Bennifer 2.0, Lindsay Lohan, ‘The Hills’: The noughties are back and here’s what else to expect

Bennifer have rekindled their former romance. Lindsay Lohan is acting again. The Hills reboot is underway. Three things that, separately, wouldn’t have raised much suspicion, but combine them and it’s a clear indication that we’ve reverted back to our former selves.

Part of us is delighted, the other part of us – the part that detested low rise jeans and wearing our hair dead straight with those two pieces pulled down in front of our faces – is slightly scared for what’s to come. 

“Let’s talk about the Juicy Couture tracksuit.” – Paris Hilton

Hints that early 2000s trends were slowly seeping back into the mainstream first started to appear on TikTok… which is probably why most of us missed it until now. I dip in and out of the platform but rarely spend a consistent amount of time scrolling through it and my “for you page” is mostly filled with funny dog videos anyway (the algorithm nailed my interests fairly early on). 

But, on my last visit to the viral video sharing app, I couldn’t help but notice that everything looked very familiar – particularly the fashion. Think double denim, bucket hats and candy coloured velour tracksuits with “Juicy” emblazoned across the bum. All very noughties.

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A getup first made famous by New York socialite Paris Hilton back in 2000, in her own words, “the 2000s were all about Britney Spears, boy bands. It was all about monogram and labels – like Chanel and Dior and Louis Vuitton – and I feel like everybody just had really [a lot of] fun with their fashion choices. So, I think it was just all about being super extra.”

To quote the heiress herself, that’s hot. 

Small handbags… hello? 

Small handbags are in, huge oversized versions that swallow your possessions are out. Google “small handbags noughties”, and your search will return hundreds of thousands of photos of all the fashion icons we used to look to for inspiration – each with teeny, tiny handbags in tow. From SJP to Jessica Alba, Hilary Duff, and Lily Allen, everyone had one and if you didn’t, you definitely wanted one. 

Today, the same teeny, tiny handbags can be seen permeating our Instagram feeds thanks to the likes of Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Lizzo who brought things to a whole new level with her AMAs Valentino purse. Shop our edit of small bags here, but be warned, you’ll probably want them all. 

Lindsay Lohan is acting again and we think it’s fetch

One of the noughties’ most memorable screen queens, Lindsay Lohan will make her long-awaited return to acting later this year. Another sure sign that we’re actually going back in time, no?  

Lindsay Lohan will star in a new romantic comedy about a newly engaged and spoiled hotel heiress who finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter after getting total amnesia in a skiing accident pic.twitter.com/umpCpCzW4w

— Netflix (@netflix) May 24, 2021

Set to feature in a Netflix Christmas special, the former Mean Girls star isn’t straying too far from the type of films we know (and love her) for and will play the role of a newly engaged and spoiled heiress who finds herself in the care of a handsome, blue-collar lodge owner and his precocious daughter after getting total amnesia in a skiing accident. Has all the makings of being our new festive favourite. Sounds so bad that it just might be good. 

Staring at the blank page before you…

Yes, that’s right. The Hills reboot is underway and if that’s not the epitome of early noughties culture, then I don’t know what is. Hitting MTV back in 2006, the reality show ran for six seasons before the cast called it quits. Introducing us to big personalities such as Lauren Conrad, Audrina Patridge, Krisin Cavallari, Brody Jenner, Whitney Port, and the ever-controversial Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, the series aired just as many of us were entering those formative teen years. So, I think it’s fair to say that we were all thoroughly influenced by the show. Could they be considered the original influencers? Perhaps, but I digress. 

Titled The Hills: New Beginnings, the reunion is based on the original docuseries which MTV credits with having “changed the reality TV landscape”. Finding themselves at a crossroads, their lives are apparently being tested like “never before”. In other words, expect early 2000s levels of drama once again. 

Bennifer is back on

You may have missed the other indications that the noughties are back, but I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’re already up to date with young love’s dream (aka Ben Affleck and JLo). There’s just no possible way that you could have avoided hearing about them – news of their newly-rekindled relationship is everywhere. Not that I’m complaining… I’m strangely invested in the whole thing, even if it does turn out to be just hearsay. 

First wooing his then-costar back in 2002, Ben’s flirting techniques haven’t changed much since and though his methods are fairly out there (he once bought a series of half-page newspaper ads for $15,000 to say how much he loved working with JLo), they still seem to work on the Jenny from the Block singer. 

What’s the verdict then, do we love or loathe the noughties?

Feature image via @skims