From bedazzled shades to low-rise pants—few of us can forget the distinctive style of the 2000s, least of all, Jenna Barclay.
The noughties enthusiast has built an online following from her comedic takedowns of yesteryear's trends. The creator has once again gone viral after poking fun at images of herself from 2009, in which she is rocking the hottest styles of that year.
"I've always loved trying out different styles and trends," Barclay told Newsweek. "There wasn't much that I didn't try at least once, which makes it very easy to laugh at some of my old fashion statements in my content now!"
The content creator is known for providing a dose of millennial nostalgia and pop culture critique through her humorous reels. She is often found making light of the distinctive styles and cultural touchstones of the past two decades, with her jibes at her 2009 style being among her latest work.
Whipping out old photographs—in which she has styled every textbook trend and clothing statement of the year—was easy for Barclay to do. Not only has she kept all the photos of her younger babydoll dress and neon scarf-loving self, but she has also preserved a physical time capsule of all her old outfits. The latter has served as fitting props for her frequent social-media gags.
"I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest and always loved fashion in any context. I have kept a lot of my old clothes and accessories," Barclay, who is now based in Los Angeles, said.
"I was always roaming around the mall, reading fashion magazines, watching what celebrities were wearing, and even getting inspiration from the older kids at school. There wasn't a whole lot to do where I lived, and so fashion became an outlet and a hobby of mine as a teenager."
Barclay's recent video, which has once again captured the internet's attention, revisits the mainstream fashion trends that she sported in 2009.
"I just went through my Facebook albums," she said in the video. "These are the outfits I thought slayed in 2009. I have questions, thoughts."
Barclay walked viewers through her past fashion choices, making sure to inject her trademark humor into each nostalgic trip down memory lane.
"I was so committed to these tiny, tiny bubble gum babydoll dresses from Forever 21," Barclay said in the post from May 1. Viewers were shown an image of her in a blue empire-line babydoll dress that had been paired with a long necklace—typical of the jewelry trends of the noughties.
"I think I had every single variation of this dress that Forever 21 had to offer," she added.
The video continued with Barclay showcasing another version of the same dress, this time with short sleeves and a V-neck, while humorously noting how she would often accessorize it with large belts. "So versatile," she said.
In another memorable moment, Barclay presented viewers with a photo of herself sporting a combed-over highlighted fringe, red glasses, and a pink printed scarf.
"Who told me to part my hair like this?" she asked.
Her unique blend of fashion faux pas criticism and self-deprecating humor has left some of the post's 240,000 viewers in stitches, while others have felt inspired to seek out their own long-forgotten 2000s outfit photos.
"Inspired by this reel, I also tried to scroll through my Facebook of yesteryear. It took me like 45 minutes to even get to 2009," one user, @carlycem, commented. "When I got there, it was a reminder if the millions of long spaghetti strapped tanks I wore, layered with jeans and heels (or flats) on night out. I cannot stress how many of these I had."
Another, @kwolpers, wrote: "I'm laughing and don't see anything wrong with any of this."
"I definitely wore that same brown shirt with the satin on it on my first date with my husband," a third user, @thelala09, shared.
Barclay, who grew up in Galesville, Wisconsin, attributes her love for fashion and interest in social media to her small-town upbringing. She decided to share her comedic skill and her equally comedic wardrobe with the world in 2021, after rediscovering her old clothing pieces while visiting her childhood home. She now has over 239,000 followers on Instagram, where she is known as @jennaabarclay, and has branched out with her own podcast Jenna Talks in Class, too.
Barclay recounted her online growth: "I still have a lot of my old clothes and accessories from growing up, so I posted about it on TikTok and it went viral. I kept creating videos using my old things, and the rest is history."
Barclay's content often feature iconic beauty products, fashion items, and cultural references from the time period she is making quips at. As trends from the early 2000s continue to resurface and gain traction among Gen Z, her content remains both relevant and entertaining.
"I love poking fun at my former fashion choices and connecting with people across the world through that, but I also still really enjoy fashion and trends on a more serious level," Barclay said. "I know that, someday in the future, I'll poke fun at what I think is cool now, too!"
It seems that some members of her audience agree. One viewer had commented under her post: "You all do realize that these videos can and probably will be made 10, 15, 20 years from now for the clothes we are wearing now too, right?"
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