Breaking Down Y2K Aesthetic (& why it’s not the same as McBling)

[@vysharra]

A big detail people miss is that the metallics (especially makeup) trended towards a pearlescent sheen rather than a reflective hard metal look that followed after. If props weren’t a cool pearlescent, they were a bare stainless steel rather than heavy sparkles.

[@jennaabarclay]

YES I call it the shimmer vs bling switch 🤣

[@fruitandveggies24]

I consider Y2K fashion the years I was in high school 1998-2002. I was a mall goth so I didn't wear any of this stuff, but of course saw it worn. You're totally right, in 2003 everything changed. I thought it was because I went to college, but looking back it does seem like there was a big shift during that time.

[@taco2234]

I’ve been seeing ppl call EVERYTHING y2k especially grunge styles and fairycore. Even some alt styles are being called y2k and I’ve wanted to say something for so long but I knew ppl would attack me for it bc I’m apparently ‘wrong’

[@jennaabarclay]

It’s become a catch-all term now that the trends are being reinterpreted and a lot of them are blending together

[@HughMadBro]

We definitely would not be caught dead in jinco jeans OR Tripp jeans 😂 we didn't even talk to people like that in public unless it was family & that was 💯 our excuse 🤷🏼‍♀️😂

[@Anthony-rt4yz]

Lmao me correcting people and then being attacked and told I was wrong bc people were getting y2k confused with McBling like why did I bother 🥰

[@HughMadBro]

@@Anthony-rt4yz just keep going 😂🤷🏼‍♀️ they're gonna need to find out OR they won't know & they'll be ignorant & keep continuing to think they're the same!

[@tarakennedy707]

They're definitely using "y2k" to mean "2000s." I will say I'm seeing fashions today that are kind of a cross between 90s and 00s fashion. Like patchwork jeans (so ugly, I HAD to have a pair though in 00-01) but like in more of a cut or designs that would've been more popular in the 90s (cause mine were very low cut and flared leg).

[@puffball4484]

As time goes on 2000-2009 is going to be known as y2k. Like anything that happened in that time is just going to be labeled as that or fall under that banner. People will say things like "mcbling was a y2k trend".

[@jennaabarclay]

I agree! It’s already happening. Even late 00s and early ‘10s things are being called y2k. We have to simplify over time or it gets too complicated

[@tarakennedy707]

I never heard the term McBling. I correct people on this all the time. 2000s and y2k aren't interchangeable lol.

[@fia9845]

Omg I hope not 😭 I went from wearing the blue tshirt with a silver star to wearing bubble hem dresses and thinking that square toes on shoes/grandpa sneakers/clunky platforms were 🤮 ALOT happened in that time hahaha

[@SSaugaCriss]

99 was y2k : grls rocn Capris & bucket hats all summer

[@lacielapl2026]

100% accurate. You need to be a costume designer for a show set in 1999.

[@MrGamerChad]

I'm glad that more people are addressing this issue now. Its tiring looking for Y2K content and only finding McBling or some alternate aesthetic that has no relation to Y2K.

[@jezebel324]

It IS kind of hard to pinpoint the fashion as someone who was still in elementary at the time, but GOD that metallic shine was everywhere.

[@ivanamper5323]

I can honestly imagine people in like 2032 making a video similar to this about how early 2010s fashion and late 2010s are completely different lmao

[@jennaabarclay]

I could make that video now! I will eventually as I work my way through the years

[@cm-yu6gu]

Omg they are like two different eras One is Americana/hipster/Tumblr Jeffrey Campbell Lita's aesthetic (also business Casual) and the second half of 2010s is the beginning of the Instagram baddie

[@MistyInTheCloudz]

lmao i can imagine

[@geezeymlpandlps1312]

YES YES YES MY CHILDHOOD

[@rramirez6094]

Jenna faithfully giving a better and FREE education than my entire fashion merch degree!

[@foxylovelace2679]

Oh my god, core memory unlocked. In 2001, I wore pastel lavender sparkly capri pants to the first day of school.

[@davismotomiya6864]

She nailed it lol 💯 I can assure you this is true as a 34 year old black man. I had girlfriends in 5th-7th grade with the Y2K look back in 2000-2002 with the crazy hair barrettes, baggy pants bottoms, big shoes, used metallic gen pens to write letters, etc. Then 2006 I dated a white girl who had bling shirts and a pink Motorola Razor 😂 our first date was watching Tokyo Drift in the theaters haha

[@SilenceIsGolden4]

🎶 I'm so 3008, you're so 2000 and late, I got that BOOM BOOM BOOM- that future BOOM BOOM BOOM 🎶 🤣

[@brittany2670]

I agree with the surf aesthetic! I lived in Roxy, billabong and Hurley outfits in high School in the early 2000's!

