When we look back on this decade's fashion, how will it be defined? Who were the movers and shakers influencing the trends; which were the stand-out styles we embraced and how will they be remembered in another 10 years? Will we cringe with embarrassment at our fashion faux pas or will we shriek with delight at a decade of sartorial sophistication?
With the decade coming to a close, we look back on the trends and remember the best — and worst — of what we wore.
Jean-ius
Skinny jeans first made their mark on the svelte legs of Kate Moss around 2003, and they've been a wardrobe staple ever since. At the end of 2009, there's no sign yet of their demise. But earlier in the decade we were all wearing hipsters.
Remember the ones where you were constantly yanking them up to stop your undies from hanging out? Do you recall that sitting or bending down became an issue, because it was impossible to park your bum without your builders' crack being on show? G-string and builders' crack spotting became everyone's favourite hobby. Yes, we suffered for our fashion and gave the general public a good laugh at the same time.
Sticking to the denim theme, in the early 2000s was dark-blue denim, it had to be dark, as dark as you could go. Then black and grey jeans became popular, followed by coloured denim (red, blue, white, pink, purple — every colour under the sun), we've also seen faded jeans come back and some throwbacks from the '80s, namely ripped, acid wash (nooooooo — don't do it, you'll regret it!) and home-bleached.
Waistlines
The decade's waistlines have gone from as low as you can go in the early 2000s with the infamous low-riders and have gradually crept up, until the more recently just-below-your-boobs look. We've gone from everything hanging out, muffin-top style, to everything being sucked back in.
Foot fetish
Thanks to the skinny jean, our boots have been firmly on display for most of the decade and the cries of "Oooh, I love your boots!" can be heard around the Western world on any given winter's day. The skinnies have also allowed us to show off our kitten heels, flats, stilettos (back from the '80s), pumps, mules, ballerinas and gladiators.
Pointy shoes were big for a few years. While we loved them at the time, the memories I have of them now are of my toes being so squished up that it was a day's worth of agony and sweet relief when we finally got home and kicked them off. And let's not forget that they added an extra shoe size to your foot. Not so good if you had big plates to start with!
Other foot-gear that made it big in the decade were ugg boots, and while Down Under they've been a staple for decades, suddenly they were embraced around the world and worn, not just indoors or while you were putting out the rubbish, but everywhere and with everything! Out clubbing, to parties, to work, school, red-carpet premieres — there was nowhere that the humble ugg didn't go.
Another shoe phenomenon that emerged during the decade was the Croc. Otherwise-sane people went crazy for these bits of ugly, chunky rubber. Millions upon millions of pairs were sold around the world. They even had their celebrity fans, who won't be named and shamed here. These will definitely go down in history as a big, bad, fashion boo-boo.
But there was another piece of rubber footwear we all embraced in the '00s and that was the jandal (also known as thongs, flip-flops, pluggers and Havaianas). Everyone has a pair or 10 in their wardrobe and a summer isn't complete without them. FYI: they were apparently invented by a New Zealander in the 1950s!
On a final footnote to this section — and moving up-market from the jandals and Crocs — we can't forget the influence of the shoe designers over the decade. While they were out of the price range of the average girl about town, it didn't stop us from lusting after the likes of Jimmy Choo and Manolo Blahnik. After Carrie Bradshaw made them famous in Sex and the City, we all wanted a pair of Manolos on our tootsies.
Designer desire and throwaway threads
Back in the '90s, clothes were pricey, not just the designer stuff but the everyday apparel of the high street shops. Unless you were a celebrity or fabulously wealthy, there was no point even dreaming about Louis Vuitton or Dolce & Gabbana. But this all changed in the new millennium and there were some major shifts which would influence the way we dressed and the way we shopped.
Firstly, clothes got cheaper. While they used to be manufactured in Western countries, fashion houses and designers realised that they could get them made a damn sight cheaper in China or India or anywhere else where labour came cheap. And so began the era of cheap, mass clothes manufacturing. Suddenly everything was a bargain! Whereas before we could afford a new dress once in a while for a special occasion, we could now buy five at a time and we'd wear them once then throw them away.
Another factor was that many of us got wealthier. The Western world was booming and with this rise in wealth came a rise in aspiration. We had more disposable income and the banks gave us more and more money (or rather, credit), we had to spend it on something, so we bought clothes, and lots of them. Designer clothes were more accessible than ever and we all wanted to look like Sarah Jessica Parker, Victoria Beckham or Kate Moss.
