22 Years Ago, Lizzie McGuire Wore The Most Y2K Hairstyle Of All Time

The year is 2001, and on just about every single (definitely not flat) TV screen — the intro music to Lizzie McGuire would blast as Hilary Duff, the beloved cast, along with the platform sandal-wearing cartoon version of McGuire threw around a red bouncy ball. I mean, if you know you know.

Back in the day, middle school-age Lizzie McGuire was representative of us younger Millennials, growing up in the early 2000s, with print magazines as our main source of beauty advice, and just doing our best to “figure it out on the way.” And while the bright blonde icon of our youth was undoubtedly kind, putting her relationships with her loved ones above all else, there was one episode in particular where she entered her “bad girl” era. With the over-the-top hairstyles and nose ring to match.

Episode 11 from the first season opens with Lizzie taking notes in class. A new girl by the name of Angel sticks some pink gum in her crimped hair, and somehow, so begins their short-lived friendship turned tour-de-punk.

Throughout the coming scenes, Lizzie’s newfound influence is seen in the way she dresses, wears her hair, and behaves — so much so that her friends and family are quick to worry about the sudden change.

Anyone else share a traumatic experience trying to get gum out of their hair with peanut butter? Just me? Okay.

With an ultra-high pony that’s made all the more OTT with red feathers, wild crimped strands, and messy fringe, McGuire lives up to the nickname Angel has given her — Frizz.

Lizzie tells Miranda and Gordo, “you guys just don’t know Angel the way I do” — which, if you attended middle school, might be a familiar phrase when dealing with bad influences on your closest besties. But Lizzie assures them that “nothing puts the double ‘o’ in cool like starting a band,” because she’s clearly in her rocker era ATM and can’t be bothered.

Shortly thereafter, Lizzie is seen with a Y2K twisted updo with spikes (which I’ve for sure seen on Doja Cat in recent months) and a nose ring. She assures her parents that its NDB — “chill parents, it’s just a fake” — before ripping it from her nose.

Miranda, Gordo, and even her little brother Matt came up with an intervention tactic, creating a home video begging Lizzie to come back to the light, because “the good days came crashing down when she met a devil named Angel” and “everything was fine until Lizzie got detention.”

And though her bad girl era only lasted an episode thanks to their documentary-style video, she made sure to serve some legendary hair looks in the span of 22 minutes and 56 seconds.