Dream - He Loves U Not
Sk8er Girl
posted December 24, 2024
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Ah, the Sk8er Girl. She encompasses so much about the era from approximately 1997-2001. She is represented onscreen by Torrance Shipman (Kirsten Dunst) in Bring it On and Anne Marie (Kate Bosworth) in Blue Crush–a sporty, determined, and naturally pretty girl who shies away from over-the-top glamour. She has a Walkman, sends her friends text messages on her Nokia, and hopes her parents are getting her a new, green VW Beetle for her first car. That being said, she’s also the kind of girl who’s nice to everyone, not just the popular kids. She is considering applying to college in Boulder so she can snowboard, but she may just stay in California.
The Sk8er Girl isn’t your typical popular cheerleader. She is charming and funny, but generally keeps to herself. She played trumpet in the school band when she was a kid. She is smart, but doesn’t focus enough on schoolwork and is hoping to receive an athletic scholarship. She has a great relationship with her family, who own a well-appointed Home Alone-style house. She is considering becoming a vegetarian because of how affected she was by a PETA video. This is a world before emojis, but she loves using emoticons.
In the past five or so years, “Y2K” has become a catch-all term that seems to describe anything from late ‘90s cyber minimalism to mid-2000s blinged-out Juicy Couture velour. For those who lived through the Y2K era, it represents something specific to each of us. As someone who just started elementary school, it was a formative period, so I associate the new millennium with adjusting to my first-grade curriculum, “All Star” by Smashmouth, and silver puffy vests.
You know what I really love about this aesthetic? All the stripes. Stripes everywhere, and minimalist stripes. Old Navy-ass stripes. Are they meant to evoke a sleek sportiness? That’s my theory. I also don’t know if this is more of a personal thing, but I tend to associate the Sk8er Girl with winter sports like snowboarding. Maybe it’s because of the movie Snow Day. Maybe because the winter between 1999 and 2000 felt like such a big deal. Also related: chunky highlights, zig-zag parts, face-framing layers, spiky pigtails, rhinestone belly button stickers.
There was a store at the local shopping mall that sold the hippest furniture. It was called “Dry Ice,” and I know it wasn’t a fever dream because there are sparse mentions of it online. It was funkier than Pottery Barn, specifically geared towards teen girls, kind of like if Claire’s had a home collection: paper lanterns, lava lamps, inflatable couches. How many of these existed? Where can I buy unsold backstock?
When you need a canopy for your couch and your chair and probably also your bed.
Not to get too political, but I think of Y2K as pre-9/11. There was a hyperliberal flavor to the era, the buzz around emerging technology and the internet. Gadgets went from that inexplicable shade of nicotine-stained beige to translucent. This marked a transition from electronics being unwieldy, intimidating, and stuffy to being sleek, ergonomic, a part of everyday life, an extension of our corporeal form. When the towers fell, so too did that optimism. Techno-influenced dance music was eclipsed by patriotic, country-tinged pop. The dot com bubble had burst. Nobody wanted to feel or look like a robot anymore. Weapons of mass destruction, etc. So what we think of as “Y2K” was a flash in the pan, really, although there were vestiges of it into around 2002.
The late ‘90s, early 2000s Delia’s catalogue aesthetic is what inspired this subgenre. Sometimes it feels impossible to recreate that vibe, especially with clothes that are new but made to look “Y2K.” Once again, I recommend shying away from cheap reproductions and mass-produced fast fashion, not just because of environmental and social ethics, but because they’re poorly constructed and are not meant to last you more than a season.
Muses: Hoku, Kirsten Dunst, Mandy Moore, Samantha Mumba
“I love the Sk8er Girl vibe,” you might say, “But where am I supposed to find Delia’s ‘90s vintage when they recently put out an ugly collection with Dolls Kill that junks up the algorithm?”
Out of benevolence, I will share my tips with you, once again.
You know how those Delia’s catalogue scans are pretty easy to find? There are plenty uploaded to Pinterest, Flickr, etc. All you need to do is open a high-res scan, find the information about a product you think is cute, and look it up by brand. Some of the brands are insanely obscure and others have zero SEO, but there is a gold mine to be found on Poshmark, eBay, and Etsy. The best part is, at least for now, most people aren’t aware of these brands, and they’re almost always being sold for cheap. The denim tank top listed below was $12. I tried to buy it myself, but the seller never followed up, and I had to cancel it, and now it says it’s sold, so whatever. I did end up falling in love with a ‘90s Delia’s catalogue wrap skirt, so I found the exact one online, and now it’s mine. Just looking up “vintage Y2K” is not going to narrow things down for you. That’s because “Y2K” is just a trendy term that’s lost its meaning. We want to find people who are selling this stuff because they need to get rid of it, not because they have a huge markup. Other brands to search: LondonJeans, No Boundaries, Mudd, and Pale.
