Paris Hilton’s 2000s Outfits Are Enough To Distract Us From A Pandemic

Whatever fashion meant to you in the early ‘00s, one exclamation pretty much sums up our collective #wardrobegoals: ‘That’s hot!’ Paris Hilton’s catchphrase, which became an oft-uttered stamp of approval on FOX’sThe Simple Life, was almost as famous as the blond-haired heiress herself. Hilton revelled in the decade’s return to more-is-more maximalism after the ‘90s, and her party-ready wardrobe of pink dresses, tinted sunglasses, velour tracksuits and pastel flat caps were full of feel-good spirit, the kind we’re sorely lacking in 2020.

Which is why she’s the subject of our latest FashBack. A muted beige wardrobe is all well and good, but isn’t it about time to crack out some pink à la Paris? At 2001’s premiere of Heartbreakers, she wore a fringed pink minidress, a pair of wedge mules and her signature aviator shades, all in the pink of Pepto-Bismol. It was a look of extremes - short, high, tight! - but had so much carefree attitude (as in, ‘I couldn’t care less if you don’t like pink,’).

Hilton was a dress-and-heels person through and through, a combination we’re missing since staying in became the new out-out. But she didn’t always do mega-short and mega-tight. At Vanity Fair’s pre-party for the 2001’s Oscars, she wore a positively demure knee-length wrap dress with the kind of wedge espadrilles that, whisper it, Kate Middleton swears by.

She could, believe it or not, also do casual. You might think her wardrobe is all bedazzled this and diamante that, but she likes denim as much as the next woman, and even owns flats (or close to, anyway). At 2001’s premiere of Sex And The City, Hilton wore a khaki miniskirt with a knee-length denim coat, accessorising with lace-up stompers and knee-length black socks for a grungy take on Clueless.

Miniskirts, incidentally, are going to be big news next season - with hemlines running super high - which is excellent news for an early adopter like Hilton. At a party for 2004’s Super Bowl, she wore a black leather mini with a turquoise bodice, a badge-embellished blazer, a pair of pointed-toe thigh-high boots, a fluffy blue bag and a flower hair pin. On anyone (literally anyone) else this would have looked slightly bananas, but on Hilton, it looked like coordinated kitsch.

As the decade progressed, so too did her signatures. Who else can’t look at a pair of tinted sunglasses without seeing Hilton? And what about her sarong skirts, like the one she wore to 2003’s MTV Movie Awards?

If you’re looking to copy her look, there are a couple of easy entry points. First of all, a velour tracksuit. Hilton stepped out with Kim Kardashian West - who, fun fact, used to be her assistant - just last week wearing a velour bra top and matching sweatpants by SKIMS. Secondly, a flat cap. And thirdly - and the most ‘00s of all - a belly button piercing. A simpler time.