Bandage Dresses: 2000s It-Girl Look Is Having Its Moment Again

I remember being ten years old, sneaking peeks at my older cousin’s fashion magazines and watching red carpet recaps on E! with wide eyes. The women on screen, from Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian to Lindsay Lohan, all looked like living Bratz dolls in bodycon dresses that clung to every curve like a second skin. They were the blueprint. The kind of girls who didn’t just walk into a party, but made an entrance. And more often than not, they were doing it in a bandage dress.

 
Fast forward to now: I’m in my twenties, scrolling through Instagram when I spot that dress again, this time on Hailey Bieber and also fashion inspo from random influencers has been influencing me extra lately. Her look is clean, simple, and chic, yet unmistakably a throwback. And just like that, it’s official: the bandage dress is back, but more than the dress, I think it's the idea that sells.

But here’s the thing. The return of the 2000s It-Girl aesthetic isn’t just about nostalgia, it’s about reclamation.

From “Bodycon” To “Body-Confident”

The bandage dress, tight, structured, and unapologetically sexy, was once symbolic of a very specific kind of beauty ideal: ultra-thin, hourglass, and airbrushed to perfection. It was aspirational and unattainable all at once. And yes, let’s address the obvious: it wasn’t exactly friendly to bodies that didn’t fit the Victoria's Secret mould.

We're not trying to squeeze ourselves into outdated standards; we're reshaping them. This time around, the bandage dress isn’t about proving your body is “perfect.” It’s about owning your silhouette, however it looks, and feeling damn good while doing it. If something makes someone feel better in their skin, even if it’s something once associated with problematic beauty norms, doesn’t that count for something? It’s no longer about fitting in. It’s about standing out on your own terms.

'It Girl' Culture

There’s a reason we keep circling back to the “It Girl” archetype. She’s confident. She’s magnetic. She doesn’t apologise for taking up space. But in 2025, the new It Girl could be wearing a bandage dress, or she could be in a pair of cargo pants and a crop top. What’s shifted is the intent. It’s not about male validation anymore. It’s about joy. Play. Fashion as self-expression, not self-restriction. The current bandage renaissance (call it ‘softcore Y2K’) pairs the look with Gen Z’s love for minimal glam, ballet buns, and dewy skin. It’s not as try-hard, and it’s far more inclusive.

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To be honest, I love florals, I am a girly girl, I would gladly live inside a cottage forever running through sunflower fields in my long flowy dresses, but at the same time, I want to go through a revenge arc without being shamed for being fatphobic. A few days ago, one of my favourite international labels, House Of CB, posted a #BANDAGEISBACK campaign, and I am so here for it. 

You know, some days you just need that extra snatch to feel better about yourself or your body. It’s valid to critique where this trend came from and who it historically left out. But completely writing off bodycon fashion because it was once exclusionary erases the possibility of growth and evolution. Instead of banning the bandage dress, let’s encourage more people, of all sizes and identities, to wear it and feel empowered doing so. Think of it as something that's there to accentuate YOUR body, not something that's been made to be fit into. Because fashion, at its best, is about freedom. And we deserve to wear whatever makes us feel powerful, sexy, or simply… ourselves.

The revival of the bandage dress isn’t just about reviving a trend; it’s about rewriting the rules. We’re borrowing from the past, sure. But we’re wearing it with today’s confidence, compassion, and clarity. So here’s to the return of the It Girl, fiercer, freer, and more inclusive than ever.

Pass the Hervé Léger. We’ve got places to be.