15 of Kelly Clarkson’s American Idol looks, ranked by ’00s-ness

Well, we didn’t save this look for last but when Kelly Clarkson sang “Save The Best For Last,” she definitely owned the Vanessa Williams hit. Of course, Kelly didn’t save this gem for last either. She sang it during the top 45 performance in Hollywood.

The contestants were still singing a capella at this point. It would be later in the season when Kelly and the remaining contestants would take the stage with either live or prerecorded background music. As many people know, it’s very hard to sing without accompaniment but Kelly made it seem effortless.

It’s worth noting that this is one of my favorite Kelly Clarkson looks during season 1 of American Idol. Everything about it screams 2002. While Kelly stuck with her favorite color palette, black and burgundy, she wore a dress.

It wasn’t any old dress. Seriously, as we move down the list and get closer to the most ’00s-ey look that Kelly Clarkson wore on American Idol, it gets harder. Here’s why this particular look ranked where it did.

Kelly wore a red and black patterned dress that fit snug, showing off her slender frame. The dress itself had a hi-low hem, which is still sometimes worn but definitely started back around the time she wore it. She paired that with a black shrug and a pair of black wedges that possibly every teenage and 20-something woman owned at the time.