2000s in fashion

This article describes the many fashions and trends commonly seen in the world during the 2000s. Throughout the period many styles common in the 1990s remain popular in the 2000s though there have been considerable changes as well.

Gisela Bunchen

Kate Moss

Top models of the 2000s were Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen, Eva Riccobono, Coco Rocha, Natalia Vodianova.

David Beckham has been a trendsetter from the early 2000s till the present

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Pop-punk singer Avril Lavigne wears her hair long and straight with dyed fuchsia-pink streaks

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The smart-casual look

Early 2000s (2000 – 2003)

• Heavy metal fashion was worn by a notable subculture of teenagers until 2003 due to the popularity of nu metal bands, and remains common among the youth in the US, parts of Europe (especially Greece, Scandinavia and Germany) and Latin America.

• Pop punk fashion characterized by wearing baggy jeans, wristbands, spikey hair, trucker hats, Aviator sunglasses, and hoodies was very popular in the early 2000s. This was due to the success of bands such as blink-182, Lit, and Sum 41.

• Hip-hop fashions (especially hoodies and sweatpants) influenced many subcultures including chav, gangsta and juggalo.
• Daisy Dukes, Uggs and cowboy boots have been worn by girls throughout the decade.

Young Italian men of the late 2000s prefer rumpled jeans and designer sweatshirts as can be seen in this photograph taken in Venice in 2007

This European teenager is wearing the skinny-legged, lowrise hipster jeans and thin-strapped top, both popular fashions in 2008.

Mid 2000s (2004 – 2006)

• Gel bracelets became briefly popular in 2004
• During most of the early and mid 2000s, it was unfashionable to wear formal clothing unless it was in the business world, church, and special events due to the popularity of the "smart casual" style. This changed in the autumn of 2006, when the power suit received worldwide popularity amongst young men for its structured design.
• Sagging, popularised by rappers, lost its appeal around 2006 as expensive, close-fitting designer jeans rose in popularity, particularly amongst men. Baggy and loose styles of the 90's gave way to bootcut and flare jeans popularised by 7 for all Mankind, True Religion, Rock & Republic and Diesel S.p.A.. Women began to wear skinny-fit lowrise jeans that became even more popular later in the decade.
• Designer glasses (often with thick rims), sunglasses such as Ray Ban Wayfarers, aviators, and rim-less glasses became widely available and extremely popular as geek chic went mainstream. This trend started about 2004 and has continued into the late 2000s for both males and females. Sarah Palin style glasses become popular in late 2008.
• Japanese kimonos and lacquer jewelry came in during 2006, inspired by the film release of Memoirs of a Geisha (film).
• Military attire became popular among indie fans. Men originally wore surplus dress jackets which were later produced by companies for the civilian market while women wore versions with more feminine lace or beading on it. Camouflage patterns, bandanas or shemaghs are frequently worn as scarves by young people in winter.
• Boho-chic: 60s/70s patterns with ethnic jewelry
• Womens shoes and boots had long, extremely pointed toes in the mid-2000s.
• In Europe, the fashion for females was to have one's belly button on display as jeans' waistlines were cut as low as possible. Hip- hugging, denim mini-skirts were also worn.
• In 2005, other styles that appeared on the scene were Capri pants or pinocchietti as they are called in Italy, where they were extremely popular. These usually stopped at just below the knee, and could be worn casually with sandals, dressed up with high heels, or worn with boots in winter.

Late 2000s (2007 – 2009)

• 2007 saw a return of leggings for women. These were worn with long, fitted tunic tops, or baby-doll dresses and shirts with empire waists. As in the 1980s, they were sometimes paired with mini skirts. Purple and mustard yellow were the fashionable colours. In 2007, ballerina flats returned, and the toes of shoes were rounded, replacing the pointed-toed shoe popular in the middle of the decade. Boots came in a variety of sizes, with the heels high and geometric in shape.

• Late 2008 has seen a return to the look of the early-to mid 90's: flannel shirts worn with bright colored shirts underneath, T-shirts worn with long sleeved thermal shirts. Hair is thick and curly with bangs for women, while more men are wearing short thicker hair with less bangs.

• Full zip hoodies become more popular in 2008, replacing standard hoodies.

Hair and Makeup Style of the 2000s

• Women's hair is long and straight. Later in the decade retro hairstyles like the bob cut and beehive (a trademark of pop singer Amy Winehouse) came back into fashion. In the late 2000s the crop, a hairstyle previously only worn by lesbians, became acceptable after celebrities like Stine Bramsen, Victoria Beckham and Natalie Portman had their hair cut short.

