Imo the mid 2000’s doesn’t get acknowledged as much as the early and late 2000’s. I was wondering if anyone can pinpoint or find a certain cultural identity of the mid 2000’s.

Somethings I thought of were:

-Spiky hair either blonde or colored in manic panic hair dye (think shark boy and lava girl), cornrows, mushroom haircuts (think suite life of zack and cody), Highlights were really big in 2004 and 2005, Mohawks (mainly popular amongst emo kids, etc.

-Flip phones becoming way more advanced and sleeker compared to the bulky style of the early 2000’s

- Pop music was kind of well rounded but Gwen Stefani and the Harajuku girls kind of created a unique aesthetic for the mid 2000’s, MARIAH CAREY, Rihanna, Kelly clarkson.

-Emo artists like American Rejects, Green Day, Bowling for Soup, My Chemical Romance, Fall out Boy, etc.

-emo fashion, urban fashion such as oversized white T’s, jerseys and baggy pants, low rise flair jeans, platform sandals, etc.

Internet was a bit different in the mid 2000’s. We were in a new era of web applications and social platforms. Myspace and AIM being two of the most commonly used social media sites. Youtube was created, downloading music off sites like Limewire became more accessible compared to just 3 years prior, broadband internet, etc.

I think the mid 2000s don't get recognition because most people just divide the 2000s into two halfs (early/late). I used to get angry about this but now I can kinda see why they do that. 2004 still had a lot of early 2000s vibes leftover but 2005 already had stuff like Myspace's popularity, emo music, YouTube (albeit just starting out), ringtone/snap rap, the Bush backlash, the "McBling" lifestyle of Paris Hilton, trucker hats, large SUVs, bedazzled flip phones, swoop hair, etc. which continued into 2006-Early 2009.

At this point I think dividing the 2000s up into two parts (early/late, 2000-2004/2005-2009) is fair, like how #Infinity divides 70s culture up into 1970-1974 and 1975-1979. But the 90s, that's more three parts to me (early/mid/late).

Just gonna comment a bit more on urban wear:

Slit eyebrows
https://hips.hearstapps.com/sev.h-cdn.co/assets/15/35/980x1372/gallery-1440514595-bowwow-bets106andpark-2.jpg?resize=480:*

Bathing Apes
https://hypebeast.com/image/2009/06/bape-bathing-ape-bapesta-x-sneaker-1.jpg

High Rise Jeans
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b9/c8/b4/b9c8b445a48e3f71963f9228275fec62.jpg

-Pastry Shoes
-Backpacks:

Other:

-Snowboots
-Vests

Just gonna comment a bit more on urban wear:

Slit eyebrows
https://hips.hearstapps.com/sev.h-cdn.co/assets/15/35/980x1372/gallery-1440514595-bowwow-bets106andpark-2.jpg?resize=480:*

Bathing Apes
https://hypebeast.com/image/2009/06/bape-bathing-ape-bapesta-x-sneaker-1.jpg

High Rise Jeans
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b9/c8/b4/b9c8b445a48e3f71963f9228275fec62.jpg

-Pastry Shoes
-Backpacks


Other:

-Snowboots
-Vests


I remember pastry shoes !! A lot of this wasn’t big in my area till the late 2000’s tho maybe like 2007/2008ish. Things like Bathing apes were late 2000’s more so during during Kanye’s graduation era of 2007-2008. But I remember the split eyebrow trend was big in the mid 2000’s for sure especially amongst african american and latinx men. In my area there was a backpack trend where people would wear like superhero backpacks or ninja turtle backpacks and have people wright all over them and sign them for fun. I remember phat farm and baby phat were big as well as sean john. Roca wear was big and I don’t know if you remember but G-unit clothing was really big in urban communities. I feel like some of these coincide with the early 2000’s as well but I don’t really remember these brands being notoriously big in the late 2000’s.

I think the mid 2000s don't get recognition because most people just divide the 2000s into two halfs (early/late). I used to get angry about this but now I can kinda see why they do that. 2004 still had a lot of early 2000s vibes leftover but 2005 already had stuff like Myspace's popularity, emo music, YouTube (albeit just starting out), ringtone/snap rap, the Bush backlash, the "McBling" lifestyle of Paris Hilton, trucker hats, large SUVs, bedazzled flip phones, swoop hair, etc. which continued into 2006-Early 2009.

