One style of fashion I am getting back into is the 2000s and Y2k era. For me, it was a great time, and for a few years it’s looked a bit dated, but now it’s back.
The 2000s fashion was one of my favourite decades to wear clothes, probably because of my age. I was in my 20s and buying a lot of clothes, so not only do I have fond memories, but I still have all the clothes I wore back then.
None other than two brand synonymous with the Y2k fashion era: Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier and True Religion.
Here’s a little about both, and how I styled these outfits.
I have to start off with the hoodie, it is of course Ed Hardy by Christian Audigier.
Ed Hardy clothing was everywhere in the 2000s. Ed Hardy was actually a famous tattoo artist, who then done a licencing deal with designer Christian Audigier to have his designs put on clothing.
From there we got crazy tattoo designed clothing, and it was everywhere. Lots of colour, but one big characteristic was the rhinestones.
The rhinestones were incorporated into every design, and every part of the clothing. From the large graphics to the front and back of pieces to the sleeves, no piece of fabric was left untouched.
As you can see in my hoodie here, there’s the skull and crossbones design with Love Kills Slowly message wrapped around the heart, and more designs within the hoodie.
The front has the printed design, as well as being a ombre/dip dye style of colour going from orange to brown.
The trend grew massively, and it became saturated, which people did not like. It eventually died off, and is now part of fashion folklore.
I remember getting this hoodie when I was in Selfrdiges in London which must have been around 2009-10. It was still cool then, but was definitely near the end of the trend.
I have always said that this was one of my worst ever fashion purchases, because of it’s really high price, and the fact I hardly wore it.
But looking back, I’m glad to have bought it, as it’s one of the key pieces from the Y2k era.
The sleeve design…Death Before Dishonour in an embroidered patch with a lot of detailing, on the bottom of the sleeve. At the top a dragon, of course embezzled with rhinestones.
When it comes to 2000s denim, I loved two brands, Evisu and True Religion. These are a pair of my True Religion jeans, the Ricky Big T as they were called.
They have incredibly distinctive bold stitching throughout the jeans, and were a pretty heavyweight pair of denim.
Nothing special like selvedge, but a really nice soft piece of denim that did feel like quality.
the large buttons on the back were cool, and the big pockets with the big stitched True Religion logo really made the jeans what they were.
I liked the dark colour wash, and of course the fit was quite a low rise baggy fit, as was the style in the 200s.
I can’t forget the t-shirt which I am wearing, from another infamous Y2k brand, Juicy Couture.
Juicy Couture was absolutely everywhere in the 2000s, and were most famous for their velour tracksuits. But since they’re a fashion brand, they expanded to all sorts of clothing.
I own a pair of jeans from the brand, and I also got this t-shirt too. It’s quite a standard branded logo t-shirt of the era, with a slogan and graphic print on it.
The slogan is in blackletter, which has actually came back in popularity, so doesn’t look out of place today.
Many young people of course will have no idea the impact Juicy Couture had back in the day.
When it comes to footwear I paired these up with some Converse All Star Low in red. Another brand and style loved in the 2000s, it’s easy to miss the footwear since the jeans can almost cover them.
And there you go, Y2k fashion back in the 2020s!
What did you think of these brands back then, and do you think they’ve aged well, or poorly?
About Michael
Michael Adams is the founder and editor of Michael 84, blogger from Newcastle, UK. Sharing men's fashion tips, style advice and lifestyle information for all guys.
