GenZ Loves These Y2K Fashion Trends, But Millenials Hate Them

Much to the chagrin of millennials everywhere, Gen Z has recently gone B-A-N-A-N-A-S for Y2K fashion, from mega-low-rise jeans to skinny sunnies.

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Millennials have a lot to say about the return of this tummy-flashing, velour-clad, dELiA*s mail-order catalog era. And no, it’s not just because we’ve become old and cranky.

Low-Rise Jeans And Belly Button Rings

Out of all the reemerging Y2K trends, none set millennials on edge quite like the ultra-low-rise jeans and belly button jewelry combo. And it’s easy to understand why.

Gen Zers might be too young to remember the toxic skinny culture of the early 2000s, but millennials aren’t.

“Your body was the fashion. You weren’t showing off what you were wearing; you were showing off your stomach,” said one TikTok user.

“Y2K was heavily pushing women to be slim. And the fashion that followed was dictated by that,” wrote another concerned individual.

HOW can body types go in and out of fashion so quick. y2k was heavily pushing women to be slim & the fashion that followed was dictated by that. then there was the “thick” era where men wanted women with small tummies but wide hips and bigger bums – WOMENS BODIES ARENT TRENDS
— ella ????? (@ccosmictortoise) June 7, 2021

Millennials aren’t trying to ruin young TikTok stylists’ fun. On the contrary, we want to keep the fashion world as inclusive as possible. Because despite half of us not knowing if we’re “adulting” correctly, our age has made us wise enough to know that a standard of extreme skinniness is dangerous.

Baby Tees And Velour Sweatsuits

Baby tees and velour sweatsuits have also risen from their Ed Hardy graves. But to be fair, millennials have been hip to crop tops for a while now.

Gen Zers, like Evie Clark on TikTok, love showing off their discovery of baby tees. They’re also borrowing matching velour sweatsuits from their mom’s closet (yes, we said mom’s closet, and yes, we are old).

How to style a juicy couture velour sweatsuit: don’t.
— ?? (@christietrevi) July 16, 2013

But millennials rather stick to their high-waisted shorts, bright crop tops and grandma sweaters. And when it comes to those velour sweatsuits one mid-90s baby wrote, “How to style a Juicy Couture velour sweatsuit: don’t.”

Kitschy Accessories

Finally, no 2021-does-2001 look is complete without kitschy accessories straight out of a multi-colored Caboodle. I mean melted bead rings, chunky statement barrettes, and yes, the infamous skinny shades.

Some millennials are less than enthused about the return of “gawdy barrettes and beaded purses that look like they came from Toys ‘R Us.” Others are rushing to Depop to peruse the over 100,000 items listed under “Y2K accessories.”

I truly don’t understand these omnipresent gawdy barrettes and beaded purses that look like they came from craft kits in the girls section at toys r us and I think in a few years we’re gonna look back at them like we look at early 2000s fashion today. my big unpopular opinion
— shereen (@shereeny) September 4, 2019

Hate them or love them, the statement accessories of the early 2000s are some of the only returning trends that aren’t dependent on a specific body type.

And while some Gen Zers struggle to shop “Y2K vintage” online, at least millennials can take solace in knowing that if we do decide to hop on this bandwagon, all we have to do is find that sparkly Caboodle we misplaced in our closet 17 years ago.