[@sophya5796]

Yes! Halterneck tops, flared or corduroy jeans, Hawaii prints and those goddamn flip flops were the hottest drip 😅

[@a.c.7573]

Despite the y2k resurgence, I'm pretty surprised there isn't much of a pixie cut/short hair trend going on right now

[@jennaabarclay]

Yes!! A lot of the current fashion trends are still very ‘90s and I feel like hair trends are also. Although the shag that is really popular now feels very 70s too. I am starting to see more short and medium length styles, so we may be on our way. So interesting how the trends are reinterpreted when they come back around!

[@tarakennedy707]

@@jennaabarclay yes! But the shag made a strong comeback with the "Rachel" cut of the 90s. It was just a more polished version with a smooth blowout.

[@1984watchr]

@@jennaabarclay I am short haired for the first time ever in my life!

[@Pinkladyisv]

Right! That iconic “flip” hair cut was on everyone in the very 00’s. Plus it worked on various hair textures too.

[@LoLyse]

Those shiney blue Bubblegum brand pants were GOAT. They were so absorbent without anyone knowing liquids had even been spilled on it

[@meganc769]

Bubblegum jeans and pants were my fav! I had glitter jeans, black shiny glitter pants and a jeans with pink and white stars embroided on them lol they always fit me the best.

[@fataleflare]

If you look at cartoons that came out in 2000-2005 they really took inspiration from Y2K fashion. For example Winx Club.

[@amber354]

I loved this video! This reminds me of how so many people will sort of combine the aesthetics and fashion of the 60s and 70s, when there were notable differences.

[@Zosclothes]

I was born in 2000 but dress like this every day after seeing old pictures of my mom, who is a lovely free spirit. I think it really suits me over more recent trends like high rise skinnies and stuff. I love your vids and they inspire me so so much to keep this kind of look alive and kicking bc it’s so so amazing!

[@anitamead5268]

The fact that I had those Delias silver sequin wedges in your thumbnail brought me back 😊. That with my “just kicken it” T-shirt was my first Delia’s order.

[@jennaabarclay]

Most of these pics are from a Delia’s catalogue I have from spring 2000

[@MBXGill]

This was so good. Since I grew up in in a Black neighborhood in a huge city , trends were a little different but generally you naileddd a lot of what I saw in YM and the Disney channel 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@dawsons9876]

I’m always so impressed with your attention to detail with all your videos!! Idk how you remember it all soooooo well.

[@Addie_Aniyah.]

Best history lesson ever

[@Y2Kenzie_4-EVER]

SAME!!!!!!

[@Alexa_2208]

Your channel is like a time capsule for me & i absolutely love it. ❤️

[@ufolandings]

Early 2000s definitely had a few things from Y2K come back if only for a little bit! But yes I noticed that since the resurgence a lot of 2000s fashions/aesthetics all got shoved under the Y2K umbrella. I think early 2000s I remember there being a lot of peace signs on EVERYTHING at one point, lots of saturated colors, early 2000s also had what I believe is now called Coconut Girl or Key West Kitten style? Very much a big obsession with tropical and beach themed items. The peace signs craze died off around 2007ish since that is the last time I recall wearing it in 5th grade. If you could make a shortish video like this one about early 2000s fashion it would be so cool and definitely help set things straight imo

[@jennaabarclay]

I’m going to move through the years starting with y2k, then 2000s, late 00s, etc..

[@ufolandings]

@@jennaabarclay looking forward to it! 🤩 I wasn’t a teenager until 2010 so I'm curious to know how teens and young adults dressed in the eras I was too young to recall. Your content is such a treat on my timeline ✨️

[@tarakennedy707]

Peace signs were definitely a 90s thing. There was a big resurgence of 70s fashion in the 90s. I remember begging my mom for a t-shirt that had smiley faces and peace signs on it.