• A popular haircut for Teenage boys is the Wings. It can range from very long to a Beatles Haircut. The haircut is typically wavy and, if straight, the length comes to halfway down the ears. Instead of lying on the wearer's ears, the hair flips up and comes straight out like an airplane wing, hence the name. This hairstyle is also known as "flippies" and was popularised by skateboarders. In the late 2000s short hair remains popular although longer styles are coming into acceptance for younger males, whether loose or in a ponytail. The latter is preferred in the workplace as hair below the eyes may be unacceptable for some employers.

• In Europe spiked hair, sometimes bleached blond, is often seen on metrosexual men. Styles like the French Crop and crew cut are popular with chavs and the fauxhawk made a comeback in Britain and the US thanks to David Beckham.

• Late 2008 in the U.S. saw the return of thicker long hair seen in the early to mid-90's. Many women either wear hair down to the upper shoulders with curls or long thick hair with curls. Thick hair for men has also come back, with many drawing on the looks of the 90's and 50's, the difference being men wearing their hair short and rejecting the wing haircut seen throughout the early to mid 2000's.

Subcultures of the 2000s

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Emo kid with long fringe and piercings

Emo

Emo fashion is associated with drainpipe jeans on males (sometimes with boxer shorts showing) and females alike, long fringe (bangs) brushed to one side of the face or over one or both eyes, dyed black, straight hair, tight t-shirts (sometimes with short-sleeves) which often bear the names of rock bands (or other designed shirts), wristbands, makeup for both sexes (particularly black eyeliner, though this varies) , studded belts, belt buckles, canvas sneakers or skate shoes or other black shoes (often old and beaten up) and thick, black horn-rimmed glasses. Emo fashion has changed with time and is sometimes characterized as a fad.

Chav in the late 2000s wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and gold chain

Chav

The defining features of the chav or charver clothing is the Burberry pattern (notably a now-discontinued baseball cap) and from a variety of other casual and sportswear brands like Adidas, Lacoste, Umbro or Le Coq Sportif. This British fashion has many similarities to the casuals, a football fan subculture that first appeared in the 1980s. Other names for them include Neds (Scotland), Spides (Northern Ireland), Gurriers (Dublin), Lads or Bogans (Australia), Dres (Poland) and wiggers (US). Tracksuits, hoodies, track suit bottoms, gold jewellery (including chains and sovereign rings) and baseball caps are particularly associated with this sub-culture. Footwear is either white trainers or Rigger boots as many work in the construction industry. The female counterpart wears either a grey or pink sweatsuit, or a denim miniskirt and white high heels like an Essex girl. Her hair (someitmes bleached blonde) is tied back into a tight ponytail (known as a Croydon facelift) and she carries an oversized handbag. The preferred music is jungle, Contemporary R&B and gangsta rap. In some parts of Britain chavs and other subcultures hold each other in contempt as what a person wears is seen as a lifestyle choice, defining 'who you are'.

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Bands like The Libertines popularised the indie look in the mid and late 2000s

Indie

Indie draws upon retro fashions from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, (especially mod, hippie, punk and grunge). The styles worn by the bands on the emerging indie rock scene are equally influential. Along with the chav, a common subculture in the UK. Clothings include scarves, Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star shoes, Doc Martens, waistcoats, cardigans, checked shirts, canvas shoes, jeans,, cartoon t-shirts, fishtail parkas and anoraks with fur hoods, leg warmers, and headbands combined with hair tied up in the back for girls.

Nu Rave

New Rave is a British sub-culture that originated in around 2006 with the rise of bands such as Klaxons,, Hadouken!,CSS and New Young Pony Club. The style is closely linked to that of indie, such as the use of skinny jeans and also has connotations of the original rave scene, namely the use of glowsticks, tripp pants (among American ravers) and neon. While mainly used to describe the music, new rave can also be used to describe the style. New Rave came into the mainstream in 2007 as neon colours became fashionable. As Nu-Rave became mainstream, with many of the fundamental Nu-Rave pieces in UK chain-stores, the look has decreased in popularity in fashion terms as of 2008.

Scene

A trend and sub culture evolving from raver, chav and emo and closely tied in with the skateboarding, new rave and Indie subcultures. Scene kids listen to music by pop-punk bands, screamo, metalcore, deathcore, and alternative rock . The fashion changes depending on the clothes worn by that year's pop singers; in the early 2000s they would describe themselves as gangsta or punk and later as emo following the success of My Chemical Romance. Recently scene kids have adopted a more indie look or will blend the styles of two different subcultures (e.g. emo and goth, or preppy and hip-hop). Others combine emo fashion with bright coloured things, e.g. yellow, green, pink and blue nail polish for girls or a different brightly coloured, maybe neon yellow cardigan, and all this combined with the normal emo fashion. Hairstyles are usually flat-ironed straight hair or dyed streaks with bangs commonly cut at an angle, or hair falls, consisting of large colourful fake-hair pieces like dreadlocks often styled in pigtails, or cut in a mullet type fashion and blow dried and back combed to make the hair as high as possible. Fashion mainly consists of skinny jeans, band t-shirts, hoodies, miniskirts, name brand clothes/handbags, skateboarding apparel (fur-hood parkas, skate brand t-shirts, skateboarding shoes) Converse, Vans, & Flats seen as typical scene shoes. Notable fads include being straight edge (drug-free and sexually-abstinent), using "text talk" on their myspace and facebook accounts and wearing Promise rings.

