Juicy tracksuits, giant sunglasses and 'stupid little handbags.' The 2006 WAG look is everywhere again.
Iris Owen has a specific look in mind when she describes the epitome of chic.You start with enormous glasses, so big that they cover half your face. Hair should be stick-straight, no volume whatsoever, but loads of long hair extensions. Pair that with a tiny cami top, French tips and, as she calls it, "a stupid little handbag" on the crook of your arm."I think that's the coolest you can look, in my opinion, ever," the 27-year-old content creator from London tells Yahoo.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn other words, the aesthetic of the 2006 WAGs."Cheryl Cole, and all of those girls … they were my idols," she remembers. "All the clothes they would wear, I was fascinated by them."For Owen, the wives and girlfriends of the England soccer (aka football) team, who accompanied their players to that year's World Cup in Baden-Baden, Germany, set the blueprint. The squad of women — including pop stars Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole, models Elen Rives, Abbey Clancy and Alex Curran (now Gerrard) and Wayne Rooney's longtime sweetheart Coleen McLoughlin (now Rooney) — were beautiful, young and fun, and made the most of their time supporting their men in the German spa town.In going-out tops, high heels and huge shades, the women partied, shopped and giggled their way through the tournament. Rumors ran wild (Rives, then partner of Chelsea's Frank Lampard, allegedly missed her plane because she had too many bags, the women allegedly went on shopping sprees worth thousands), and soon the ladies dominated tabloid coverage.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"WAGs weren't a side story to the World Cup — in some ways, they were the story," British journalist Lucie Cave tells Yahoo. At the time, Cave covered the World Cup in her role at Heat magazine, and says it's hard to exaggerate the "scale of the obsession" around the women."Women in the office who had no interest in football suddenly had very strong opinions about Cheryl's hair, Coleen's shopping trips and what was happening in Baden-Baden," Cave, a pop-culture expert who is now the CCO of podcasts for Bauer Media, recalls. "It was one of the first times I remember a major sporting event becoming mainstream pop culture in quite that way."It's been 20 years since that World Cup, but the impact of the WAGs is arguably stronger than ever. And ahead of this year's tournament, it's time we finally give them their due. From fashion to culture and celebrity, the women of the 2006 World Cup have reverberated across generations, even though at the time they were mocked as classless jokes."Ultimately, WAGs didn't just change football culture — they really changed celebrity culture and turned lifestyle into content years before social media existed," says Cave.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThese days, being a WAG isn't just a label; it's a lifestyle. There have never been as many famous WAGs in the U.S., with athletes' partners finding fame and building brands in sports from tennis to football. Take Morgan Riddle, who turned her courtside style cheering on then boyfriend Taylor Fritz into a gig hosting for F1 and appearances at Fashion Week, and Kristin Juszczyk, whose fashion label, Off Season, was born when she began selling the designs she made to cheer on husband Kyle's 49ers. Then of course, there's the most famous WAG of all, Taylor Swift, who single-handedly made young women suddenly interested in Chiefs games to get a glimpse of her cheering on fiancé Travis Kelce.And at this year's World Cup, the pitchside fits likely won't be too far off from what Posh and Co. wore back then. Y2K fashion has been back for a minute, but 2026's offerings are giving a particular 2006 vibe. Girls are wearing boho skirts and statement belts to Coachella, statement glasses are aspirational and TikTok creators are lusting after slideshows of the Baden-Baden crew in their prime."Everyone's sort of dressing like they're in High School Musical," says Owen. "A lot of short little cardigans, I've seen a lot of dresses over jeans, ponchos are back in. I've seen teen girls wearing those spaghetti strap cami tops with a bra poking out. … It's all here. I think it's all back."In its summer trend report, Pinterest noted that fandom gear was also having a huge moment.