Britney Spears's Character in Crossroads Predicted These 2018 Trends

I'm not sure if most film critics would share my enthusiasm for Britney Spears’s 2002 road trip film, Crossroads. But I’m no film critic, so let me be clear: It’s a classic. You’ve got a pre-Avatar-fame Zoe Saldana, eventual Litchfield inmate Taryn Manning, and the biggest pop star of the ’00s taking a post high school graduation road trip. And while I won’t give too much away about the teen flick, there’s a Spears rendition of “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” that’s iconic (in some circles, I’m assuming). What’s more? The movie is chock-full of nods to 2018 trends.

Of course I didn’t know it at the time but Lucy, Kit, and Mimi (Spears’s, Saldana’s, and Manning’s characters, respectively) were not only sources of inspiration for our closets then but also serve as inspiration to 2018’s obsession with bucket hats, low-rise jeans, going-out tops, and more.

Ahead, I’m breaking down a mere sampling of the styles that make me so nostalgic for the ’00s, as well as shopping ones that prove it wasn’t all that long ago.

I’m calling this trend the prom-dress top. Yes, they are wearing their prom dresses in the opening scene of the movie, but this aesthetic—square-neck silhouettes, spaghetti straps, and fabric with lots of shine—has been popular recently, too. The look is as if you’ve chopped off the bottom half of your prom dress (brands like For Good Luck do exactly that) and then styled it with something less formal.

Yes, bucket hats have made a welcome return in 2018. And if you’re matching it exactly to your henley, more power to you.

For me, the fashion in this photo is all about Saldana’s adorable tube top. And with the return of the strapless look in 2018, her head-to-toe ensemble doesn’t seem dated at all.

I’ve already waxed poetic about the appeal of a cardigan, but before I ever put too much thought into it, Spears wore the trend in Crossroads. Considering her somewhat more daring outfits in the film, this one was meant to keep things obviously sweet as Lucy visits her estranged mother. (Hi, Kim Cattrall!)

Wow, where do I begin? The low-rise jeans, the chain belts, the feathers? There are 2018 micro-trends riddled in these looks. But Saldana’s very ’00s top feels similar to other versions I’ve seen lately—more so in its scarf-life silhouettes, not so much animal graphics.

Up next: Here’s what Cher Horowitz’s closet would look like in 2018.