emergency room for ingesting the small magnets... but it looks like they all turned out fine in the end.
Pokemon Cards
The Pokémon trading card game in North America in 1999, just in time for 2000s kids to eat them up. Alongside the tv-show and the video games, Pokemon TCG was one of the biggest phenomenons for kids who grew up in the 2000s. Thanks to Pokemon Go! there's been a massive resurgence in all things Pokemon, and some of the common cards from this period are now rare and valuable items. If only you'd just kept that holographic Charizard instead of making room for your new pair of Jordan’s you'd be a couple grand richer.
Pillow Pets
Pillow Pets slid into the top spot on wishlists everywhere at the end of the 2000s. Released in 2009, these cuddly stuffed animals were really huge pillows in disguise, held together by a simple velcro strap and then unleashed for maximum comfort. Kids from the 2000s took their lounging seriously, and couple the Pillow Pet with a Snuggie, and they were set for an entire Saturday's-worth of cartoons.
Razor Kick Scooters
You didn't know freedom in the 2000s unless you owned a Razor kick scooter. Bikes were a thing of the past (despite the fact that they were by-far a superior form of transportation), and kick scooters were here to stay. Although, if you look carefully at the bottom of some 2000s' kids feet, you'll still see the faint burn marks from slamming their heels down on the nuclear hot break pad with their bare feet.
Bratz Dolls
So many 2000s kids had four best friends: Yasmin, Cloe, Jade, and Sasha. The original Bratz quadruple was released in 2001 and they were marketed as an edgy and 'bratty' version of Mattel's sanitized Barbie doll. On top of their fashionable outfits, oversized heads, and diversity, the dolls were mainly loved and known for one iconic trait: their feet were completely detachable.
No longer did kids have to fight with fitting the teeniest rubber shoes over miniscule, pointed feet. Rather, they just had to remember where they put their doll's feet, lest they become unintentionally amputated.
Silly Bandz
If you feel your heart rate ratchet up at the sight of multi-colored bracelets stacked on someone's arm, you might be entitled to compensation because of the trauma-inducing middle school craze that Silly Bandz caused.
These ridiculous rainbow colored rubber bands would snap into every shape imaginable, from animals to numbers and everything in between.
During the Silly Bandz years, seeing a bare forearm was sacrilege, and any kid you asked would've said that the ripped out arm hairs were well worth it for the aesthetic.
My Password Journal
Tweens were, and are, incredibly secretive, and Girl Tech's My Password Journal was an ingenious way of capitalizing on their need for secrecy. This voice-activated pink and purple lock-box kept a small spiral bound journal safe from prying eyes.
Hilariously enough, once enough time passed and young adults were looking back at their old toys from the 2000s, they were just as locked out from their own secrets as everybody else was back in the day.
iPod
Making its debut in October 2001, Apple's iPod completely revolutionized music. Although not a typical 'toy,' this device was perhaps the single-most important step in bridging the gap between cell phones and the smart devices we know today.
Whether it was the Classic, the Mini, the Touch, or the Nano, anybody who wanted to be somebody owned an iPod in the '00s.
Heelys
Banned from airports, churches, malls, grocery stores, and so many more places, Heelys were all the rage in the 2000s. These chunky shoes stylized like Vans were unique because of the tiny single round wheel that was hidden in the shoe's heel, which unlocked with the press of a button.
If you've ever watched a kid roll down the street in Heelys, you know for certain that Isaac Newton is rolling in his grave at the sheer way their bodies look like they defy the laws of physics. However, Mother Nature is a cruel mistress, and there's no pain quite like eating the concrete thanks to getting your Heelys caught in a sidewalk crack.
Rip Stick
Rip Sticks were an advanced version of the skateboard, that made the balancing act even more challenging (as if someone looked at balancing on a skateboard and said, "Yeah, we really need to make this harder"), by having the two footholds be able to rotate around the center stick.
This undulating motion that was required for kids to even get the things going was a feat unto itself, and so only the coolest 2000s kids mastered this toy.
Beados
One of the hottest toys of 2007 was beados, a crafting kit with a new schtick. The assorted small beads would stick together when they were wet, and let you create an array of fun, if not ambiguous, 3-D art pieces.
But, if you were one of the many who couldn't get their hands on one of them, it's probably because they were recalled due to being coated in the dangerous chemical GHB We'll stick to the good old Etch-a-Sketch, thank you very much.
Polly Pocket
Polly Pocket playsets are miniature dollhouses and environments that can be opened and closed. They come with tiny Polly Pocket dolls, furniture, and accessories. These toys debuted in 1989 and gained immense popularity throughout the 1990s and 2000s.
Tamagotchis
No real-life pet, no problem! That's what the beautiful egg-shape game that was Tamagotchi was for! It was released by Bandai on November 23, 1996 in Japan and in the United States on May 1, 1997, quickly becoming one of the biggest toy fads of the late 1990s and the early 2000s. As of June 2023, over 91 million units have been sold worldwide.
Pixel Chix
Pixel Chix were successful upon release, forming an important part of Mattel's earnings that year. In 2009, Mattel discontinued the brand, but Pixel Chix remained on the Everythinggirl.com website until the website shut down in 2015.
To interact with your Pixel Chix pal just "push her buttons" literally! Using the input buttons on the fashionable, handheld house, help your Pixel Chix pal decide all kinds of things, like what to do: play guitar or go rollerblading?
Lip Smackers
They were the first flavored lip balm in the world and skyrocketed in popularity from there. From Disney to Coca-Cola, they have collaborated with a variety of brands and pop culture icons for nearly half a century. They used to be such an important part of my identity, which sounds silly but it's true.