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"People are borrowing the iconography of sport — team colors, uniforms, bold graphics, and national pride — and incorporating them into everyday choices," the report reads.In particular, the report says, searches were spiking for terms like "Y2K track pants outfit" and "World Cup jerseys" ahead of the tournament. It's an aesthetic Danielle Snyder, the cofounder and creative director of fashion sportswear brand DannijoPro, says she's also observed among her customers."We're seeing a return to the era when sports merchandise felt like fashion rather than just fan gear," she tells Yahoo. "The early 2000s were all about oversized jerseys, baby tees, trucker hats, crystal embellishments and showing team pride in a more personal, styled way. Today's customer wants that same sense of individuality, but elevated — mixing vintage-inspired sports pieces with luxury staples and everyday fashion."On TikTok, creators like Laura Kirk-Francis are suggesting fans pick up WAG-inspired merch like tank tops with the British flag, showing her followers an iconic photo of Beckham in a pair of denim shorts and a tank top that reads "England Rocks."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"Bring me 2006 wag vibe and we will win this world cup," she said in a recent video. "It's been 20 years since Baden-Baden and this energy, and I think what will unite this country more than anything is bringing back this type of look."But this longing to emulate the WAGs is about more than feeling nostalgia for the early-aughts aesthetic. For young people who feel exhausted by the prevalence of technology and yearn for a more analog existence, the WAGs symbolize a freer time.Here was a group of women who weren't getting camera-perfect before every outing on social media, and didn't spend the games locked into their phones. They partied and had fun, in ways that some young people now are afraid to. And Cave says they were much savvier than most at the time gave them credit for."Looking back, what's striking is how early they were to what we'd now recognize as personal branding," she says. "Their fashion choices, beauty routines, relationships and lifestyles were being consumed in much the same way we now consume influencer content. The media often framed them as frivolous, but many were building audiences and commercial value long before social media existed."AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementShe believes that in many ways, WAGs were the first influencers."Before Instagram, TikTok, before the creator economy, people were following what they wore, where they holidayed, what they bought and who they spent time with," she says. "The WAG era proved that lifestyle could be as compelling as talent or achievement. In many ways, they were the first generation of influencers; we just didn't have that word for it yet."But just like their modern-day influencer counterparts, the women faced a barrage of misogynistic criticism. The British tabloids mocked them as low-class opportunists, calling Rooney, a 20-year-old who was partial to Von Dutch hats and Juicy Couture sweatsuits, a "chav," English slang for a low-class person."I'm not the person the newspapers think I am," Rooney said at the time, according to the Daily Mail. "And there's all this hype, but I didn't seek it. And I don't understand that chav label. I don't know what it's supposed to mean. When you see someone in the paper, it's so different to real life, isn't it?"AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementCave believes that with time, the world has begun to view these women more empathetically."The WAG label became shorthand for a certain type of woman and carried a lot of judgment," she says. "Twenty years on, there's an appreciation that many of them were dealing with a level of scrutiny that would be extraordinary even by today's standards."These days, the iconic Juicy sweat suit Rooney was partial to is lusted over by Gen Z women such as Owen, who collects them as a hobby. It's an interesting shift, she acknowledges, from the way the aesthetic was viewed at the time."I think fashion does change, and people have different views on it, but it's also a bit gentrified," she says. "As someone who has been brought up in a fairly middle-class family, some of the people were slamming [the WAGs] because they were seen as working-class."Now, she says she sees Rooney as the blueprint.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisement"She's an icon," she says. "So I think it's changed. I think [WAGs are] appreciated and cool, and I think the fashion is definitely 100% amazing and people love it."Though she's not a huge fan of soccer herself, Owen is already preparing the looks she'll wear to go watch the World Cup matches with her friends. And, of course, she's going full 2006."In England, we say the phrase 'It's coming home' to support the football team," she says. "And I embroidered on the back of the butt, 'It's Coming Home' on my Juicy Couture sweatpants. That's what I'll be wearing at the World Cup this year."
Most Popular
