We’ve been obsessed with the 90s for the past few months and it probably has to do with the giant mystery boxes we got full of vintage 90s and y2k inspired outfits. The haul was life changing so be sure to check out those items, we’ve been releasing them weekly so always check back. Let’s round off our obsession with early 2000s and 90s fashion with a quick guide to all the trends that popped up in the 2000s. Even if you haven’t read our weekly blog, this one will give you a quick overview and give you a little taste of what’s in store for August.
Y2k-MCbling
1995-1998 (or 2001 the topic is debatable) Y2k and McBling have a complicated history as the first is always confused with the latter, but it’s important to note that they are completely different. Y2k’s name was taken from the y2k scare. This event was centered around a computer, technology etc… It’s very google-able so we will let you do some digging. Essentially the age of the internet gave rise to better design software that could make curves, people had hope of a technological future and all this tech set y2k apart, it was a cultural reset moment for sure. It’s important to note that Y2k is just a subculture of the many 90s fashion trends appearing in and around this time. Some hallmarks of the fashion staple are cyber and futuristic looking sunglasses, techno & dance music, leather and space inspired outfits. If you’ve seen TLC’s No Scrubs or Aaliyah’s One in A million then you’ve seen Y2k. It was a bold trend that burned out quickly and was later replaced by McBling.
2003-2008 McBling is the exact opposite of Y2k. Where Y2k was technologically inspired, McBling was the rise of consumer culture and reality tv coupled with the rise of the internet era. McBling is best embodied in The Simple Life, a reality TV show that follows Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie around the country. Pink is McBling’s color, and over-consumerism and the idolization of reality tv stars is at its peak. If you wore a Juicy Couture sweat suit, trucker hats, blinged out phone accessories, blinded out fashion accessories, Tom Hardy shirts, watched Mean Girls while pretending to be Regina George then you are a McBling baby.
2008-
Although many millennials are now facing their teen pics of the early 90s and cringing at the audacity of their fashion choices this next era is still cringe but in a new way. Welcome to reality tv 2.0, electro pop and the shuffle. In the wake of the Great Recession part 2, the election of our first Black president and all things past the aughts. Its important to note that YouTube and the rise and dependence on internet culture really solidified how fast fashion moves. The internet has sped up and increased the amount of trends and starting in this fashion era the lines of where trends start and end is harder to keep track of.
Electropop:
By the time Party Rock Anthem came out and everyone was shuffling in their neon extra skinny jeans and graphic T,s the electro pop fashion movement was at its peak. Still inspired by shows like The Jersey Shore, Electropop was presented as this party lifestyle.
Emo/Scene/Goth
Alternative culture was at its peak during the height of Tumblr. For all those individuals looking for a place to feel anything the internet was your myriad. Emo culture grew out of goth culture of the 80s. It was dark, you definitely owned a black and white striped shirt and your hair was a hot ass mess. It’s peak years were 2006 to 2012 and it was parallel to the music scene at the time. Bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, Panic At The Disco, Pierce The Veil, The Fall of Troy and scream bands as such helped the scene evolve. Staples were Black, skinny jeans, an unhealthy obsession with being skinny, and an emphasis on being a sensitive or emotional individual. A subgenre of Emo was “scene” and that was an amped up version of scene that incorporated neon colors and has more influence of electropop fashion. Unlike Emo, your hair probably had tiger print strips or was a crazy color to begin with. You didn’t necessarily follow the all black rule and you were more outgoing then your emo friends.
Hipster Culture:
Hipster culture was birthed out of alternative indie culture but with a more structured and expensive look. Hipster today is parallel to the farmhouse culture we’ve seen sprung up in cities like Denver. Bands like The Lumineers, Nathaniel Radcliff, and these country blues bands propelled this movement. This scene’s fashion can really be tracked in men who are all defined by there vintage retro haircuts, and notoriously scruffy beards. Some men have tattoos but everyone wears suspenders or looks to the nines most of the time.