Lately, my not-so-secret TV shame has been “The Hills.” Yes, girl, the OG “Hills” from 2006!
A little back story for ya — last week was an emotional roller coaster for me, so I’ve desperately needed to turn off my brain. Enter “The Hills,” a guilty reality-TV pleasure from way back when, which I’ve binge- watched over the last few days.
If you didn’t catch the show the first time around, FYI, it’s completely ridiculous!
It ran on MTV for years and became progressively more fake as time went on. Despite the obvious staging of storylines and general tomfoolery, its fans, including yours truly, leaned into it.
The show follows a group of 20-something girls in Los Angeles through all of their ups and downs — friendships, boyfriends, betrayals and, oh yeah, “work” (in air quotes).
It stars Lauren Conrad, a fashion student who moves in with her best friend at the time, Heidi Montag — spoiler alert, Heidi ends up being the show’s cautionary tale — along with a whole host of other characters and various hangers-on.
Even though the storylines made no sense, and it was very obvious the girls played roles the producers wanted them to play, it was also strangely compelling.
Never mind how nobody actually seemed to do any real work at their places of business, or how the cast ended up at clubs they were probably too young to get into, or why someone who allegedly was an intern suddenly made enough money to own a Chanel bag, a Burberry coat and a luxury car.
Back then, I could not look away, and now, I still can’t!
As I rewatch the show with fresh eyes 16 years later, I find myself LOL-ing out loud at the trends. Oh, the early 2000s! What a hoot you were!
First of all, there were SO MANY LOW-RISE jeans, and all I have to say is WHY?
Every girl in the show wears them, and I’m truly in awe of how those pants actually stayed on. They’re a feat of engineering.
Back then, I wore low-rise jeans all the time, too, and now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure my booty was all out for the world to see. The muscle memory of constantly pulling my pants up every 10 minutes is permanently seared into my brain. Why did I put up with that nonsense? I’ll never know.
Gosh, remember all the embellishments on the jeans, too? Especially on the back. There were so many studs and rhinestones and over-the-top stitching.
Oh, and please don’t forget to pair your low-rise jeans with a silky camisole top with spaghetti straps, as well as an extra-long necklace — but only if the necklace has beads bigger than your Blackberry.
(I’m guilty of these things, too.)
I had a major “been there” moment during an episode when Lauren shows up to class carrying an oversized handbag with a thick strap studded to within an inch of its life. Why were our bags so flashy back then, and why were they big enough to carry formal place settings for an entire dinner party?
Another buried trend the show unearthed from my memory — wide headbands. Remember those? I rocked them all the time back in the day, and, you know, I’m not mad about it now, even though headbands always gave me a headache. I think the wide headband still holds up well!
Oh, same thing with the pearls the girls wore. Lauren and Heidi often rocked a single strand of white pearls and/or big pearl studs. I was there for it then, and I’m here for it now.
While we’re on the subject of style that still holds up, I have to give a major shout-out to Whitney Port. She played one of the show’s secondary characters, so she didn’t get as much air time as the others, but she was memorable. Remember the episode when she fell down the stairs on live TV, OMG!
Anyway, when you really look at what she wore back then, all of her outfits could still work now in ye modern times. None of her ensembles appear overly dated, so kudos to Whitney for having a transcendent vision of fashion. Her timeless style is the real unsung hero of the show!
Big ups to present-day Whitney for being able to laugh at herself, because — oh, my gosh, this is how deeply I’m invested, you guys! — I just found out this morning that Whitney has a YouTube channel with videos where she sits on the couch and rewatches old episodes of “The Hills” and just cringes! I haven’t seen any of the videos, but believe me, I’ve bookmarked that ISH for the near future — like, right after I’m done writing this.
Last but not least, I gotta give love to all the nude glossy lips worn by every girl on the show. That lip look is arguably the most vital element to each and every 2000s outfit.
Just for funsies, I’ve listed some of the trends from the show down below. If you want, copy and paste the list into the comments, and let me know which ones you were guilty of back in the day. I’ll do mine to start us off.
The rest is still unwritten!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Copy and paste
Which 2000s trends are you guilty of?
- Low-rise jeans
- Silky camisole tops
- Chunky, long necklaces
- Oversized, embellished handbags
- Pearls
- Wide headbands
- Glossy nude lips
Karen,
I can’t say I ever watched those shows, however, bank in my day, these were the trends.
1. hip-hugger, wide bell bottom jeans (the ’70’s version of low waisted jeans).
2. Water buffalo sandals with wedged heel
3. Candies (better known as “knock me down and f@%k me” shoes (more late “70’s &’80’s)
4. Big suits and shoulder pads (’80’s again)
5. Big hair
6. Brown-toned lipstick (cool then, not for me anymore). I’ll stick to rosier shades.
Never going back!
Which 2000s trends are you guilty of?
Low-rise jeans — yes!
Silky camisole tops — yes
Chunky, long necklaces — yes
Oversized, embellished handbags — ugh, yes
Pearls — yes, and I still love them
Wide headbands — yes
Glossy nude lips — yes
OMG this is totes da bomb.
Low-rise jeans – sure did.
Silky camisole tops – evaded this one.
Chunky, long necklaces – a few
Oversized, embellished handbags – does a super fringey one that looked like a car wash count?
