Great Outfits in Fashion History: Tyra Banks in a Trending Shade of Chartreuse

Everything old really is new again.

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.

It’s true what the adage says: everything old is new again.

Take, for example, the recent resurgence of chartreuse. Last seen in the mid-aughts — ushered in by Kylie Minogue’s absinthe-inspired Green Fairy in “Moulin Rouge” — it’s a shade that might bring to mind asymmetrical hems and bad spray tans. But it was a color capable of sophistication, too, as seen on Tyra Banks at the 2004 NAACP Awards. The supermodel was wearing a column dress in a simple silhouette, with spaghetti straps and a plunging bust, which makes the style feel timeless despite it’s very on-trend color. (Of course, the statement-making chandelier earrings do give it a post-Y2K spin, but who wasn’t wearing big danglers back then?)

These days, chartreuse is back and better than ever, having evolved from the neon green trend that dominated runways a few seasons back. If you’re not ready to try a head-to-toe look, like Banks did back in ’04, there are plenty of ways to dip your toe in it now. These accessories will look great with neutrals, but they’re even more fun with other brights, like those in Banks’s bird of paradise eye makeup.