At this point I think dividing the 2000s up into two parts (early/late, 2000-2004/2005-2009) is fair, like how #Infinity divides 70s culture up into 1970-1974 and 1975-1979. But the 90s, that's more three parts to me (early/mid/late).


I can see how the 90’s would be divided into two parts like 1990-1994 still had a lot of late 80’s influence, I call it the Pre commercial internet 90’s and then 1995-1999 which was the era of the internet explosion, teen pop and cheesy teen movies. But honestly I can see Your point with the 2000-2004 and then 2005-2009 split up. I used to think 2004 was the early 2000’s tbh and then I got grilled for it. I just feel like the 2000’s were so culturally diverse to the point were I can’t really see nor find a defining aesthetic/ zeitgeist outside of the early 2000’s.

All these images made things slow on my tablet!

I remember pastry shoes !! A lot of this wasn’t big in my area till the late 2000’s tho maybe like 2007/2008ish. Things like Bathing apes were late 2000’s more so during during Kanye’s graduation era of 2007-2008. But I remember the split eyebrow trend was big in the mid 2000’s for sure especially amongst african american and latinx men. In my area there was a backpack trend where people would wear like superhero backpacks or ninja turtle backpacks and have people wright all over them and sign them for fun. I remember phat farm and baby phat were big as well as sean john. Roca wear was big and I don’t know if you remember but G-unit clothing was really big in urban communities. I feel like some of these coincide with the early 2000’s as well but I don’t really remember these brands being notoriously big in the late 2000’s.

Yeah some of those trends ran from mid-late 2000s, like Zelek was saying its difficult to split the 2000s up into 3 parts sometimes because of this.

I can see how the 90’s would be divided into two parts like 1990-1994 still had a lot of late 80’s influence, I call it the Pre commercial internet 90’s and then 1995-1999 which was the era of the internet explosion, teen pop and cheesy teen movies.
To me I split 90s culture up into 1989-1993 (neon era), 1994-1997 (peak of the rustic grungy era), and 1998-2001 (Y2K era). I'd disagree with splitting it up in two, to me that applies more to the 2000s, with the 90s I think three parts suits it better. 98-99 was so much more "slick" than 1995, that I can't lump them as being the same era.

Imo the mid 2000’s doesn’t get acknowledged as much as the early and late 2000’s. I was wondering if anyone can pinpoint or find a certain cultural identity of the mid 2000’s.

Somethings I thought of were:

-Spiky hair either blonde or colored in manic panic hair dye (think shark boy and lava girl), cornrows, mushroom haircuts (think suite life of zack and cody), Highlights were really big in 2004 and 2005, Mohawks (mainly popular amongst emo kids, etc.

-Flip phones becoming way more advanced and sleeker compared to the bulky style of the early 2000’s

- Pop music was kind of well rounded but Gwen Stefani and the Harajuku girls kind of created a unique aesthetic for the mid 2000’s, MARIAH CAREY, Rihanna, Kelly clarkson.

-Emo artists like American Rejects, Green Day, Bowling for Soup, My Chemical Romance, Fall out Boy, etc.

-emo fashion, urban fashion such as oversized white T’s, jerseys and baggy pants, low rise flair jeans, platform sandals, etc.

Internet was a bit different in the mid 2000’s. We were in a new era of web applications and social platforms. Myspace and AIM being two of the most commonly used social media sites. Youtube was created, downloading music off sites like Limewire became more accessible compared to just 3 years prior, broadband internet, etc.


Spiky hair and Mohwaks was a style of punks during the 1970s.

This is fun. Here's my take called the "mid-2000s bible".

Emo fashion: black pixie cuts, bangs, skinny jeans, studded belts, black eyeliner, Converse sneakers, and wearing black T-shirts

Urban fashion: "bling-bling" necklaces, wearing cap hats (usually worn backwards), tank tops, midriffs, oversized jeans and t-shirts, shades, and Nike, Adidas, and Converse sneakers

Other casual fashion: Low-rise, boot-cut, and skinny jeans, tank tops, midriffs, long/wavy hair, wings haircuts, graphic tees, and the aforementioned sneakers

Popular general TV: American Idol, Lost, 24, Desperate Housewives, The Office, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, CSI, Gray's Anatomy, House, Chappelle's Show, Pimp My Ride, and Prison Break

Popular kids' TV: Spongebob, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Drake and Josh, Unfabulous, Hannah Montana, That's So Raven, Phil of the Future, Zoey 101, Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends, Camp Lazlo, Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Codename: Next Door, Kim Possible, and Danny Phantom

Oh, yeah, and the High School Musical franchise turned out to be a phenomenon.

