In a year that's seen Britney Spears celebrate her 40th birthday, get engaged to Sam Asghari and *finally* escape the toxic, 13-year-long conservatorship that gripped the world and spawned the #FreeBritney movement, it is only fitting that the singer-songwriter be named one of the top trending celebrity style stars of 2021.
Google has just revealed that Britney Spears was the second-top trending style star of the year, according to data from the search engine's Year In Search 2021 list – while, rather bizarrely, Adam Sandler came in at number one (yes, we're confused too). And all this is just further proof that Y2K style is here to stay.
Britney, of course, is one of the original Noughties style icons, so it follows that so many have turned to her for fashion inspiration this past year. We have been seeing a clear trend for the re-emergence of Y2K style for a few seasons now – most recently at the SS22 shows where Miu Miu models donned barely-there pleated miniskirts, Stella McCartney went big on fringed crop tops and keyhole cut-outs, and we saw more cargo pants, tie-up tops and exposed midriffs than we have in decades.
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All of these being trends which Britney rocked years ago – even though, at the time, she found herself regularly criticised for her outfits being 'too revealing' by the mainstream media, which we were reminded of by the Framing Britney Spears documentary, released earlier this year.
Thankfully, we're well beyond those kinds of outdated critiques now and free to fully embrace the best Britney-era looks – and tick lots of SS22 style boxes while we're at it. Think low-slung trousers, ultra-cropped tops, micro minis, daring cut-out details, diamanté-encrusted everything, hats aplenty and Britney's beloved UGGs, which have also been given a modern update.
Here are some of Britney Spears' best style moments from which to take inspiration:
Britney Spears' Best Y2K Style Moments
Clementina Jackson is Acting Site Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, working across news and features, trends, e-commerce and SEO. She was previously Fashion Editor at Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health, and Acting Digital Fashion Editor at ELLE UK, where she was named as a PPA 30 Under 30 award winner for her work on size inclusivity. An experienced fashion, travel and luxury lifestyle journalist, Clementina has also written for Harper’s Bazaar, Vanity Fair, Condé Nast Traveller, Tatler, Red and Italy Segreta.