[@SSaugaCriss]

@@tarakennedy70791 to 95 (Doors movie & Woodstock 94)

[@iamsad9107]

I've been explaining this to people with no hope and I feel so validated that SOMEOME is making an easy to understand, digestible video to send to people when they just don't understand/don't want to listen to my explanation

[@KatharineOsborne]

I was 24 in 2000 and it feels weird that this is being presented as history, but yeah, there are people alive today that didn’t experience it who are freaking fully formed adults 😅 I think for a lot of us we didn’t have a lot of choice in fashion. I didn’t have a lot of money and shopped at Old Navy and Target. I avoided the teenage trends as much as I could (aka shiny stuff, weird logos etc), but you kind of had to go with it. Black ‘tech’ pants were also a huge thing at this time and were default work wear for women. I feel like tech pants evolved into yoga pants and never fully went away. When I started making more money I invested in more timeless pieces that I could keep for a decade or more. I now also make my own clothes to my own patterns so I get what I want and it fits every time (sewing was the lockdown skill I picked up 💪). Also this was a very transitional time for workplace fashion, with it becoming far more relaxed. In the early nineties when I was a teenager at my first job I wore pant suits. I avoided skirts because the dress code was to wear pantyhose, which especially for a summer job, just no 😂. By the 2000s with the first wave of the internet tech boom, jeans and t-shirts and hoodies were far more acceptable in many occupations. I haven’t had to wear anything resembling a suit since 98. Beau Brummell can roll away in his grave over the death of the suit; 200 years is long enough for a fashion trend.

[@msjanine8]

Your memory is on point!!!

[@hoolialynn26]

I had a sparkly blue lipsmacker I got in my stocking Christmas ‘99 and I would put so much on that the sheer lip balm would turn my lips blue. Also got the faith-hill haircut.

[@Mintflavoredgum]

Thank you so much for this!! I looooved y2k but gen z keeps mistaking it for mcbling!

[@tiffetha]

and they are confidently loud about telling others it's the same thing lol

[@itsclauds7554]

Did the Mcbling aesthetic come with the rise in popularity in mid to late 2000s with The Simple Life (Paris Hilton and Nicole) as well as Girls Next Door (playboy bunny reality show). They both embody this aesthetic so much and can’t help but think they gave the rise to mcbling.

[@hanshi3831]

I think so, for sure. I also remember Ashton Kutcher got everyone into trucker hats because of Punk'd. Rock of Love was maybe a bit later but was full of McBling vibes too.

[@Pinkladyisv]

Yes! It did! It was trendy to wear lots of bling and label names around the peak of those shows.

[@Musicanimedork01]

The one thing I distinctly remember from the time when the surf thing was big was the Powerpuff girl colors, bubblegum pink, bright green, and baby blue I cant pull off the retro future look but I'm OBSESSED love that shimmer shit

[@chocolatecoco8570]

Remember we even used to paint our nails pastel blue 😄

[@britneygriffin6704]

This is still my favorite fashion era of my childhood. 💖

[@cj222100]

Lol this made me remember what I wore NYE to ring in 2000-a long army green skirt with slits on either side, Docs, a silver satin camisole top, & a crushed velvet long sleeve shrug, with my hair in space buns (but that term didn't exist back then) Definitely was a combination of the traditional 90s wear with Y2K lol

[@nailslacquer]

I remember what I wore too lol

[@vineshreemoodley9597]

OMG. I think I know now why blue is my favourite colour 😱😱😱😱

[@simply_geri]

oh yes i remember this era. but i do remember a time where everyone is also inspired by chinese dresses or tops... then wearing bun with a stick on the hair... can't determine what year that was, hope you can help and talk about that too 😍

[@jennaabarclay]

Late ‘90s!! I remember that being a big trend around the y2k era

[@evil1by1]

Yeah thats y2k (if you care to define it by the year 2000 aka 98-02) I had a , and may still have it somewhere kimono shirt. Like it had the wrap front that was in with a peplum type bottom and cropped kimono style sleeves that came the elbow with a bottom slit in the sleeves that was about 3 inches long and it had a fake black obi that tied in the back. The print was red and black with cherry blossoms I loved that shit with my gaucho pants or pallazo pants. I also had silver hair sticks to pin my bun up. I think I got the shirt at kohls around 01 or 02. I also had 3 different mandarin neck shirts in silk, velvet and satin. One was very much Chinese in inspiration the others ... well they were the closest to what I actually wanted which was a banded collar.

[@melaniemarks8682]

Thank you for helping me relive my youth. I love your videos.

[@hadassah_REAL.09]

Early! Ilysm Jenna you helped me so much with finding an outfit for my 90’s themed school dance a few months ago, and I got best dressed to theme! Edit just fixed a spelling mistake that was driving me insane

[@hannahhelton3789]

My y2k party is this week and I’m sure people will dress McBling but that’s okay with me. I think I’m going to skew more 1999-2001 with my outfit.

