A Blast into the Past

There’s a noticeable trend going on where many students want to dress like and revert back to the ways of the 2000’s. This trend has become popularized on social media outlets such as TikTok, with many popular 2000’s/early 2010’s shows influencing this movement. It’s caused popular clothing brands to imitate their old styles as well. The main reason for this is because students are sick of the modern world, yearning for a time they couldn’t actually live in.

Modern clothing style and material nowadays has unsatisfied many people, therefore the demand for 2000’s materials and style have risen. According to “History of Polyester: Invention to Modern Use,” polyester is a staple for making clothing today because it’s relatively low cost, carefree, and strong. Also, according to “Polyester: 70% of Clothing’s Petroleum-Carcinogen Crisis,” 70% of clothing is made from polyester now. However, polyester isn’t the material us consumers want to be dominant, but unfortunately that’s what it’s come to. Polyester has brought down the quality of clothing, yet prices have only gone up. Back then in the 2000’s, materials like cotton dominated clothing. The style was also more appealing, with cheaper prices. Bringing back better dominant materials such as cotton and similar style may increase cost for companies, but there would be more buyers, making these companies more money.

Another factor of this desire for the 2000’s is the ways of life contrasted with them now. People associate the past with nostalgia, comfort, and a particular warmness. Although us students weren’t actually there back then, fake nostalgia is very real, and it’s simply our envy for a time that seemed more enjoyable. We, as students who are filled nowadays with addictive technology that’s taken over our lives, just crave a simpler time. Many 2000’s/early 2010’s shows depict the ways of life back then, such as “Gilmore Girls,” “Gossip Girl,” “Pretty Little Liars,” and “The Vampire Diaries,” which further influence students’ desire. In a craze of unrealistic beauty standards and modern technology, we just want to embrace the natural beauty and style seen back then in these shows. Moreover, back then, the distractions and stress of notifications and social media weren’t as intense, making people envy old times. According to “Technology Addiction Statistics 2025,” 58% of teenagers have separation anxiety with their phones nowadays. That wasn’t a huge problem back then, hence the feeling of simplicity we get looking back at that time. 

Therefore, an uproar in the 2000’s continues to peak as people purchase mimicked clothing and engage in throwback posts.