Some popular artists: Justin Timberlake, Akon, Mariah Carey, Nelly Furtado, Gwen Stefani, Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé, Lil Jon, Green Day, My Chemical Romance, All-American Rejects, Alicia Keys, Timbaland, 50 Cent, Usher, Kanye West, The Black Eyed Peas, Fergie, Britney Spears, P!nk, Rihanna, and Carrie Underwood

Some popular internet sites: GameFaqs, Gamespot, Newgrounds, MySpace, NeoGAF, Neopets, Limewire, and 4chan

Some popular songs: "Hollaback Girl", "Irreplaceable", "SexyBack", "Yeah!", "Smack That", "We Belong Together", "Toxic", "American Idiot", "Welcome to the Black Parade", "Candy Shop", "Let's Get It Started", "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", "Ridin'", "Chicken Noodle Soup", "Snap Yo Fingers" and "Hips Don't Lie"

Popular video games: GTA San Andreas, Halo 2, World of Warcraft, Half-Life 2, God of War, New Super Mario Bros., Wii Sports, Bully, Saints Row, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

To me I split 90s culture up into 1989-1993 (neon era), 1994-1997 (peak of the rustic grungy era), and 1998-2001 (Y2K era). I'd disagree with splitting it up in two, to me that applies more to the 2000s, with the 90s I think three parts suits it better. 98-99 was so much more "slick" than 1995, that I can't lump them as being the same era.


I agree with this. And regarding the 2000's there was 2001-2004 (Post 9/11 era) and 2005-2008 (emo/MySpace era). 2009 was the beginning of the early 10's era that lasted until 2012 (EDM era).

Spiky hair and Mohwaks was a style of punks during the 1970s.


And 80’s as well. But the last time I remember them being in style was in the 2000’s mainly amongst emo styled men and sometimes women. I haven’t seen a real person with a mohawk in ages.

I agree with this. And regarding the 2000's there was 2001-2004 (Post 9/11 era) and 2005-2008 (emo/MySpace era). 2009 was the beginning of the early 10's era that lasted until 2012 (EDM era).

Yes, well stated.

To me I split 90s culture up into 1989-1993 (neon era), 1994-1997 (peak of the rustic grungy era), and 1998-2001 (Y2K era). I'd disagree with splitting it up in two, to me that applies more to the 2000s, with the 90s I think three parts suits it better. 98-99 was so much more "slick" than 1995, that I can't lump them as being the same era.


That makes a lot of sense. I agree 1993-1997  is like what I think of when I think of the 90’s the most and 1998-2001 is an era of its own.

Pretty much everything I remember about that era has been touched upon, but I will add that there was a popular social media site (now obscure) before Myspace took off. It was called Bebo and from what I remember you basically created an online profile that other people could comment on. It was around late 2006 by the time I had even heard of Myspace. To me, Myspace's peak years were 2007 to 2009.

Other little things I remember from the mid '00s are tiny, cropped denim jackets and sequin belts being popular with teenage girls. A lot of girls at my school wore those.  :P

At least some Emo people back then had 'mushroom' or 'wings'/surfer hair as well.

And, other than mohawks, when it came to Emo people, you can't forget the flat iron/straightening iron - unless your hair was already straight.

And 80’s as well. But the last time I remember them being in style was in the 2000’s mainly amongst emo styled men and sometimes women. I haven’t seen a real person with a mohawk in ages.


A couple of years ago I've seen a person sporting an Afro, I couldn't believe people still wore them.  :o

A couple of years ago I've seen a person sporting an Afro, I couldn't believe people still wore them.  :o


Yeah that is rare ! I seen one guy with a natural. Had to have been no older than 15 or 16 haha.