[@aaliyah6464]

If you ever watched the first matrix basically that was the starting basis

[@flala2261]

Sooo good! what a time to be alive 🥹😅💛✨

[@Kirsten_is_cursed10]

This makes me want to go watch Zenon 🥲

[@Petruskinhap972]

I’m 39 and this is spot on!

[@IsabellaDemarko]

Absolutely LOVE YOUR VIDEOS. Can’t get enough xx

[@Luna-dh6yt]

More video like this ! It’s so informative ✨ ( we need the boy version plz )

[@madeleineclark283]

Oh wow. You unlocked a hidden memory for me. I remember EVERYTHING was silver/light blue back in the day

[@fia9845]

The tshirt at 2:41 gave me flashbacks of what we wore when I was 7-8 years old back in 2001-2002 😭❤️

[@dietitianmama]

So I worked at Old Navy around 1999/2000 and they had distinct differences between Capri's, pedal pushers, and there was one other length I can't remember what it was.

[@jennaabarclay]

Ooh now I need to dig into this!! I always said pedal pushers bc it’s what my mom said they called them when she was little 🤣🤣

[@evil1by1]

Yes. You had capris which were if I recall just below the knee, pedal pushers which were mid calf and waders or cropped pants which are just at/above the ankle. I hated all but capris

[@CeceliaAngel]

Would love more videos like this I'm really into fashion (hoping to start a brand inspired by mcbling) and this really cleared things up for me :)

[@katiecopley1147]

I just want to go back everytime i see nostalgia on social media

[@mariescorsone7568]

Omg thank you so much you explain it everything so well you should do more of style analysis and more of the aesthetics in dept

[@packnetadaija]

This was really entertaining to watch! Yeah I remember my mom had a short hair cut for a LOOONNG time haha

[@bethanyoneal5789]

I’ve always wanted an inflatable chair

[@MonicaPerez-yv2iw]

Silvers, frosty Blue and light blue colors end of the 90s, 👍🏻💯

[@Little_Sidhe]

Pedal pushers with chunky ellesse trainers and knitted kickers jumper.

[@jalapeno1119]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS.

[@adambert4062]

I love your content! I’m absolutely addicted, and love learning older about fashion trends!

[@edannerowe-taylor3152]

Please can you do a part two for mcbling please ❤

[@MatheusFerreira-mu6lu]

I love this channel

[@tendingourgarden]

Periwinkle was so big back then!

[@rgribbonqueen]

in the 90s of course the grunge fashion and this ended abruptly with the millennium futuristic look and didn’t really return because after that it was a different style completely

[@katiecopley1147]

I appreciate this so much

[@Rumade]

Blue was a big thing! Blue and purple. I feel like pink from 1997-2003 was seen more as a little girl's colour (and I say this as someone who turned 10 at the end of 1999). It was only from Paris Hilton onwards that pink swung back in.

[@kidsdraw8162]

Thanks for this! I find myself resonating more with y2k Bc I believe it’s much more inclusive than mcbling

[@poshperfect1393]

I’ve never even heard the term “McBling” and I thought my fashion sense was pretty hip back then.

[@jennaabarclay]

I don’t know if it was a term used during the time to describe the fashion, but it’s used now looking back

[@tarakennedy707]

I hadn't heard it either but it reminds me of when "McLovin" was everywhere and the blinged out cell phone cases and accessories were all the rage. And I love it lol

[@kattriella1331]

I thought the thumbnail said "yak" aesthetic and was very confused but intrigued.

[@sabinadorothea]

Love this video explanation!!

[@feelthejoy]

Y2K = Delia’s catalogue. That’s really all the younguns need to know.

[@feelthejoy]

And McBling was paparazzi photos from early tmz and Perez Hilton lol

[@Aleena8700]

I'm loving the Delia's catalog. I miss this era. #classof01

[@goddessofkwangya155]

New Jean's stans better have to see this video

[@83lulube]

Anybody remember denim everything in your room? That was me. 💀💀💀💀

[@karendinkel9040]

I feel like an anthropologist from 100 years in the future studying an earlier time. Even though I lived through this lol

[@AmandaDixson]

It also had a 7ps style twist to it.

[@jessicaschoonmaker2073]

Clear or clear light blue acrylic house phones anyone ?

[@JulEnglefaris]

Yes! And you could see all the gears

[@aaalicia2004]

I'd love 2 find those 2:38 tiny glasses in blue, I only find them pink

[@twiggledowntown3564]

I've been wondering where to shop for y2k clothes, but I can never find them in store.

