As the saying goes: all good things must come to an end, and often it’s a good thing that they do. Just take ‘00s fashion trends. At the time, rocking flares, frosted tips and glitter eyeshadow was the pinnacle of all that was stylish – and now, these things are only ironically cool.
While it’s nice to look back and appreciate what was once cool, it’s equally-as-satisfying to promise ourselves we’ll never, ever, ever go there again. Case in point: low-slung, distressed, flared jeans – the crown jewel of my pre-teen wardrobe.
In the late ‘90s and early ‘00s you couldn’t open a fashion magazine or watch a red carpet event without seeing a pair of jeans so flared there was barely a shoe in sight. Jessica Alba wore hers under a flowing halter neck dress, Rihanna wore hers with a sneak peak of frilly knicker out the top and Kelly Clarkson matched her chunky highlights to her flares with a studded rocker belt.
Oh, the memories.
Speaking of ’00s icons, listen to the GOAT team chat about Jessica Simpson’s eye-opening book on It’s Been A Big Day For…below:
What was it about these God forsaken pants that we loved so much? The ‘bootcut jean,’ as it was commonly referred to, burned brightly in the spotlight until the mid ‘00s, when skinny jeans quickly became the jean of choice. At the time, one fashion editor said, “it’s as if all the girls wearing premium bootcut jeans threw them away one day, and the next day began wearing skinny jeans and flats.”
I, too, remember folding up my flares and shoving them down the back of the wardrobe in favour of a pair of Lee Stovepipe skinny jeans that were about 10 inches too long.
So, what happened to our beloved diamante-encrusted bell bottoms?
As Refinery29 states, “the emo movement made it acceptable for men to wear eyeliner, grow their bands well past their eyes, and wear jeans so skinny that everything in their pockets – and elsewhere – was perfectly visible.” As the likes of My Chemical Romance began influencing our iPod Shuffle playlists, we started squeezing into skintight pants and growing out our side fringes like the whole flared jean thing never even existed.
There is some good news for the flare pant enthusiasts out there. Flared jeans have made a Christina Aguilera-grade comeback in recent years, but this time around, they’re not adorned with sequin tassels, or chunky cargo pockets.
Whether you like it or not, fashion is a revolving door and right now it’s opening us up to a slightly more sophisticated version of our former favourites. I’m here for it, as long as there are no pube exposing waistbands in sight.
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