With the close of the 2010’s approaching soon, let’s take a look back at the highs and lows of the last decade. From fashion to music, television, movies, and viral trends let’s go back in time to when Hollister was all the rage and we couldn’t get enough of One Direction and Justin Bieber. Let’s take a look back, year by year in the past decade at the greatest and cringiest parts of the 2010s.
2010: 2010 was the year of silly bandz, side bangs and feather hair extensions. Flower crowns were the perfect accessory in the summer, along with shutter sunglasses, which were fun for photos but were seriously impractical. This was the year Instagram launched, completely changing social media forever, causing Tumblr to slowly go away. This was back when Instagram was strictly for photos and Angry Birds was the perfect way to stay entertained.
2011: The beauty and fashion community really began to grow in 2011. Youtubers such as Bethany Mota, Elle and Blair Fowler and Andreas Choice, were everyone’s go to for advice on makeup, outfits and room inspiration. The “Snooki Pouf” was the go-to hairstyle for school. Just pouf up your hair and clip it down with colorful hair clips and you were set. Infinity scarves were the perfect addition to any outfit. Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” movie came out and gave us a behind the scenes look at the pop star’s life, who we all would become massive fan girls over. The unforgettable single Friday by Rebecca Black came out and instantly became a meme.
2012: Remember Kony 2012? Yeah, it’s okay we forgot about it too. 2012 was the year when we all thought the world was ending and crackle nail polish was all the rage. Gangnam Style became the first video on Youtube to surpass 1 billion views. Pitch Perfect instantly became a cult classic and we all made it a point to learn the iconic cup song. Call Me Maybe was the smash hit of the year and became all of our ringtones. The motto of the year was “You Only Live Once” aka YOLO, reminding us all to live in the moment.
2013: The Ice Bucket Challenge was a viral internet trend to bring awareness of ALS, while you dump a large bucket of ice on top of your head and challenge your friends to continue it. Crop tops were a staple in everyone’s wardrobe, especially if they were from Fresh Tops. Miley Cyrus’ 2013 VMA performance with Robin Thicke officially marked Miley Cyrus’ disassociation with Disney; twerking and space buns suddenly became a lot more popular. Towards the end of 2013, Frozen came out and quickly became a global sensation.
2014: Wedge sneakers became popular in 2014. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the Oscars and tweeted the iconic selfie with huge celebs such as Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Meryl Streep. The biggest selling album of 2014 was Taylor Swift’s 1989, which was her first full pop album. The biggest bop of the year was Pharrel’s Happy, which we can’t but help to dance to. Alex from Target became everyone’s internet crush and eventually his Twitter fame lead him to become a guest on the Ellen Show. The Fault in Our Stars was the biggest book and movie of the year and we all fell in love with Ansel Elgort.
2015: Zayn Malik left One Direction on March 25, 2015, leaving millions of Directioners devastated. On June 26, 2015, gay marriage was legalized in all 50 states, a huge win for the LGBTQ+ community. A simple photo of a sequined dress nearly broke the internet over the debate of if the dress was blue and black or gold and white. The Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge became a popular trend to have people make their lips ridiculously huge, which lead to many fails and even some injuries. Phrases such as “on fleek” and “bae” became staples in our everyday language.
2016: Netflix blessed all of us with the airing of Stranger Things Season One in July of 2016. The end of 2016 was circled around politics and clowns. Clown sightings were seen all around the United States, some being dangerous. The 2016 Presidential election left many people angry and confused and others had a sigh of relief. Since this election, a lot more millennials and gen z’s have become interested in politics.
2017: Move over iPhones and tablets because the best gadget to have in 2017 was a fidget spinner. These small toys were a great source of entertainment and helped liven up even the most boring class lectures. On May 22, 2017, 23 people were murdered at an Ariana Grande concert from a suicide bombing attack. Grande followed up the attacks with her One Love Manchester Concert on British television.
2018: The Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was straight out of a fairytale, giving us all unrealistic wedding expectations. Rapper Mac Miller passed away on September 7, 2018. A Star is Born was the movie of the year, making everyone root for Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper to start dating. Ariana Grande released her album Sweetener in August 2018, and hit single Thank u, next, which would become the new single girl’s anthem.
2019: 2019 has been the year of influencers and conspiracies. The rise in popularity for conspiracy theories, with some help from Shane Dawson, has allowed questioning everything to become trendy. The beauty community has seen so many changes this year with drama around James Charles and Tati Westbrook and Shane Dawson creating his own makeup collection with Jeffree Star. VSCO girls have taken over, reminding us all to buy a hydro flask and save the turtles. The app Tik Tok has become a new staple app, making us all want to learn new trendy dances. A heavily anticipated Frozen 2 comes out on November 22, 2019. The Jonas Brothers finally got back together and gave us all the amazing album Happiness Begins.
With the close of this decade, it’s safe to say it’s been a wild ride. From the trends we want to forget, to some of the best memories of our lives, we can’t wait to see what the 2020’s will bring!