Celebrities would become a major influence on us and we became obsessed with them and what they wore, along with best-dressed and worst-dressed lists. We couldn't get enough of them and what they were wearing — and whatever they wore, we wanted.
Fake fashion
With the rise of manufacturing in China came another fashion phenomenon. The Western world desired the designer threads that adorned the bodies of our favourite celebrities, but not everyone could or wanted to spend thousands on the real thing and so they bought fakes.
In markets and on street corners around the world, replica Louis Vuitton bags and Chanel sunglasses appeared and were snapped up by the masses. Suddenly everyone had the Chloe Paddington bag or a Burberry cap, or a Louis Vuitton insignia-patterned bus-pass wallet (made of plastic). In our desire to keep up with the latest trends, we all became slaves to fake fashion, which devalued its true currency.
The celebrity trendsetters
There were certain celebrities who would come to have a huge influence on our wardrobes. The popularity of Sex and the City meant that we all tuned in to see what Carrie Bradshaw/Sarah Jessica Parker would be wearing. When SJP wore a nameplate necklace, so did we. If it was okay for SJP to go out in a tutu and rainbow-bright shoes, then it was okay for us, too.
Kate Moss was another star whose style we emulated. From the skinny jeans to the waistcoats to the ugg boots and Balenciaga bags, her edgy street style was copied by teens, 20-somethings and beyond. This fashion pioneer helped bring boho chic to our streets along with Sienna Miller, who would also become a style icon, particularly in the first half of the decade.
Victoria Beckham, Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lopez were other stars of influence, and more recently model Agyness Deyn has jumped into the spotlight along with the quirky Lady Gaga.
The best of the rest
Batwings, boob tubes, camouflage, ruffles, pussy-bow blouses, playsuits, puffy sleeves, capes, gypsy skirts, vintage, tailoring, frills and embellishments are just some of the looks we have cooed over at some point over the decade.
We were also into tunic tops which made everyone look pregnant, cowboy boots worn with delicate dresses or cut-off shorts (à la Jessica Simpson), big belts wrapped around tops and dresses, nu-wave, day-glo, geek chic, underwear as outwear and the '80s revival (including the re-emergence of the puffball skirt, updated and renamed the tulip).
Oversized bags, little bags which housed little dogs (Paris Hilton-style), gangsta chic, trucker hats, hoodies, aviator sunglasses, flat caps, fedoras and let's not forget the influence of emos, with their asymmetrical hair, flannel shirts, Converse sneakers and studded belts. And of course there were accessories. Everything had to be accessorised, with everything from rings to brooches, bandanas and bling.
Moving into the teensies
At the beginning of the decade the world went gaga over Kylie Minogue's gold hotpants, worn in her 'Spinning Around' video, which, in part, lead to us wearing shorts for daywear, to work with boots and tights. At the end of the decade the quirky style of Lady Gaga has us cheering and laughing and wondering if we can get away with leotards or latex pants at work.
We're moving into the next decade wearing leggings, blazers, hard-shouldered tops and structured dresses, harem pants (MC Hammer eat your heart out), bandau dresses, jumpsuits, brogues, bodycon skirts and hippy-style hair bands.
Who knows how the future will judge the fashion of this decade, but at least they can't call it dull. It's been the decade where anything goes, where the big designers have had to compete with the celebrity designers and with the throwaway street fashion that's overflowing from our cupboards.
It's been the decade of the fake: fake bags, sunglasses, boobs, hair, nails and tans. It's been the decade of distorted beauty, with size-zero models tottering unhealthily down the catwalks and photoshopped celebrities smiling perfectly from their retouched photos.
We've had preppy. We've had punk. We've had throwaway threads and vintage chic. We've had it all! As we dip our toes into 2010 and beyond, let's hope we take with us the realisation that perfection is photoshopped, that size zero is wrong and size healthy is right, that we're all a bit poorer than we used to be and it doesn't matter if we don't have a new dress every week.
But maybe, just maybe if we work hard and pay off our credit card debts, we can get back into the black and at some point in the decade we'll be able to afford those Manolos we've had our eye on for five years or so.
What were your best and worst fashions of the decade? What fashion mistakes did you make? Share your fashion memories with us below.
