13 Early 2000s Style Stars We Still Love Today

Keri Russell’s recent acting renaissance in The Americans is a cause for celebration to former F elicity fans everywhere.

Back in 2002, Alicia Silverstone had just wrapped the forgotten film Rock My World and was still riding the Clueless style wave and with fringed tube tops, and hair piled high atop her head.

Alicia is a devoted animal lover and vegan these days, but to this day, we still associate her with shopaholic valley girl Cher Horowitz (and any of the blond ingenues she played thereafter).

Mischa Barton defined SoCal style as Marisa Cooper on The OC from 2003 to 2006, with her wavy, highlighted locks and preppy miniskirts. On the red carpet, the actress was a free-spirited designer darling with a soft spot for flowing pastel dresses.

She was the It girl on The OC, and a major fashion icon for the better part of a decade, but don’t expect nostalgia from this star these days. Barton stated in an interview that she wished her name weren’t synonymous with the dramatic soap. Still, her vibrant, beachy, bohemian-princess style endures.

Remember when the tube top and leather-jacket trend was in around the year 2000? Melissa Joan Hart sure does. In 2003 the actress had just ended her seven year stint on Sabrina the Teenage Witch and clinging to the stylistic sensibilities of the show.

She’s a mother and star of a dubious ABC family sitcom now, but Melissa Joan Hart will always be Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Melissa Explains It All to me.

Lorelai Gilmore, er, Lauren Graham, sure taught us how to rock a pair of jeans and a button down in the early aughts.

Now, the Parenthood star owns chic sheath dresses for her public appearances.

Jennifer Love Hewitt has always been one of America’s Sweethearts, even when she was giving us too much information on her grooming preferences or starring as a call girl. In the early 2000s, she was rocking a side bang, jeans and halters for red carpet appearances.

Now, the new mom owns bodycon dresses and gorgeous gowns on the red carpet.

Marla Sokoloff was a star of The Practice and the object of James Franco’s affection in the early 2000s, all while rocking slip dresses and jeans on the red carpet.

She started her ascent to fame acting in television series’ from Full House to Party of Five, but Marla Sokoloff truly gained popularity when she starred on The Practice (and dated James Franco), all while rocking trends like slip dresses and embroidered gowns. The new mom has kept true to her chic, laid-back style.

Around the Millennium, Lucy Liu was finishing up a stint on Ally McBeal, filming Charlie’s Angels, and starring in Kill Bill. The fact that she showed up on the red carpet in jaunty fedoras, wide-leg pants and pointy-toed boots simply added to general adoration of the actress.

Yet another resurgent screen star is Lucy Liu, who won our hearts with her smart and stylish character in 2000’s Charlie’s Angels. Fast forward to 2014, and Liu is starring in television series Elementary. Add in her recent fashion triumphs including a floral Carolina Herrera ball gown at the 2013 Golden Globes and Roberto Cavalli at Paleyfest 2013, and we’d say she’s still one of our favorite female stars.

You may or may not remember Marley Shelton from supporting roles in films like Uptown Girls and Never Been Kissed , but this chic actress has always been a star on the red carpet.

Shelton now favors feminine jewel-toned dresses for press appearances, and broke pregnancy fashion barriers with her daring red gown at her Perfect Getaway film premiere in 2009.

This singer/actress/designer has been through the style spectrum from bubblegum pop princess to bohemian goddess, favoring a short brunette cut and bohemian belted dresses in the early 2000s.

Her style has run the gamut, but I must say, I love her current insouciant style incarnation, from her cute crop to the leather accents and blazers she favors.

No, I don’t mean Beyoncé, we mean the female singing group formerly known as Destiny’s Child. The band’s semi-coordinated red carpet ensembles will forever have a place in our hearts, no matter how off-base they may have been.

For their Super Bowl halftime reunion show in 2013, the band again sported matching ensembles — still outrageous and amazing.

Gabrielle Union may have played my very favorite character in Bring It On, but she also happened to have a killer, quirky sense of style on the red carpet in the early 2000s.

The actress has since graduated to styles more sophisticated than cheerleading uniforms. Her red carpet style is glamorous, streamlined, and utterly covetable.

As the former reigning queen of romantic comedies, Julia Stiles has the perfect girl-next-door style. Our young lives wouldn’t have been the same without Save the Last Dance and 10 Things I Hate About You.

Today, Stiles graces the red carpet with beautifully pared-back, feminine styles.