5 trends from the 2000s that we never want to see again

The early 2000s were a strange period: the new culture of the digital world had not yet been born while the old culture of the 90s was not really dead. The result was a kind of middle realm where to listen to music you had to tune in to MTV, where if you wanted to follow your favorite star you had to buy tons of gossip magazines and if you spent hours in front of your phone it was to type the text of an SMS. At the time celebrity culture was also something different: without Instagram with its legions of influencers and its illustrious strangers followed by millions of people, the stars were relatively few and there was no real niche; even fashion brands were still tied to an old conception of luxury and their participation in the world of entertainment was limited to evening dresses that paraded on the red carpets of the Hollywod premieres and award ceremonies. Fashion was much less present in pop culture than it is today – and many of the looks of the stars of the time prove it.

Everything that was a trend at the time, or almost, today represents a mistake of style. These 5 styling tips are therefore a history lesson, which will serve not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

1. Schizophrenic layering

Ashley Tisdale

Britney Spears

Gwen Stefani

Alicia Keys

Pink

Miley Cyrus

Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears

Paris Hilton & Kim Kardashian

Anne Hathaway

Fergie

A T-shirt, with a dress on it, which is worn along with jeans. Or a long-sleeved top, under a tanktop, with a combined skirt and jeans and paired with a fedora and feather boa. Many of the outfits of some of the stars of the early 2000s had the same styling as a chair covered in a mass of completely random clothes. Colors and textures were literally all over the place, the concept of basic did not exist. Queen of this aesthetic was Ashley Tisdale but neither Miley Cyrus nor Britney Spears were more sober about it. The errors here concern multiple elements: from the number of garments worn, to the frou-frou manner in which each of these was decorated with bows, sequins and all sorts of irritating frills; passing through the liberality in which rough and silky fabrics were mixed with sequins, t-shirts, flip-flops and everything that happened within range of the stylists.

2. The bizarre concept of slouchy-chic

Justin Timberlake

Drake

Jonas Brothers

Mika

Chad Michael Murray

Zac Efron

Niall Halloran

Ryan Gosling

There was a time when the stars tried to elevate the men's wardrobe with supposedly refined details such as fedora hats, vests and shirts matched in the most randomic way imaginable. Certainly the two main symbols of this trend were the tie worn as a necklace and the vest + fedora combo that Justin Timberlake seemed to be particularly in love with – although one of the worst ramifications of this trend was the fake-preppy look with oversized and never matched sweater and shirt that simply fell badly on the body. But Kanye West and Virgil Abloh themselves made considerable faux pas at the time of their first Parisian fashion weeks by mixing outfits with dubious patterns and fit with bow ties and blue, shiny puffer vests by Moncler. The overall impression, however, was then and still remains fundamentally chaotic, with a total disharmony of colors, textures and shapes - as if a series of kids had looted their father's closet.

3. Crazy belts from Hell

Kid Rock & Pamela Anderson

Chris Pratt

Kim Kardashian

Billy Bob Thornton

Blake Lively

Janet Jackson

Hilary Duff

This trend was more evident with the womanswear, although there were male examples, especially with regard to Kid Rock. In those years a belt with a disproportionate buckle was a statement – it is not clear what it was but it was. Today, thankfully, the belts have become more sober and the plaque buckles or even the Godzilla versions of the regular belts are no longer seen around. From this trend we can learn that if an accessory is more showy than the whole outfit (and if the outfit is not much at the start) you have a recipe for disaster.

4. T-shirts unders shirts

Brad Pitt

James Van Der Beek

Josh Hartnett

Nick Cannon

Mila Kunis & Macualay Culkin

This is an all-male trend, probably emerged from that annoyingly workaday vibe that many male stars adopted for their outfits by presenting themselves at the premieres of the films in flip-flops, flapped jeans and looks that today would be wore only to go get your groceries. One of the most annoying traits was the shirt under the shirt – we're not talking about when the shirt is under the open shirt but when it was worn as underwear, with the shirt closed and a small portion of white that emerged from the neckline. A more suitable style choice to spend an afternoon in front of video games in the living room than for a red carpet. The rule, generally, would be that you can layer with a shirt as long as you keep it open or semi-open but that any form of underwear you wear underneath should not be visible if the shirt is closed.

5. Grotesquely baggy t-shirts and pants

Soulja Boy

Eminem

Blink 182

Cam'ron & Dipset

Ma$e

DJ Khaled

Oversize is a must for today's fashion, but that of the early 2000s had dragged the concept beyond all guard limits by transforming many rappers, wannabe rappers and punk rockers into walking tents. If today hip-hop artists are known for their connection with fashion and their perosnal style, in those years there was a very precise uniform for those who frequented the scene: jeans so wide and low that their legs seemed very short and the back pockets reached the knees and shirts so long that they erased any proportion and physical shape. Another big hit was the oversized bermudas that become sloping, reducing the length of the calves to about ten centimeters above the ankle. Today the idea of baggy clothing has remained but in a decidedly more balanced version even if recently Balenciaga has reintroduced extra-large trousers in its Couture proposal.

2000s styling tips

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