Back to School Style Is Now Cool Year-Round—and Rihanna-Approved

In HBO’s action-packed mini-series Big Little Lies, the drama begins early on—with something as simple as a stiletto break. The perfectly varnished veneer of Madeline, played by peak Reese Witherspoon, takes a hit when her super-serious picking-up-her-kids from school style—a floral Dolce & Gabbana dress and heels—causes her to twist her ankle, which soon takes up residence on the equally flawlessly outfitted lap of Nicole Kidman, playing Celeste.

Madeline, in all of her aggro-neurotic blonde glory, was of course, as usual, taking things to an extreme, but just like the parents of New York’s tony TriBeCa area, she wasn’t wrong in focusing on—and elevating—back to school style, which is rolling back around soon come September, but which has started to be in style all year round, too. Why else would celebrities like Cara Delevingne, Gigi and Bella Hadid, Lena Dunham, and Kylie Jenner, be lugging around backpacks on places like the red carpet, when they no doubt have a bevy of assistants to carry their things—which definitely don’t involve textbooks—around?

The runway shows earlier this year proved that [the early 2000s are unequiv

ocally back](https://www.wmagazine.com/gallery/2000s-fashion-comeback)—a time whose trappings for the back to school shopper prominently featured rhinestones, going-out tops, chainmail dresses, and other Paris Hilton-isms. But for a certain generation, that era is also associated with having to outfit yourself for going to class—usually in logo tees, which are also making a comeback; and hoodies, which Taylor Swift has recently taken to hiding under, just like we did in homeroom—and the library, which is where Rihanna decided to show her Fenty x Puma collection earlier this year.

“I couldn’t think of anywhere better for the theme of this collection: back to school,” she said at the time of unveiling her designs—a collegiate grouping of varsity logos, polos, and argyle sweaters, with some definitely dress code-defying crop tops of course thrown in there, too.

Still, if you had more of a roll-out-of bed approach to getting ready for school, you’re in luck, too: The more basic among us will be happy to know that Jeremy Scott is now rolling out a new line of Uggs, which just might make the suburban staple an urban go-to. (If that sounds like a stretch, just remember that this was the year Crocs suddenly became cool, too.)

Related: Jeremy Scott, “Undercover Ugg Fan,” Comes Out of Hiding, Designs Some Uggs

Paris Hilton Breaks Down Her 13 Favorite 2000s Trends, and Why They’re Still Hot: