11 Easy Y2K Revival Halloween Costume Ideas

Trends always recycle themselves, so the return of early 2000s clothes, accessories, and cultural influences was inevitable. It’s become increasingly difficult to avoid ad copy touting “Y2K revival” or a TikTok video featuring some miscellaneous girl showing off her latest early aughts clothing haul featuring... Ed Hardy and other hideous shit. And if you’ve managed to avoid all these telltale signs that we’re in this for the long haul, well, you probably haven’t heard that skinny jeans are “out” either. (If so, consider yourself lucky because you don’t give a fuck. Congratulations.)

Sure, we can sneer as a bunch of teens born well after 9/11 wiggle into low-rise jeans and the hideous clothes they’re picking up from Depop. And yes, I have Some Thoughts on what it means to adopt the fatphobic stylings of the aughts in an era of so-called body positivity and inclusivity. And, okay, I’m absolutely getting war flashbacks at the influx of belly button piercings I’ve seen in the wild as of late. But there’s still a charm to the simplicity of a tee over a long-sleeved shirt, an overplucked eyebrow, or a glossed lip to which your hair keeps sticking.

For everyday life, feel free to pick and choose which early 2000s trends you feel comfortable bringing back into the fold. I’m already newly devoted to wearing some cute and comfy kick-flare pants and regressing back to middle school by listening to Blink 182 on loop. But for Halloween, a costume that hints to the tastes and fashion of the New Millennium (Willennium?) should be a big hit this year. Here are a few costume ideas that aren’t too hard to throw together and satisfy whatever leftover warm and fuzzies you might have for the Y2K era.