Pearls – only occasionally and just classic.
Wide headbands – nein
Glossy nude lips – then, today and forever!
I’ve never watched the show, but I STILL love me some low rise jeans! I’ve been complaining nonstop about the high waisted mom jeans that are “back in style”. I know you love these, and I mean no offense, but I’ve always hated them. Pretty much every college age girl I’ve seen out and about lately is wearing them. I actually told one of the boys that he shouldn’t even consider bringing a girl home in those jeans or I’d be turning them around at the door. That was a total joke, of course. But, I will never wear high waisted jeans (shakes fist). 😉
Ahhhh I just rewatched The Hills recently, too!! I’m 2 years younger than LC and omg the TRENDS. They hurt. I’m crying laughing at how almost every picture here they’re hiking up their jeans. Did you watch Whitney’s spin-off, The City??
Low-rise jeans – YUP. No other choice. I’m never going back and my long-waisted frame thanks me.
Silky camisole tops – like, one, and it was layered.
Chunky, long necklaces – YES.
Oversized, embellished handbags – with sequins, so many.
Pearls – yesssss.
Wide headbands – Crying, yes. My favorite was bright red, had heart cut ours, and was HARD PLASTIC.
Glossy nude lips – this is the only one where I can say no. Didn’t and still don’t like gloss!
I’m having a memory lapse and CANNOT remember what I was wearing or watching during the early aughts! My super-recognizer, elephant memory must have taken those few years off. I actually remember many of those things in the NINETIES??
Low-rise jeans: YASS.
Oversized, embellished handbags: YASS; like, giant bedazzled Hermione bag.
Wide headbands: YASS.
My mom wore the giant, low-slung belts made of connected, grommet-leather circles that served no purpose (“belts for no reason” as a famous TikTok post on the early aughts fashion noted).
I’m still doing glossy nude lips; I don’t think that goes out of fashion.
Which 2000s trends are you guilty of?
Low-rise jeans – at the same time these came along, so did shorter length tops, so every time you sat down, you had to make sure your butt was covered! I worked a second job at Coldwater Creek, and this is all we sold. The older women hated them!
Silky camisole tops no
Chunky, long necklaces for about 5 minutes, then I gave them all away
Oversized, embellished handbags No – never needed to haul that much stuff
Pearls – always and forever. I inherited a strand from my late mother-in-law. Classic!
Wide headbands no
Glossy nude lips – I still love the glossy nude lip
What do you think of the new version of “The Hills”?
I personally really enjoy it,not as much as the original of course.
Jason Lauren’s boyfriend changed so much.Brody is still as handsome as ever.
Hi Lynn,
I haven’t watched the reboot! I watched the original show until LC left, and then I quit because I didn’t really like the show without her, so I feel like I might have a hard time connecting to this new version. I still might give it a try, though.
Low-rise jeans? Yes. I’m slim and could get away with them despite being an older woman. I hated that I had to always pull them up after sitting. Because of the nuisance factor, I wasn’t sorry to see the trend go.
Silky camisole tops? Yes. I had some really pretty ones I’d wear whenever we’d go out for dinner.
Chunky, long necklaces? Sure. They were fun.
Oversized, embellished handbags? Nope. I didn’t/don’t like embellishments on my purses.
Pearls? Yes. I used to wear opera length pearl strands with those silky tops. I love pearls and have quite a collection.
Wide headbands? No. I thought they looked extremely childish on an older woman such as myself. Remember how Hilary Clinton used to get criticized for wearing headbands? Not a good look if you’re going for competence and authority.
Glossy nude lips? Glossy, yes. Nude, no. Because my lips are naturally very rosy, nude lips look odd on me.
Yes to everything but the chunky necklaces, the glossy nude lips, and the wide headbands.
I had these giant, embellished handbags and WHY? I’m all about the convenience of small crossbody bags now. All I really need is a phone, EpiPen, cards and IDs. I have room for things like hand sanitizer or sunscreen.
And I wore the LOWEST of low rise jeans, and had yet to discover I have very long hips.
This was a hoot! I’m guilty of all the above except the wide headbands. Not sure why I couldn’t get that look down on my big egghead, but I just couldn’t get them to look right.
I’m so glad the low-rise jeans are history. If I ever hear another “crack kills, Karen” when I bend over, it’ll be too soon. lol
And lest you forget – guys jeans blinged out!!! I saw a guy not long ago with some on and I could. not. stop. staring. LOL Hopefully that’s the only clean pants he could find in his closet.
I’ve been trying to think what I wore that was ‘on trend’ in the early 00’s. I have never been much of a fashion follower, but I was in my teens then, so I had a moment where I was a bit more conscious of trends. I remember chains with hooks to add on to your jeans, so you clanked everywhere you walked, and a big lacy shawl with a long fringe. I actually really liked that, I wish I still had it 😃 And the rope platform shoes that made you walk like a dinosaur. I wasn’t allowed to wear much makeup then, so I can’t comment on that side. I don’t remember having a big bag either, but I do remember little backpacks were a thing for a short while, but I never got around to getting one.
I was guilty of all of those and the skinny plucked eye brow trend. And the very straightened hair that often looked like a helmet. Oh dear…
The ones I still love are the glossy nude lip and the silk camisole.