Millennial Explains to Gen Z the True Meaning of Low-Rise Jeans

A millennial woman has sparked a conversation about a controversial fashion staple of the early 2000s—low-rise jeans.

Low-rise jeans, which gained cultural prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s, were synonymous with ultra-low waistlines that often exposed midriffs. The trend is on the way back, driven by Generation Z’s love of nostalgia, and the younger generation is trying its hand at the style.

But Yasmeen Scott, a 33-year-old Londoner, has gained viral attention after seeing Gen Z’s new take on low-rise jeans, pointing out the major differences between the styles.

In a video with 290,000 views on TikTok, Scott said she was astonished to see how drastically low-rise jeans have evolved. Demonstrating with a picture of herself in her 2000s jeans, she said: “Look how short this is. That’s my bone. That’s how low we were wearing our jeans.”

Looking at a more modern “low-rise” pair of shorts, she highlighted the stark difference: “This is as low as I want to go now, and it’s so much nicer. But back then, what we now call low-rise was considered high-waisted,” she said in the video.

The inspiration for Scott’s TikTok came from a younger user who was shocked by how low her millennial aunt’s jeans sat. “This inspired me to look back on my own photos wearing low-rise jeans back in the 00s when they were in, as I was a big fan, and saw how low they were,” Scott told Newsweek.

In her video, Scott pointed out the nuances of the 2000s trend. Millennial low-rise jeans often featured one-inch zippers and sat well below the hip bone, frequently exposing underwear—a key reason thongs became a fashion staple. In contrast, Gen Z’s version sits higher, blending retro aesthetics with modern comfort.

In the early 2000s, low-rise was popularized by stars like Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, who often wore the ultra-low-rise styles with crop tops, even taking the denim to the red carpet at times. For millennials, the style is closely tied to the beauty standards of the era, which often emphasized slimness and brought body image challenges.

“I definitely prefer the current Gen Z version as they’re much comfier and not as low—more flattering to my body shape,” Scott said.

The resurgence of low-rise jeans reflects broader generational reinterpretations of past fashions. As well as these styles, Gen Z have driven a new popularity for other older ones, including ’90s mom jeans, chunky sneakers, ’70s-inspired tie-dye and silk scarves first popularized in the 1950s.

Scott summed up how the new generation had made the trend its own—and much more accessible too. “The regular millennial low rise is what Gen X would consider ultra low rise—it sat very low down beneath hip bone and whereas Gen Z low rise sits sort of above or on the hip,” she said.