Guest Post: Y2K Mania & Micro-aesthetics
Every writer needs an even better editor. Please enjoy this guest post in which my favorite writing buddy, C. Marie, wreaks havoc on your fave trends from the aughts.
Unfortunately for you, Maija has handed the Crushing Substack over to me today!
TLDR: This week, in place of your weekly dose of musings on surfing, crushes, and heartbreak, you’ll get to suffer through a bunch of pedantic, cynical takes on Y2K “microaesthetics” from a self-proclaimed expert. Sorry in advance.
I’ve always admired how Maija’s writing is so attuned to specifics – her rich descriptions of individual clothing items, trends, and songs are capable of summoning a flood of core memories. Meanwhile, nostalgia for the 2000s has been bubbling up everywhere lately, thanks to viral TikTok revivals. I felt inspired by Maija’s penchant for specifics and the Y2K mania to use this newsletter to explore and break down a few nostalgic “microaesthetics” from the aughts.
FYI: I use the term “microaesthetic” to describe any distinct grouping of trends in fashion, media, home decor, and graphic design from a particular era. This article was partially informed by the fascinating corpus of aesthetics from the Consumer Aesthetics Research Institute website (https://cari.institute), a database dedicated to cataloging a “visual lexicon of consumer ephemera” starting in the 1970s! Let’s get into it.
Soft Colonial Wanderlust, or as I prefer to call it, Whimsi-hell
It could be argued that “Soft Colonial Wanderlust” is a subcategory of the dreaded twee aesthetic. In case the word “twee” doesn’t give you war flashbacks of ballet flats and ukuleles, here’s a quick recap: twee was the pop culture craze that emphasized all things kitschy, quirky, and vintage. We’re talking mint-green bicycles with baskets, Zooey Deschanel, 1950s dresses, colorful owls, indie folk music but also anti-folk music, Amélie, costume jewelry, typewriters, and mustaches.
Oh god, the mustaches.
Soft Colonial Wanderlust is what happens when the typewriter and mustache components of twee become expanded into their own singular aesthetic. The result was an emphasis on whimsical circus imagery, tongue-in-cheek reinterpretations of old-fashioned photos and illustrations, and a weird obsession with hot air balloons. Remember the book covers for the Series of Unfortunate Events, or the first Panic! at the Disco album?
As a kid, I remember thinking that hot air balloons were a legitimate and common form of transportation along the lines of airplanes and automobiles. Looking back, I completely blame this nonsensical trend for that. There was even an Arthur episode that cashed in on this god awful micro aesthetic (Season 10, Episode 7a, entitled “Unfinished,” in case you were wondering). Why were hot air balloons so ingrained in the culture?
Sadly, Soft Colonial Wanderlust lives on in the Trader Joe’s Fearless Fliers, which have held on to the aesthetic through thick and thin. I hope I don’t speak this into existence, but if TikTok somehow manages to bring about a revival of this look, I guess TJ’s will be ahead of the curve.
Score: 1 / 5 stars
2. McBling
Earlier this week, I opened a marketing email from Urban Outfitters. The subject line was “Ed Hardy is back, fyi.” I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
Tattoo imagery, and by extension the Ed Hardy apparel line, fall under the umbrella of what the CARI database calls “McBling.” This was the obsession over decadence, featuring rhinestones, Von Dutch, velour tracksuits, and Old English fonts. It’s the vibe that comes to mind when you think about Paris Hilton, or Bratz dolls, or Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby.
At the moment, my feelings are mixed on this one. McBling is one of the most mainstream and critical tenets of the Y2K era, and I appreciate it as a whole. However, full-on revivals of Ed Hardy and Juicy Couture seem too soon. A hiatus of at least another decade is necessary for it to feel somewhat fresh again.
And, oddly enough, the resuscitated Ed Hardy brand is straying away from rhinestones. Yet rhinestones are one of the few aspects of McBling that I never stopped loving! Let’s have a moment of silence for the long-lost bedazzler I owned (and never used but always intended to) back in the day.
Score: 3 / 5 stars
3. Teenpunk
Courtesy of Olivia Rodrigo, “Teenpunk” is back in full swing. During the OG Teenpunk era, Avril Lavigne was perhaps its key figurehead. Teenpunk stems from the world of ‘00s pop punk and encompasses shopping mall staples like Hot Topic, Claire’s, and Justice. It’s neon hair extensions, composition notebooks, skulls, fishnets, Monster High dolls, Lindsey Lohan in Freaky Friday, the first Veronicas album, Vans sneakers, and checkerboard prints.
The aforementioned stores have mostly stuck around in malls across the country, so it feels like Teenpunk never truly disappeared, but the success of Olivia Rodrigo’s pop punk-indebted debut SOUR skyrocketed interest in it once again. (On her SOUR tour, Rodrigo has even been covering Lavigne’s signature song “Complicated.”) Considering that Freaky Friday is one of my all-time favorite films and that Monster High dolls shaped who I am as a human being, I’ve got a soft spot for this revitalized trend. However, mark my words — I’d never be caught dead with a magenta clip-on hair highlight ever again.
Score: 4 / 5 stars
4. Coconut Girl
An aesthetic I’m sure Maija is all too familiar with, “Coconut Girl” is a nickname that describes 2000s beach ephemera. Recall the hibiscus flowers that adorned surfboards, swimsuits, and Lip Smackers back then. Or those glittery dolphin temporary tattoos and crochet beach totes. Hannah Montana, H20: Just Add Water, and Lilo & Stitch are just a few Y2K television shows inextricably linked to Coconut Girl.
In the years since the aesthetic was dominant, I’ve only grown fonder of it. It’s aged pretty well. It’s probably because outside of the distinctive hibiscus flower textiles and the trademark pastel color palette, Coconut Girl isn’t too heavy handed. Plus, it’s associated with the beach, mermaids, and ocean creatures, all of which are obviously timeless.
The musical counterpart to the Coconut Girl aesthetic is what we may call “CVS Core,” a term cleverly coined by the synthpop duo Magdalena Bay. For some reason, CVS Pharmacy has never updated their in-store playlists since 2006, and seems to be stuck in the same loop of bright, summery, acoustic pop hits from 15-30 years ago, featuring classics like Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up The Sun,” Natasha Bedingfield’s “Pocketful of Sunshine,” or The Corr’s “Breathless.”
(BTW, if you would like to gain a newfound appreciation for the pop perfection of “Breathless,” Caroline Polachek’s masterful hyperpop cover from 2021 is mandatory listening.)
Score: 5 / 5 stars
There you have it, four completely objective microanalyses of four iconic microaesthetics. I’ve only scratched the surface – there’s still Indie Sleaze, Hipness Purgatory, and Y2K Retrofuturism, plus countless others. (Check out https://cari.institute if you want to go further down the rabbit hole.)
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