[@jennaabarclay]

If you’re looking for actual vintage y2k items, I have great luck on poshmark and eBay. Depop too but prices are high there. I’ve also been able to find a lot of mid 2000s styles on thred up, although not much true y2k there.

[@funsizedi88]

God I miss the early 2000s.

[@funsizedi88]

Tysm for the heart. I'm so glad I found your channel. I had serious nostalgia even I saw your New Years Eve blue shinny pants. I wore the same for NYE 2000! Pairs blues if I remember correctly?

[@jennaabarclay]

Yes paris blues!!

[@rgribbonqueen]

I would see teenagers looking like this space kind of grunge thing sometimes working in a store or something and I thought they were foreign because no one else dressed like that

[@tulip811]

So it's just ... Early 2000s aesthetic?👀 Can you pls do a video on Fall and winter styles ?🥺

[@jennaabarclay]

I’ll def do more styling ones soon! I have one fall styling video up from last week 😁

[@RubberduckStudios]

cool!!

[@SloanePaoPow]

There was even a Y2K American Girls doll. She was dress like Xenon, Girl of the 21st century. Am I the only one who remembers this?

[@kekoakaawa8879]

Y’all remember that movie Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century?? Very Y2K movie.

[@natashat.9098]

Thanks for this video! I think it's so funny that most people actually think the clothes now a days are remakes of the 2000s. It's sooooo off! The style that I have been seeing is nothing but crop! Back then we had natural beauty and rocked it! The clothes back then will never make a come back, though, I wish it would. but now a days, it's all about being plastic, and accepting it. Sorry my opinion not everyone has to agree :) I grew up in all of this which is why I love your channel!

[@evil1by1]

Umm we had crops too or do you not remember Aaliyah and her ever present bandeau tops, gwen and the sports bra, just all of Britney, TLC never wore full shirts or Destiny's child or salt n pepper. The only difference I see is the girls now aren't letting people shame them out of wearing what they want. They dont think X fashion is only for perfectly fit girls with perfect bodies in a perfect size 00. I'm so sad I didn't wear what I wanted because I was "fat" at 5'5 and 115lbs. I didn't have abs like Britney so better wear a tent . Nah the kids are OK to have binned that horseshit

[@natashat.9098]

@evil1by1 well celebrities of course I remember but I wasn't meaning that.

[@mysharona6754]

I'm 44 years old. Why don't I know what mcbling is 😂.. I thought it was today's version of the millennium look 😂

[@Na2Ocean]

The Y2K look didn’t even evolve. I was super hopeful!

[@MandieTerrier]

I still wear capri pants

[@HughMadBro]

Tell them girl, it was all about the millennium & making sure you got the B.S.B CD THAT 👏🏻 CHRISTMAS 😝🤷🏼‍♀️

[@Billybloop]

I want Capri pants to come back so bad. I want to be able to wear them during summer in public without looking like a frumpy middle aged woman because those are the only people I see wearing them nowadays.

[@evil1by1]

That's always been the case. My mom (60's) would never wear capris because it reminded her of her mom and aunts (80's-90's) in the summer always wearing them around doing yard work. They briefly came back but I hated them when I was young because that was shit my grandma wore. Now I do wear at least the athletic wear capris because I am old and frumpy. Seriously I think the only time the youth ever wore capris and it was a fashion statement was in the 60s and only for sporadic minutes in the 80s and aughts.

[@actinglikeseals]

Omg… Capri pants… 🥹

[@Unsweetened8618]

Ain't Ariana doing Y2K currently. Her hair and fashion sceams Y2K & 60s

[@sav6342]

[@kristenhlady4079]

I know this ! Was born 93. I wanted all the blow up 🛋

[@1984watchr]

@3:32 cringeeeee. the jean capri with the tank top and some kind of writing across. What a style! I wore this kinda stuff and it just makes me want to hide thinking about it. How uncreative and dull could a generation be. We were the "millenials" so you would think we would have had some brand new amazing futuristic style. This was just pathetic! It's like the whole late 90's to late 2000's wasn't sure what to wear and were so insecure we just put this on and felt like we blended in.

[@hotjanuary]

God, I hate the y2k aesthetic. Thanks to that aesthetic, I wore shimmery cool pale purple eyeshadow for my grade 8 graduation photos. I’m a true autumn colour palette. Cool tones wash me out and make me look like a corpse.