Great Outfits in Fashion History (Beauty Edition): Lucy Liu's Trendy 2002 Spiky Bun

Remember when everyone did this sticky-outy-ends thing to their hair?

There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In ‘Great Outfits in Fashion History,’ Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.

Plenty of early-aughts style and beauty trends have resurfaced in the last few years, but one we’ve yet to see — or reminisce about as much as, say, zig-zag parts or butterfly clips — is the 2000s spiky bun. Remember when everyone did that sticky-outy-ends thing to their hair when they put it up into a bun? Allow me and Lucy Liu to refresh your memory if not.

While attending the “VH1 Big in 2002 Awards,” which were apparently a thing, Liu wore a perfect iteration of this pervasive-at-the-time hair trend. It relies upon stick-straight, sleek, shiny hair, pulled into a low bun, messily tied up with several inches left out of the loop, allowing the ends to create a spiky halo effect, creating a sort of accessory out of the hair itself.

This look was so common in the early aughts, you could buy faux-hair-adorned scrunchies made for the purpose of shortcutting your way to it. (Some were multi-colored and neon, for added punk-y effect.) It could easily be combined with other hair trends of the day, such as the aforementioned zig-zag parts and butterfly clips — not to mention chunky highlights, hair gems and those headbands with the triangle bandanas attached.

Should you wish to have a hand in originating the comeback of the spiky-ends-out-2000s bun, we’ve rounded up all the products and tools you’ll need to recreate it in the gallery below. It goes without saying that it’s best paired with an ultra-shiny lip gloss.