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Dave Benett/Getty Images; Alamy Stock Photo; BarryNot to age myself, but I definitely was one of those children that exclusively wore butterfly clothing. Luckily, I was in the company of the era’s great divas. You can’t look back into the early ’00s without noticing that monarchs were the moment. Of course, there were the women who carried this trend (hello, Mariah Carey), but iterations of butterflies were found everywhere, from luxury pieces like the S/S 1999 Atelier Versace chain-mail butterfly dress (worn both by Naomi Campbell and Christina Aguilera) to everyday clothing for the masses. However, to restrict this jaunt down memory lane to just a few bedazzled patches would be like clipping this trend’s wings. The vibrantly colored critters took over our television screens and beauty routines, too. Who can forget when fictional characters like Jenna Rink of 13 Going on 30 donned a statement-making encrusted butterfly necklace or when Carrie Bradshaw wore an oversize butterfly Kenneth Jay Lane piece on the “Frenemies” episode of Sex and the City?
Of course, we must put respect on butterfly hair clips. Everyone from fictional characters like Lizzie McGuire to larger-than-life celebrities like Tyra Banks and Gwen Stafani styled their hair with butterfly hair clips. And if jewelry, dresses, and hair accessories don’t cement that this trend was flying high, how about temporary butterfly tattoos worn by actresses like Salma Hayek to the MTV Awards? Basically, butterflies took over everything as quickly as the fluttering of wings. Whether or not you were a fan, it was a defining moment in time.