An Illustrated History Of The Early-2000s Status Symbol

The 2000s were genuinely strange years. For the early half of the decade, it felt like Mercury was perpetually in retrograde; people were just kind of wandering around, listening to Nelly, wondering if their diamante-embellished fedoras and bellybutton rings would stand the test of time. But the early aughts, despite being rife with pube-skimming pants, wasn’t all bad. It gave us the best years of Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and, depending on who you ask, Beyoncé.

The same can be said of early '00s style: It was an era that emphasized that the bigger your sunglasses, the more monogrammed your handbags, and the more belts you had to throw around your tank tops and dresses, the more chic you were. And the style status symbols of the time weren’t your timeless Chanel three-pieces or demure Cartier Love bracelets. Instead, they were emblazoned trucker hats that cost a small fortune, velour tracksuits, and anything sex-tape-era Kim Kardashian would have worn. Name brand recognition was everything, and if the price of your outfit wasn’t instantly recognizable through logo ubiquity, it wasn’t worth it. And though times have certainly changed since then, there's nothing more fun than taking a trip down memory lane. Ahead, we remember some of the most iconic 2000s status symbols, and look at how they became famous and the legacies they’ve left behind.

Return To Tiffany & Co. Bracelet
If you had a birthday of note (a Sweet 16, or maybe even a 21st) in the early 2000s, the number one “timeless” piece on your list was an oversized, super-chunky Tiffany & Co. bracelet. And when I say chunky, I mean you could unclip that thing, whip it around your head, and use it as a weapon. Clad with a round or heart-shaped engraved tag that read, “Please Return to Tiffany & Co. New York,” and a unique registration number (so that if it were ever lost, the finder could return it to the Fifth Avenue store, where it could be reunited with its rightful owner), the piece paid tribute to the Return to Tiffany keyring that was first introduced in 1969.

The bracelet became ubiquitous when it was seen dangling from the wrists of socialites like the Hilton sisters and Nicole Richie in the early 2000s. For us normals, owning one wasn’t totally out of the question. While the 18k yellow, white, and rose gold versions might be prohibitive (upwards of $3,000), it also came in sterling silver for around $200 (which still isn't cheap, and back then, it meant saving all your summer job cash, which, if you were 19 in 2004, was more than worth it). Today, it retails for $575. Now, the Return to Tiffany & Co. bracelet is more at home between the elbow and Pumpkin Spice Latte on a sorority girl, eclipsed in the zeitgeist by the much more delicate Cartier Love bracelet.

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YSL Tribute Sandals
Platform shoes weren’t classy until Yves Saint Laurent stepped in with the Tribute sandal in 2007. Worn by Lindsay Lohan, Lauren Conrad, Beyoncé, and just about every other celebrity photographed in the second half of the 2000s, the Tributes were designed, as the name would suggest, as an homage to the golden era of platforms, the 1970s. Instead of being a clunky, dorky Disco Stu throwback, though, the Tribute was, and still is, subtle and elegant, with a 1.2 inch platform next to a 4.1 inch heel.

The ultimate leg lengthener, the Tribute is still kicking around, and with a mean $925 price tag. It's the more laid-back, Hollywood pool party cousin of the Louboutin pump; the kind of thing you can have in your wardrobe forever and always find occasion to revisit (like now, considering platforms are already back again). In other words: Kanye probably didn’t make Kim throw hers away when he trashed nearly her entire wardrobe back in 2012.