I noticed the Mid-2000's aesthetic is coming back. The aesthetics of 2020 has a colorful "bubblegum" look, and the music has a lot of synth sounds. A thought just occurred to me that Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is similar to Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. album. Also the emo look is getting popular with Zoomers, that are now the age that Millennials were back in the Mid 2000's. I wouldn't be surprised if MySpace came back, especially with more people wanting to leave Facebook.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/11/fb/d7/11fbd72a15b8027d04ee8fc07ad1c74d.jpg
https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fastandfurious/images/d/dc/Twinkie_1.jpg/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20130629163327
Bow Wow’s character in Tokyo Drift screams mid 00s

I noticed the Mid-2000's aesthetic is coming back. The aesthetics of 2020 has a colorful "bubblegum" look, and the music has a lot of synth sounds. A thought just occurred to me that Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is similar to Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. album. Also the emo look is getting popular with Zoomers, that are now the age that Millennials were back in the Mid 2000's. I wouldn't be surprised if MySpace came back, especially with more people wanting to leave Facebook.


I don't understand this concept that goes on around here of always wanting things to move backwards instead of forward. That things from before "come back" on some kind of regular basis, which they actually don't. Yes, people are leaving Facebook in droves, and yes, Facebook is mostly middle aged and older people now, but why would people go back to a dead thing? Myspace is a dead thing. Dead and decayed. Why wouldn't they leave Facebook into something NEW, which I'm sure is in the works anyway. Those tech clowns work day and night to come up with new technology simply for the sake of technology.

I don't understand this concept that goes on around here of always wanting things to move backwards instead of forward. That things from before "come back" on some kind of regular basis, which they actually don't. Yes, people are leaving Facebook in droves, and yes, Facebook is mostly middle aged and older people now, but why would people go back to a dead thing? Myspace is a dead thing. Dead and decayed. Why wouldn't they leave Facebook into something NEW, which I'm sure is in the works anyway. Those tech clowns work day and night to come up with new technology simply for the sake of technology.

Yeah. Myspace definitely isn't coming back and doesn't really need to lol.

I don't understand this concept that goes on around here of always wanting things to move backwards instead of forward. That things from before "come back" on some kind of regular basis, which they actually don't. Yes, people are leaving Facebook in droves, and yes, Facebook is mostly middle aged and older people now, but why would people go back to a dead thing? Myspace is a dead thing. Dead and decayed. Why wouldn't they leave Facebook into something NEW, which I'm sure is in the works anyway. Those tech clowns work day and night to come up with new technology simply for the sake of technology.


It's not so much going backwards but rather going in circles to revisit old times for nostalgia purposes. In the Mid-2000's there was a lot of Late 1980's styles and aesthetics, and now in 2020 we have a combination of both eras. If not MySpace, I hope they'll come up with something better and less toxic, and better privacy. I'll just stick with IG for now, and I won't join TikTok.

I noticed the Mid-2000's aesthetic is coming back. The aesthetics of 2020 has a colorful "bubblegum" look, and the music has a lot of synth sounds. A thought just occurred to me that Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is similar to Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. album. Also the emo look is getting popular with Zoomers, that are now the age that Millennials were back in the Mid 2000's. I wouldn't be surprised if MySpace came back, especially with more people wanting to leave Facebook.


As much as I wanna believe MySpace is coming back, I don't think it will seeing as the guy currently in charge of the company doesn't know what he's doing.

It's not so much going backwards but rather going in circles to revisit old times for nostalgia purposes. In the Mid-2000's there was a lot of Late 1980's styles and aesthetics, and now in 2020 we have a combination of both eras. If not MySpace, I hope they'll come up with something better and less toxic, and better privacy. I'll just stick with IG for now, and I won't join TikTok.


I notice that in this era specifically the 2010’s  up till now nostalgia seems to be what sales. I don’t know why but millennials and generation z are both very nostalgic generations who loath for the past compared to previous generations so a lot of things do tend to come back.

I noticed the Mid-2000's aesthetic is coming back. The aesthetics of 2020 has a colorful "bubblegum" look, and the music has a lot of synth sounds. A thought just occurred to me that Dua Lipa's Future Nostalgia is similar to Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. album. Also the emo look is getting popular with Zoomers, that are now the age that Millennials were back in the Mid 2000's. I wouldn't be surprised if MySpace came back, especially with more people wanting to leave Facebook.


