Pull on your quippy graphic tee and zip up your tracksuits—we’re wearing the 2024 version of McBling. If you’ve been searching “Y2K” on Depop, or scouring thrift stores looking for Von Dutch trucker hats, Juicy Couture tracksuits with “Juicy” splashed across the butt, or tight baby tees with the bedazzled, cursive “Baby Phat” logo, you’re actually searching for the McBling aesthetic.
McBling is all of The Plastics’ costumes in Mean Girls. It’s blasting “Low” by Flo Rida on your pink metallic iPod Nano. It’s spraying your Viva la Juicy perfume around your chunky highlights.
Plenty of aesthetics get pushed under the Y2K umbrella, but it’s a defined subculture of its own. Coming up in the late nineties and lasting through the early 2000s, Y2K landed a tad earlier on the fashion history timeline, and was marked by—among other looks—frosted tips and ultra-low waistlines. The era morphed into something more defined—a teched-out, splashier sister. If Y2K is The Matrix, McBling is The Simple Life.
Photo: Getty Images
What Is the McBling Aesthetic?
McBling style was all about, well, bling. Trend-setters sparkled in bedazzled outerwear and jewelry, with tech becoming the newest and shiniest accessory.
Anything colorful—preferably pink—and sparkling became your best friend during the rise of McBling. The mini skirt became shorter, and velour and streetwear became the uniform of the red carpet. Many staples born from the McBling era include graphic tees with sassy phrases, bedazzled tracksuits and jeans, and sequined accessories.
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