how to dress like it's 2005: my ultimate guide to 2000s fashion

dear reader,

    lately, my little corner of the internet has been purely 2000s everything, but mostly fashion. with each scroll, every outfit on my for you page gets cuter.

    i've been trying to achieve that perfect y2k-meets-downtown girl look for years, and i think i can finally say i'm getting the hang of it. it's taken blood, sweat, and tears (hyperbole absolutely necessary) to perfect everything about the way i buy and style clothes. now, i think to myself, shouldn't i share this knowldedge with the ever-hungry public?

    out of the kindness of my soul, i'll let you in on it. here is my ultimate guide to 2000s fashion!

1. how to shop

 - you're not going to find that perfect y2k-looking top at your local mall or target. to achieve the 2000s look, you have to change where and how you shop.

 - thrift stores: thrifting is always gonna be a shot in the dark; you never know what you'll find. you can't expect to find vintage hollister on your first trip (if you have, give me your exact prayer), but you can't give up either! thrift stores like goodwill, red white & blue, and plato's closet is where you'll find some of your best pieces! P.S. i've never tried the bins, but from what i've seen, there are always GEMS in there. check it out (and bring gloves)

 - flea markets: personally, i think flea markets are the most fun way to thrift. seeing so many vendors in one space feels like vintage paradise, and the vibes are immaculate. everyone is always so cool and yet so kind! in my area, there's a super popular flea market that i went to once with my friends, and it was such an amazing experience. it wasn't that expensive either!! once you know how to shop, you won't have to worry about overpriced pieces.

    i bought these ultra low rise vintage jeans and an overly cute vintage hollister hoodie (which i'm actually wearing as i write this!)  for around $40. sure, it's not as cheap as finding pieces at goodwill, but for the vibes and experience, it's 100% worth it. definitely check out and support your local flea markets!

 - depop: i absolutely LOVE depop. at first, it's hard to know how to find what you're specifically looking for, but as you build you algorithm it becomes a gold mine! my cart has, like, 200 items in it. i almost never buy them before someone else gets their hands on them, but i'm learning to jump at the chance. anyway, to find cute 2000s clothes on depop, you have to be using the right keywords!! i always find amazing pieces using keywords like these: logo, text, vintage, 2000s, thrift, twee, low rise, hollister, aeropostale, abercrombie, etc. it's also so helpful to use the filters to get more specific with your search!! you can narrow it down with brand names, sizes, categories, and more. another way to find cute pieces on depop is to use google image search; just take a picture or screenshot of the piece you want to find, search it up using google, and put depop next to it in the search bar (optional). with this, you'll find similar pieces to what you searched, or sometimes get an exact match! P.S. i have ballet flats from depop on the way rn. so excited.

 - modern stores: lastly, if thrifting is not an option for you or you're more comfortable buying new, unused clothes, some modern stores are bringing back the 2000s style!! the main two i recommend are hollister and aeropostale. hollister is especially good for tops and sweaters, while i like aeropostale more for their jeans and bottoms. i find that hollister shorts fit me weirdly, and their jeans aren't low rise enough. at aeropostale they have true y2k low rise, and everything fits perfectly!

2. closet staples

(i will probably be expanding this section into its own post too hehe)

 - to make true 2000s outfits, you need to have a few staples that you can make into any combination of pieces! here are some of my must-haves for building y2k downtown girl outfits(˵˘ ³˘˵)

 - lace cami: almost every 2000s girl outfit you see on pinterest isn't just a top and jeans; it nearly always has a lace cami underneath (maybe multiple). i couldn't imagine my closet without a white lace cami! it instantly elevates any outfit. you can find these at hollister (usually on sale for $15) or any thrift store. it's affordable, adorable, and an absolute necessity!

 - low rise micro jean shorts: it's actually embarrassing how much i wear my pair of jean shorts. you look at my instagram and it's genuinely in every post. but rightfully so! especially for summer, a simple pair of jean shorts is a closet must-have. it goes with anything, and can quickly turn a fall outfit that you'd wear with jeans and uggs into a summer outfit with shorts and flip flops! i got my pair from aeropostale, they're the "super low-rise micro denim shorts" in medium wash. they're literally perfect.

