As with every fresh start, we also have to say our goodbyes. With the emergence of Fashion Aguilera, we bid adieu to Mousketeer-era Aguilera, with her bouncy curls and argyle sweaters; we say so long to 1999 Aguilera, when the singer was rocking her version of the “the Rachel” haircut on the cover of her self-titled debut; farewell to Stripped Aguilera, who inspired thousands of suburban pre-teens to get nose piercings and take scissors to their tank tops, much to the chagrin of concerned parents; and adios to the bustier-clad pin-up Aguilera, who has lived on for most of the past ten years, through Back to Basics (2006), Bionic (2010), and Lotus (2012). (There were many memorable style moments in between, to be sure—remember when she had black hair?—but almost 30 years in the spotlight is a lot of ground to cover. )
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Xtina is not the only former Mousketeer to undergo a style reinvention in the year 2018. Britney Spears recently landed her first major fashion campaign as the face of Kenzo’s La Momento Collection, and just a few months ago, Justin Timberlake—the OG Justin of pop music, despite whatever nonsense your 13-year-old Belieber cousin might spew—underwent quite the transformation himself, stepping out, for better or worse, in a custom camouflage Stella McCartney at the Super Bowl.
While JT’s new look was panned by the unofficial fashion critics of Twitter, reception to Aguilera’s reinvention has, thus far, been celebrated by fans who miss the “Dirrty” days and regularly belt “Beautiful” at karaoke with the conviction of Mean Girls‘ Damian.
At least we finally know what a girl wants: A fresh start.