Calling everything Y2K/2000s
I cannot for the life of me stand this anymore. I understand that the term “Y2K” is now often used as shorthand for the 2000s, and that’s not necessarily the main thing that annoys me. What bothers me is when people call literally ANYTHING Y2K/2000s.
This one creator I followed was doing a shopping vlog, held up a halter top, and said it was “soooo Y2K/2000s vibes!” It was literally just a plain halter top. No rhinestones, no outdated 2000s pattern, nothing. That’s like pointing at basic flare jeans and saying, “That’s so 70s!”
Another creator did a shopping vlog where all she did was go to Bath & Body Works and then Panera Bread, and she goes, “I’m feeling very early-2000s Y2K Tuscan mom vibes right now.” WHAT about running errands and grabbing lunch at Panera is specifically Y2K? That is just a normal Saturday morning.
I understand that nostalgia has become very mainstream over the past few years. I love engaging in nostalgia and seeing certain trends become popular again, but I feel like people have developed this almost parasocial (for lack of a better word) relationship with the 2000s, even when they actually lived through that decade. And they act like certain things only belong to that decade and can never go beyond it. As if people stopped eating Panera Bread in 2006, or halter tops didn’t become a staple in women’s clothing.
This one girl made a TikTok captioned, “Millennials really popped off with side parts!” The girl is two years younger than me, and I’ve been wearing a side part since middle school. A lot of her content was like this; framing millennials as if they’re some distant cultural era, and the most mundane things being glamorized that aren’t even specific to millennials or the 2000s era.
A lot of the things people label as Y2K are cultural trends that existed well into the 2010s. I’ve even seen people refer to Fashion Nova dresses as Y2K.
ALSO, because I know someone will bring this up, yes, the term Y2K is absolutely being flattened. For those who don’t know, Y2K was a much more futuristic aesthetic. It was heavily influenced by how people in the late 90s imagined the future and included a lot of metallics, cyber aesthetics, translucent plastics, tech optimism, etc. It was a very distinct and genuinely cool aesthetic, and I kind of hate how it’s become a catch-all term for anything remotely associated with the 2000s. And the things being referenced as 2000s aren’t even accurate!