Interesting points.

I'm a millennial (born in '85) and it would be nice to see all those things come back. I doubt we'll see a mid-2000s MySpace redux, though, unless you mean a site similar to it. These days, MySpace is solely dedicated to music.

We're also seeing a revival of some artists/bands from that era, like My Chemical Romance, The Killers, Weezer, and Green Day.

I notice that in this era specifically the 2010’s up till now nostalgia seems to be what sales. I don’t know why but millennials and generation z are both very nostalgic generations who loath for the past compared to previous generations so a lot of things do tend to come back.


I think a big part of that is more pop culture in general has come out compared to previous generations. The 80s for example predated the internet, and most people didn't have cable TV. You thusly had either broadcast television, primitive video games, or music, and back then it was much harder to discover alternative music compared to today.
I've heard a lot of people say nostalgia will die with the 90s, but to be honest, I think it's the opposite. I think newer generations will end up MORE nostalgic than older generations simply because they have so much more pop culture to connect to. We're now seeing nostalgia of early web culture from the 2000s.
Whilst yes, monoculture has been dying out, to be honest, that's been the case for a while. The 50s was just pure monoculture, the 60s had the dominant pop culture counteracted by counter-culture, then we had the rise of subcultures in the 80s like punks, metalheads, and goths, and then once the internet happened in the 90s, things broke up even more and more. That still hasn't changed the fact that people are nostalgic about emo and scene, two very specific subcultures from the 2000s that did NOT represent the mainstream culture of the time. There's people nostalgic about obscure 2000s internet content, despite the fact most people back then never heard about it.

I can see how the 90’s would be divided into two parts like 1990-1994 still had a lot of late 80’s influence, I call it the Pre commercial internet 90’s and then 1995-1999 which was the era of the internet explosion, teen pop and cheesy teen movies. But honestly I can see Your point with the 2000-2004 and then 2005-2009 split up. I used to think 2004 was the early 2000’s tbh and then I got grilled for it. I just feel like the 2000’s were so culturally diverse to the point were I can’t really see nor find a defining aesthetic/ zeitgeist outside of the early 2000’s.


I think as the years start moving along the 2000s starts looking more and more like a bubble then even I first thought. But generally I would say stuff like flip phones, low rise jeans, Emo hair, pop rock bands, media tabloids about Britney , Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton, Rappers like Soulja Boy or 50 Cent are the mid 2000s/Core 2000s aesthetic which started dying off in the late 2000s.

I think the 2000s were diverse in they’re own way but even now a lot of the things that came out of it. Even the IPhone and IOS look outdated now

I think the mid 2000s don't get recognition because most people just divide the 2000s into two halfs (early/late). I used to get angry about this but now I can kinda see why they do that. 2004 still had a lot of early 2000s vibes leftover but 2005 already had stuff like Myspace's popularity, emo music, YouTube (albeit just starting out), ringtone/snap rap, the Bush backlash, the "McBling" lifestyle of Paris Hilton, trucker hats, large SUVs, bedazzled flip phones, swoop hair, etc. which continued into 2006-Early 2009.

At this point I think dividing the 2000s up into two parts (early/late, 2000-2004/2005-2009) is fair, like how #Infinity divides 70s culture up into 1970-1974 and 1975-1979. But the 90s, that's more three parts to me (early/mid/late).


I feel this but back in the late 2010s I used to think the same thing about the late 2000s just being more or less still the same to most of the 2010s that I just disregarded the small differences that overall made it a different atmosphere from the early-mid 2010s. I couldn’t see it because it was just so recent that I was blind to it

Chains, emo, and rebellion is what I think of in terms of the mid 2000s aesthetic. The lack of conformity and backlash against mainstream pop trends from a few years back (like BSB and Nsync), was what defined the mid 2000s.

The early trap rap era.

https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/goodies-mobbs-ceelo-and-ti-during-remy-martin-presents-atlantic-picture-id111247812?s=612x612

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/cf/Trap_muzik_b0000akqgt.jpg

https://images.complex.com/images/fl_lossy,q_auto,w_910,dpr_auto/mfwbb3kmmgkvafhayyf8/jeezy-snowman-1

hYvH9wb0QnU

JU9TouRnO84

hwgQytfwWRc