Millennial Mom Discovers Unexpected Fashion Throwback in Hilarious Way

A woman on TikTok has awoken millennials to the alarmingly familiar trends of Gen Z.

In the video, TikToker Nicole @nicolestorydent filmed herself shopping for her children while coming across clothes straight out of the 1990s/early 2000s, signaling a fashion comeback. To commenters’ delight, she paired her sightings with throwback songs.

“If 2024 you have a desire to dress like the 6th member of a 90s/00s Boy Band, you’re in luck,” she captioned the video.

Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, The Jonas Brothers, and boy bands Five and O-Town were in rotation in Nicole’s video as she pushed her shopping cart past items like metallic parachute pants, suede clogs, shrunken vests, and—maybe the most appalling—denim boots.

Viewers were horrified.

“These things should have never seen the light of day again! What is happening?!” @Merlegirl8 wrote.

“Can we, as millennials, boycott this or something? We lived it, it’s not worth it. Let it die in peace,” @dialeartharchaeology wrote.

Many were thrown back to adolescence, remembering fashion items and songs they hadn’t thought of in years.

“Omg ‘When the Lights Go Out’ just scratched an itch in my millennial soul,” @lmoonwho said.

“Oh no. I had blocked out my red pleather pants,” @brittanylentz7 wrote.

The resurgence of Y2K fashion is to be expected—fashion moves in 20-year cycles. Some millennials, however, just might not be paying attention closely.

A recent YouGov poll of 2,000 adults surveying 40 styles showed that only 8 percent of people follow trends very closely. Twenty-three percent follow them somewhat closely, and 34 percent of adults don’t follow trends at all.

Given this data, it is not unexpected that it takes Nicole and her cohort of shocked millennials a trip to the juniors’ department to see the haunts of their adolescence.

And while it often incites cringing, some millennials are glad to see their favorite trends back in rotation.

A 34-year-old woman named Erin told Newsweek in January about a 1990s/early 2000s trend she is thrilled is making a comeback: the Alexander McQueen black skull scarf.

“It’s always interesting to see the discourse in the comment section when I post [on TikTok] about a trend coming back,” Miller said. “Most people are annoyed and upset, and then there’s the people who never stopped participating in it.”

One commenter on Nicole’s video said something similar about the continuity of trends, and not only among consumers.

“You can’t convince me that they are not just pulling things out of the old stock they’ve had in a warehouse somewhere,” @3rdeyeblerd said.

In her theory, Y2K fashion never disappeared but has always been on the back burner, ready for its moment to reemerge.