Preppy

Preppy remains a common style in US/Canadian high-schools and is a continuation of 1990s fashion. Identified by expensive designer clothes and sportswear. In the early 2000s upturned collars were often worn by preps but now this is no longer fashionable. Boys wear khaki slacks, cardigans, striped polos and Oxford shirts while girls wear short skirts and flip-flops. The Asian equivalent of preppy is Gyaru. In the UK this trend was at first only popular in the high-income areas where preppy stores selling such brands as Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle were located. However, with internet shopping rising and stores such as Jack Wills becoming widespread, this look is mainstream.

A cybergoth with dreadlocks and partially shaved head

Cybergoth

Cybergoth is a 21st-century evolution of goth. Unlike previous gothic fashions which focused on more "romantic" or "punk" look, modern cybergoth fashion is highly influenced by science fiction, the rivethead subculture and a "futuristic" look, often incorporating PVC and fetish clothing. Along with the staple of black, bright neon colors also became popular, along with black trousers (not jeans) tucked into black boots and accessories such as goggles, neon hair extensions, and gas masks. The music genres most commonly associated with such fashion are futurepop and aggrotech.

Raggare

Raggare is a Swedish subculture based on American greasers. Like their 1950s counterparts they wear leather jackets, cowboy boots and blue jeans. They are also seen in Japan where they are known as Bōsōzoku. A related subculture, the Teddy boy, is popular in parts of Russia including Moscow. Raggare love classic cars, Americana and rockabilly.

Girls in Lolita dresses

Lolita

Lolita is a fashion mostly popular in Japan. It is mostly worn by girls, and is inspired by vintage children's clothes from Victorian times, and is made to look a lot doll-like. The Lolita look consists primarily of a knee length skirt or dress, headdress, blouse, petticoat, knee length socks or stockings and rocking horse or high heel/platform shoes. There are a lot of variations of the Lolita look, like Sweet Lolita, Punk Lolita and a more mature version known as Elegant Gothic Aristocrat. Read here in detail about the Lolita fashion.

Harajuku

Visual Kei (known in the West as Harajuku fashion) evolved from Lolita and mixes the styles of many subcultures, including hip-hop, steampunk, greaser, glam rock, goth, punk and ganguro. Men often wax their hair to be more anime like, and would usually have spikey long hair (often dyed bright colors) with bangs covering one side of their eye to achieve an androgynous look or they would fringe the front occasionally. Girls often dress in lolita skirts mixed with other styles or modified traditional clothing like the kimono, cheongsam or Yukata. Elements of this fashion have been adopted by some European girls including Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani and Anette Olzon.

Rapper Snoop Dogg wearing gold chain

Urban

The urban or gangsta style, includes baggy jeans in dark washes. Jeans can sometimes be as low as right below the buttocks. Huge shirts a few sizes too big for the wearer in patterns, Jewelry is a part of the urban look, symbolizing religion, beliefs and self-glorification. Jewelry consists of gold chains, rings, etc. Baseball caps with flat brims are worn twisted to any side, backwards, or straight forward. This style was first worn by young black males before being adopted by other races (see chav). "Bling" was a word used to often describe jewelry in the early 2000s but is less popular than it once was.

Gallery

A selection of other images related to the period. Feel free to add other pictures below.

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  Haute couture dress from spring 2006
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  In 2007 70s style black leather jackets have made a comeback. Beards, mustaches, and the goatee are being worn with masculine pride, even with people as young as 16 or 17.
• Lower back tattoos, a mid-2000s fad
  Lower back tattoos, a mid-2000s fad
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  Spiky hair is often seen on men
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  The scene subculture is common in both the US and Britain.
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  Paisley handbag associated with the boho look
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  Tracksuits and hoodies were widely seen from the early til the mid 2000s. Full zip hoodies are popular in the late 2000s.
• Raver in Baggies, 2007
  Raver in Baggies, 2007
• Japanese teenagers on Harajuku Bridge
  Japanese teenagers on Harajuku Bridge
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  Bandannas were popular in the mid 2000s as both headgear and neckwear.
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  In the winter of 2008/2009, the fitted denim waistcoat was an essential feminine fashion accessory.

See also

• Fashion
• Fashion design