These listings may or not still be up by the time I’m posting them.
The Sk8er Girl isn’t your typical popular cheerleader. She is charming and funny, but generally keeps to herself. She played trumpet in the school band when she was a kid. She is smart, but doesn’t focus enough on schoolwork and is hoping to receive an athletic scholarship. She has a great relationship with her family, who own a well-appointed Home Alone-style house. She is considering becoming a vegetarian because of how affected she was by a PETA video. This is a world before emojis, but she loves using emoticons.
In the past five or so years, “Y2K” has become a catch-all term that seems to describe anything from late ‘90s cyber minimalism to mid-2000s blinged-out Juicy Couture velour. For those who lived through the Y2K era, it represents something specific to each of us. As someone who just started elementary school, it was a formative period, so I associate the new millennium with adjusting to my first-grade curriculum, “All Star” by Smashmouth, and silver puffy vests.
You know what I really love about this aesthetic? All the stripes. Stripes everywhere, and minimalist stripes. Old Navy-ass stripes. Are they meant to evoke a sleek sportiness? That’s my theory. I also don’t know if this is more of a personal thing, but I tend to associate the Sk8er Girl with winter sports like snowboarding. Maybe it’s because of the movie Snow Day. Maybe because the winter between 1999 and 2000 felt like such a big deal. Also related: chunky highlights, zig-zag parts, face-framing layers, spiky pigtails, rhinestone belly button stickers.
There was a store at the local shopping mall that sold the hippest furniture. It was called “Dry Ice,” and I know it wasn’t a fever dream because there are sparse mentions of it online. It was funkier than Pottery Barn, specifically geared towards teen girls, kind of like if Claire’s had a home collection: paper lanterns, lava lamps, inflatable couches. How many of these existed? Where can I buy unsold backstock?
Not to get too political, but I think of Y2K as pre-9/11. There was a hyperliberal flavor to the era, the buzz around emerging technology and the internet. Gadgets went from that inexplicable shade of nicotine-stained beige to translucent. This marked a transition from electronics being unwieldy, intimidating, and stuffy to being sleek, ergonomic, a part of everyday life, an extension of our corporeal form. When the towers fell, so too did that optimism. Techno-influenced dance music was eclipsed by patriotic, country-tinged pop. The dot com bubble had burst. Nobody wanted to feel or look like a robot anymore. Weapons of mass destruction, etc. So what we think of as “Y2K” was a flash in the pan, really, although there were vestiges of it into around 2002.
The late ‘90s, early 2000s Delia’s catalogue aesthetic is what inspired this subgenre. Sometimes it feels impossible to recreate that vibe, especially with clothes that are new but made to look “Y2K.” Once again, I recommend shying away from cheap reproductions and mass-produced fast fashion, not just because of environmental and social ethics, but because they’re poorly constructed and are not meant to last you more than a season.
Muses: Hoku, Kirsten Dunst, Mandy Moore, Samantha Mumba
“I love the Sk8er Girl vibe,” you might say, “But where am I supposed to find Delia’s ‘90s vintage when they recently put out an ugly collection with Dolls Kill that junks up the algorithm?”
Out of benevolence, I will share my tips with you, once again.
You know how those Delia’s catalogue scans are pretty easy to find? There are plenty uploaded to Pinterest, Flickr, etc. All you need to do is open a high-res scan, find the information about a product you think is cute, and look it up by brand. Some of the brands are insanely obscure and others have zero SEO, but there is a gold mine to be found on Poshmark, eBay, and Etsy. The best part is, at least for now, most people aren’t aware of these brands, and they’re almost always being sold for cheap. The denim tank top listed below was $12. I tried to buy it myself, but the seller never followed up, and I had to cancel it, and now it says it’s sold, so whatever. I did end up falling in love with a ‘90s Delia’s catalogue wrap skirt, so I found the exact one online, and now it’s mine. Just looking up “vintage Y2K” is not going to narrow things down for you. That’s because “Y2K” is just a trendy term that’s lost its meaning. We want to find people who are selling this stuff because they need to get rid of it, not because they have a huge markup. Other brands to search: LondonJeans, No Boundaries, Mudd, and Pale.
These listings may or not still be up by the time I’m posting them.
Clockwise: LondonJeans embellished capris, Mudd turtleneck sweater, BugGirl denim tank top, Volatile Platform Flame Sneaker, vintage corduroys, No Boundaries purple floral spaghetti strap mini dress, 90s Vintage Steve Madden platform loafers, 90s fluttering butterfly hairclips, scan from 1997 Delia’s Catalogue.
Sporty, confident, adorable, natural. That’s the Sk8er Girl vibe. When you’re looking to channel those feelings, throw on some stripes and get running.
XOXO Sydney