 - flip flops + uggs + converse: the triple threat. for me, i have these three shoes in rotation, used seasonally. in the summer, i wear my flojos flip flops genuinely every single say. zero exaggeration. once you buy your first pair of flip flops, you realize how easy they are to wear and just want to wear them everywhere. anyway, in the fall and winter, it's the same situation but with my uggs. i specifically have the bailey bow uggs and i'm in love with them, but i really want the classic tall uggs!! they're just so cute and an absolute need for me right now.

    lastly, my converse i normally wear in the spring when it's not socially acceptable to wear flip flops everywhere yet, but they're also a year-round shoe. i wear them in the fall and winter if its raining and i can't get my uggs wet, or in the summer when my pedicure is due for a refresh. converse are an absolute staple in a 2000s downtown girl's closet, and so are the rest of these shoes!

 - these are my three main must-haves, but i'll be making an entire post for this soon! that being said, if you have these pieces in your closet, you're set to build on them and make the cutest 2000s outfits ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

3. styling

 - you've found your favorite stores and bought your closet staples. what now? you can't just wear them, silly! here is how to perfectly style your 2000s clothes to make adorable combinations ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )

- color distribution and cohesion: when you build an outfit, you have to make sure you're placing the colors correctly. i hate to use this tiktok term, but it's sort of like an expanded version of the sandwich method. cohesion is super important! i'm not really sure how to explain it (it's 1am, so that may play a part), but i'll try my best with an example. 

    last week, i put together the cutest outfit for winter. i made sure there was more than just one color, and that every color in the outfit was seen at least one other time, on a very different piece. i wanted to base it all around my new grey hat that my friends got me for my birthday, so i decided on a grey knit sweater with flared 3/4 sleeves. it's absolutely adorable. but that isn't enough to build an outfit, and i didn't like how bland it looked with grey being the only color. so, (hint hint to the section above) i added a white lace cami underneath. that immediately elevated the look, but it was lonely as the only white piece in the outfit. so, instead of wearing full length jeans with the outfit, i decided to wear my jean shorts. the solution to the lonely cami (and freezing legs): layer white cable knit thermal tights underneath my shorts, and wear white legwarmers with my uggs. now, my outfit immediately has a fun vibe, and the colors are cohesive. for fun (and much needed warmth) i added a white scarf to match with the rest of the accents. and boom, the perfect, color-cohesive outfit!

 - mismatching: now, color cohesion doesn't mean the colors have to be perfect pairs. the best part about outfits from the 2000s was that the girls didn't care what colors they were putting on! if they just bought 3 lace camis in different colors from hollister, and a zip up from abercrombie in a completely different color, they were not about to go back to the mall and find something that matched. they put them all together, and it was beautiful! why not replicate that today? odd color combos instantly make an outfit look more interesting and effortless! some combos i love: green and pink, teal and red, yellow and red, and orange/coral and turquoise. happy color combo-ing!

 - layering: don't ever think that an outfit can't be layered. in my opinion, every outfit can be layered if you find the right combinations! for starters, you can always make an outfit more interesting by layering a lace cami under your top (like i've mentioned maybe 1000 other times in this post). to dive deeper, i always love adding a shrug or shawl onto a top. it makes it super cute and adds cool proportions! layering also isn't limited to tops. like i mentioned earlier, adding tights underneath shorts is super cute and makes your outfit different from others. leg warmers also add dimensions and i love the idea of layering miniskirts!

 - the three-item rule: no y2k outfit is complete without at least 3 accessories. if it's winter, add a hat, a scarf, and a shoulder bag. if it's summer, don't forget a chunky belt, big sunglasses, and once again, a shoulder bag. honestly, you should be bringing your shoulder bag everywhere. staple!!!

    i'm literally shocked at how long this post got. if anyone read it all and has gotten to the end, hello and thank you for reading! more posts coming soon about 2000s beauty, lifestyle, and of course, fashion! hugs, kisses, and i'll see you in the next one(˵˘ ³˘˵)

you know you love me

xoxo,

maria ₊˚⊹♡