Entrapaneur Sophia Amoruso founded her successful and profitable company Nasty Gal Vintage in 2006 in her early 20s. Over a decade later, her journey was dramatized by Netflix's new comedy series Girlboss, which premiered on April 21, complete with lots of mid-2000s nostalgia. All the 2000s references in Girlboss will make you feel like it's 2006 all over again — which is when the comedy series is set — so get your flip phone out and figure out your MySpace Top 8, pronto.
Girlboss is loosely based on Amoruso's 2014 autobiography and the TV series stars Britt Robertson as Sophia Marlowe, who is 23 years old and on the verge of founding Nasty Gal Vintage in 2006. By 2012, the real-life Nasty Gal made almost $100 million in sales, according to the Washington Post. In the series, Sophia encounters all the fun aspects of pop culture from the time period: MySpace, AIM, flip phones, Blackberry phones, Keyboard Cat GIFs, The Devil Wears Prada, and The O.C., among many others. Like some kind of Netflix time machine, all those fun references will make you feel just like it's the mid-aughts again.
Just in case you missed any while marathoning Girlboss, check out the the 2000s references in the series sneaks in as Sophia goes from successful eBay seller to big-time business woman.
1
The Cell Phones
Your eyes aren't deceiving you — Sophia is texting from an good ol' fashioned Nokia cell phone with that oh-so-familiar ringtone. Meanwhile, Sophia's friends use flip phones to call and text her. 2006 was a time before smartphones and it certainly shows.
2
Sophia & Annie Have An Argument About MySpace
Remember when you used to agonize over which friends you'd put in your "Top 8" on your MySpace profile? Remember when you had a MySpace profile? In the fifth episode, Sophia tells Annie that she has a MySpace page for Nasty Gal, but Annie gets offended when she sees that Annie isn't among Sophia's "Top 8." This is a very 2006 issue.
3
Sophia & Friend Talk About Barry Bonds
When Sophia flashes back to when she first met Annie, it turns out that they first bonded over their love of baseball player Barry Bonds, who was popular in the early and mid-aughts.
4
Sophia & Her Friends Watch 'The OC'
In the fourth episode, Sophia and her friends watch The O.C.'s Season 3 finale, in which Marissa Cooper is killed off. Sophia takes a phone call during the episode, but later regrets it when she sees what happens to Marissa. "I can't believe I had a work call during the most significant TV event of our lifetime," Sophia says in the scene.
5
The Show's Music
Girlboss Season 1 features songs such as Rogue Wave's "Lake Michigan," Fat Joe's "Get It Poppin," Wheatus' "Teenage Dirtbag" — and these are all favorites from the early-to-mid aughts era.
6
The Billboard For 'The Devil Wears Prada'
The billboard for the hit movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway can be spotted at the end of the second episode.
7
Keyboard Cat Makes An Appearance
In a scene that visualizes the interactions of the Vintage Fashion Forum, a user "posts" a GIF of a cat playing the keyboard. The Keyboard Cat meme became popular in the mid-aughts.
8
Annie Mentions Britney Spears' Breakdown
While in Los Angeles, Annie tells Dax that she wants to find Britney Spears' house and lend some support to the pop star, after what she calls "the umbrella incident." This infamous Spears moment occured in 2007.
9
Nathan Has A Blockbuster Card
In the fourth episode, Sophia's friend Nathan flashes Sophia a Blockbuster card at her job checking IDs at a university. He also mentions renting The Cider House Rules and watching The O.C.
10
Annie Talks About 'Failure To Launch'
In the third episode, Annie randomly brings up the Matthew McConaughey rom-com movie Failure to Launch, which was released in 2006. "It's an OK movie," she tells Sophia.
11
The Vocabulary
Remember when it was cool to "drop it like it's hot," and be "totes" into something "fo' sho"? This was that time in 2006.
12
Sophia Uses An iBook
In the time before the ulta-slim Mac Book Air, there was this round-edge iBook that came in colors, just like the iMac. Sophia has a blue and white one that she uses to put up her first eBay vintage clothing listing.
13
Shane & Dax Play 'Guitar Hero'
In the second episode, Shane and Dax are "shredding" (according to Annie) in a friendly game of Guitar Hero, which was super popular in the mid-aughts. The game was originally released in 2005.
14
Sophia, Nathan, & His Mom Listen To Josh Groban
While having dinner with Nathan and his mom, Sophia joins them for a rousing duet of Josh Groban's song "You Raise Me Up," which was released in 2003.
15
Annie Mentions Destiny's Child
In a flashback scene, Annie shows Sophia a photo and calls it their "Destiny's Child album cover." Because, you know, back then Destiny's Child was still together.
16
Sophia & Annie Talk Via AIM
In the days before Gchat and Google Hangouts, AIM was the super popular chat program. Sophia and Annie use it to chat in a scene that visualizes the very mid-aughts AIM experience, with that trademark "ding" sound and all.
17
Sophia Mentions Reese Witherspoon's Oscar Win
In Episode 11, Sophia mentions Reese Witherspoon won an Oscar for the 2006 movie Walk the Line.
So it's clear that Girlboss knows how to hit all the right notes for mid-aughts nostalgia.
