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Cool Girls Are Still Dressing Like Aaliyah

  • <p>Justine Skye took this classic Aaliyah-esque look and upped the glam factor with her hair, makeup, and some extra bling. (Photos: Getty Images, @justineskye) </p>
    1/8

    Justine Skye

    Justine Skye took this classic Aaliyah-esque look and upped the glam factor with her hair, makeup, and some extra bling. (Photos: Getty Images, @justineskye)

  • <p>Aaliyah’s 1996 Tommy Jeans campaign will forever remain an all-American classic. We can’t see a top with that colorblocked logo and <em>not</em> think of it. It helped redefine “borrowed form the boys” and made a crop top and a boxer-style underwear band the pinnacle of cool. (Photos: Tommy Hilfiger, Getty Images) </p>
    2/8

    Zendaya

    Aaliyah’s 1996 Tommy Jeans campaign will forever remain an all-American classic. We can’t see a top with that colorblocked logo and not think of it. It helped redefine “borrowed form the boys” and made a crop top and a boxer-style underwear band the pinnacle of cool. (Photos: Tommy Hilfiger, Getty Images)

  • <p>Jhene Aiko gave the top a Coachella-approved twist with a flower crown, body chains, and festival makeup. (Photo: Tommy Hilfiger, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJmoAJHgv8I/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:@jheneaiko;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">@jheneaiko</a>) </p>
    3/8

    Jhene Aiko

    Jhene Aiko gave the top a Coachella-approved twist with a flower crown, body chains, and festival makeup. (Photo: Tommy Hilfiger, @jheneaiko)

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    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>Teyana Taylor loves a good athletic pant and crop top, and her personal style consistently serves us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLJljSQhklb/?taken-by=teyanataylor" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:/Reebok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">/Reebok </a></p>
    4/8

    Teyana Taylor

    Teyana Taylor loves a good athletic pant and crop top, and her personal style consistently serves us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images, /Reebok

  • <p>Rihanna can make anything look cool, but even she’s “Got to Give It Up” for Aaliyah, who brought cool femininity to an oversized khaki jumpsuit back in the day. (Photos: Getty Images) </p>
    5/8

    Rihanna

    Rihanna can make anything look cool, but even she’s “Got to Give It Up” for Aaliyah, who brought cool femininity to an oversized khaki jumpsuit back in the day. (Photos: Getty Images)

  • <p>Kylie Jenner draws lots of style inspiration from hip-hop and r&b culture, so it comes as no surprise that her looks would have a bit of Aaliyah’s influences. (Photos: Virgin Records, Getty Images) </p>
    6/8

    Kylie Jenner

    Kylie Jenner draws lots of style inspiration from hip-hop and r&b culture, so it comes as no surprise that her looks would have a bit of Aaliyah’s influences. (Photos: Virgin Records, Getty Images)

  • Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

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    Stay in the know at a glance with the Top 10 daily stories

  • <p>Kehlani loves to play with volume and a bare midriff, and the athletic influences in her style definitely give us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images) </p>
    7/8

    Kehlani

    Kehlani loves to play with volume and a bare midriff, and the athletic influences in her style definitely give us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images)

  • <p>Keke Palmer dressed as Aaliyah in her 2000 video for “Try Again” for <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/9hz2a7ErsA/?taken-by=kekepalmer" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Halloween 2015;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Halloween 2015</a>. It appears she recycled the top from the costume for a denim ensemble that looks like something Aaliyah might have worn back in the day. (Photos: Blackground Records, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBknQeD0Xz/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:@kekepalmer;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">@kekepalmer</a>) </p>
    8/8

    Keke Palmer

    Keke Palmer dressed as Aaliyah in her 2000 video for “Try Again” for Halloween 2015. It appears she recycled the top from the costume for a denim ensemble that looks like something Aaliyah might have worn back in the day. (Photos: Blackground Records, @kekepalmer)

<p>Justine Skye took this classic Aaliyah-esque look and upped the glam factor with her hair, makeup, and some extra bling. (Photos: Getty Images, @justineskye) </p>
<p>Aaliyah’s 1996 Tommy Jeans campaign will forever remain an all-American classic. We can’t see a top with that colorblocked logo and <em>not</em> think of it. It helped redefine “borrowed form the boys” and made a crop top and a boxer-style underwear band the pinnacle of cool. (Photos: Tommy Hilfiger, Getty Images) </p>
<p>Jhene Aiko gave the top a Coachella-approved twist with a flower crown, body chains, and festival makeup. (Photo: Tommy Hilfiger, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BJmoAJHgv8I/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:@jheneaiko;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">@jheneaiko</a>) </p>
<p>Teyana Taylor loves a good athletic pant and crop top, and her personal style consistently serves us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BLJljSQhklb/?taken-by=teyanataylor" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:/Reebok;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">/Reebok </a></p>
<p>Rihanna can make anything look cool, but even she’s “Got to Give It Up” for Aaliyah, who brought cool femininity to an oversized khaki jumpsuit back in the day. (Photos: Getty Images) </p>
<p>Kylie Jenner draws lots of style inspiration from hip-hop and r&b culture, so it comes as no surprise that her looks would have a bit of Aaliyah’s influences. (Photos: Virgin Records, Getty Images) </p>
<p>Kehlani loves to play with volume and a bare midriff, and the athletic influences in her style definitely give us Aaliyah vibes. (Photos: Getty Images) </p>
<p>Keke Palmer dressed as Aaliyah in her 2000 video for “Try Again” for <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/9hz2a7ErsA/?taken-by=kekepalmer" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:Halloween 2015;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">Halloween 2015</a>. It appears she recycled the top from the costume for a denim ensemble that looks like something Aaliyah might have worn back in the day. (Photos: Blackground Records, <a rel="nofollow noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNBknQeD0Xz/" target="_blank" data-ylk="slk:@kekepalmer;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas" class="link ">@kekepalmer</a>) </p>
Jihan Forbes
·Associate Editor

The mark of a true icon is their staying power in life and in death. If we have anything to say about it, the late great R&B singer Aaliyah certainly fits that bill. The “Are You That Somebody” songstress would have been 38 years old today were it not for the plane crash in the Bahamas that tragically took her life in August 2001. Today, she would see that her influence in fashion is stronger than ever.

It seems like every cool girl is drawing inspiration from Aaliyah, putting their own twist on her signature aesthetic, combining tomboy sensibilities with a helping of streetwise femininity. Some of her most iconic early looks, many of which included baggy pants and a bare midriff, created a type of ’round-the-way-girl hipness that is both approachable and aspirational.

Click through the slideshow to see how modern muses are channeling Aaliyah’s signature aesthetic.

Happy birthday, babygirl!

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