The Y2K era is often maligned for its fashion choices, but the recent resurgence of the 00s fashion trend speaks to the underrated splendor of this decade. After all, this was the era of The Devil Wears Prada, Legally Blonde, Sex and the City, and The Hills. Whether you love or hate tube dresses, capris, chunky belts, or dresses worn over jeans, there is no denying the cultural impact of this era.

But the influence is not about the aforementioned chunky belts and capris, but about the women who wore them (and, conversely, convinced us that they were a good idea.) The influence of the fashion icons of the 00s might haunt your old photo albums, though, In the same way, these women deserve recognition. [It would be impossible to name anyone who influenced 00s style without Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian. We love talking about them both, even beyond this decade.

Amanda Bynes was the unsung style hero of the 00s in both the cult classic "What a Girl Wants" and the fan favorite "She's the Man". Reviewing these films shows that some of the best trends of the 00s were very well done.

Jenna DeWan, the lead actress in "Step Up" and wife of Channing Tatum at the time, was a very reliable presence on the red carpet. She was trendy yet cute, usually wore very high heels, and had really great hair (these special qualities would continue into the 00s and beyond, but it was during this decade that we first took notice).

So there you have it. If you were asked to remember the celebrities who epitomized this decade, odds are that the stars of The Hills would be at the top of the list. While this coordinating strapless dress is very period, your group of girlfriends wore the exact same outfit.

She got her big break on "Dawson's Creek" and won people's hearts with her sweet, feminine style both on and off the show. Katie Holmes' short bob and blunt bangs, which debuted after the show ended, meant that she would continue to be a fashion and beauty influence on us all.

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ran until the early 00s, and everyone was watching to see what Sarah Michelle Gellar's character would wear each week. Off screen, Geller's style was softer, but just as fun.

The girl-punk aesthetic would never be the same, thanks to Avril Lavigne's pink-enhanced hair and chunky accessories. Not everyone was a fan of her aesthetic at the time, but in hindsight, one can see how fun, edgy, and creative her style was.

For the average middle school student, no teen was more relatable than Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff, who made this character iconic, also had a youthful enthusiasm for red carpet style that we loved. But she made a big splash with her coach bucket hat.

Originally known as Paris Hilton's BFF, Nicole Richie revamped her persona in the late 2000s with the launch of her lifestyle brand, House of Harlow. That business venture would also coincide with a new, very minimalist chic style.

No one expected the movie High School Musical and its stars to become such a cultural sensation. From Gabriella to Taylor to Sharpay (naturally, Troy was the generic name for her boyfriend), the range of styles of high school inspiration was quite amazing.

The evolution of Jennifer Lopez's fashion has followed an impressively long trajectory. She is both an innovator and a chameleon, as in her Versace dress for the 2000 Grammy Awards that took the Internet by storm. Here, she has enthusiastically embraced bad '00s trends like tracksuits and pageboy hats, and has succeeded better than anyone else.

In the grand tradition of "everything old is new again," nothing shows that the 00s are being reevaluated as a decade more than the fact that Christina Milian has appeared in several Netflix romance movies. She is our 00's style queen and I applaud her return to my television.

It is unfortunate that Jessica Simpson's brand has often been undermined by the "goofballs." In fact, her Jessica Simpson Collection of clothing and accessories is the most successful celebrity-licensed brand ever, and she bought it back and rebuilt it in 2022.

Christina Aguilera, for all her adherence to the '00s aesthetic (chaps pants, pageboy hats, skunk hair highlights, barely-there tops, etc.), does not seem to get enough credit for pushing the boundaries. As noted above, when she did it well, it was perfect.

Gwen Stefani's late 90s and early 00s style of short tops, baggy pants, copious amounts of color and sparkle, and wild platinum hair and deep red lips, as one of the most influential youth styles to ever exist will go down in history.

For those unfamiliar, this is a still from Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada. The style transformation of the character Hathaway played was something we all longed for, and Hathaway's own evolving style in real life was equally cool.

Destiny's Child made it deeply and unapologetically cool to wear matching outfits with your BFFs, in this case your band mates. They were not the first "girl group" to do so, but their coordinated outfits were incredibly on-the-nose and completely redefined the concept.

Beyoncé was always rumored to go solo, but when she came into her own in the 00s, she gave us a prestigious style that made sure we knew she was a force to be reckoned with. Thus, the red carpet style icon (who wore her signature color, gold, all the way) was born.

The Spice Girls disbanded in 2001 (millennials shed a tear), and the former Posh Spice forged a new identity in the 00s. She launched her own line in 2008 and would continue her meteoric rise from there.

For some of the fashions featured in the film, see also "Wednesdays Wear Pink. The outfits worn by the Plastics (Lindsay Lohan, Amanda Seyfried, Lacey Chabert, and Rachel McAdams) will remain iconic.

Britney Spears had great style on stage, starting with school-girl chic and getting better from there. But I also loved her red carpet and casual style. She makes jumpsuits look like the perfect shopping outfit, which is honestly hard to do.

Jennifer Aniston has been on the red carpet for decades now. She often opts for chic and simple, streamlined and straightforward in a way that is coherent with her personal style. And she refined and perfected that formula in the 00s, as in this flawless red column dress.

Leaving aside the debate about whether the rebooted "Charlie's Angels" movie was any good (hot take: I loved it), superstars Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Lucy Liu had extraordinary style in both movies. Let's ignore the fact that it must be hard to run in those heels.

Janet Jackson is underrated for her influence on both music and style in the 00s (and beyond). While her red carpet style was strikingly chic and sophisticated, her onstage style was graphic, edgy, trendy, and very easy to imitate even today.

With the one-two punch of "Alias" and "Daredevil," Jennifer Garner made very tight leather outfits look exceptional. I like to think of her aesthetic as "action star meets runway model," and I stand by it. She was a big part of why we love and adore fitted jackets.

Julia Roberts is a fashion icon in her own right, except for the movies she has appeared in. But it was her Academy Award-winning role as "Erin Brockovich" that brought joy and frivolity, wearing lots of miniskirts, high heels, and see-through tops (but still looking her best).

The late singer and actor was becoming a cultural and style icon after her tragic death in 2001. Her presence on the red carpet was a perfect example of how much energy and discernment she had put into her persona, perfectly expressing her unique edginess. [It was Reese Witherspoons as Elle Woods in "Legally Blonde," which was released in 2001 and basically defined the preppy-cute style for the next decade. (Lots of pink.) They also helped define serotonin dressing and dressing to suit one's personality, both of which are impressive legacies.

Lowe is now a well-known luxury brand, but when Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen founded it in 2006, it was seen as somewhat counterintuitive and unexpected. They saw a gap in the market (luxury basics of exceptional quality) much earlier than we did. No other character, in this decade or otherwise, may have left as big an impact on fashion as Carrie from [Sex and the City]. The character was played by the equally iconic Sarah Jessica Parker, who wore such striking and challenging outfits with ease.

Playing Lara Croft in two films made sense for Angelina Jolie, who was (at the time) seen as Hollywood's resident bad girl. She wore leather pants effortlessly, had lots of cool tattoos, and became an expert knife thrower on set. She really was cooler than anyone else.

The ubiquity of "festival style" may seem like a relatively new occurrence, but that's not entirely true. Even before everyone was wearing wellies and shorts, Kate Moss was casually attending the Glastonbury Festival as one of our fashion pioneers.