Get Crazy, Get Loud – How an MTV Show in the 2010s Left a Lasting Impact on American Culture & Fashion
Image Courtesy: Strike Magazine Tallahassee
While the reality television show Jersey Shore premiered almost 15 years ago, the ever-so chaotic cast of over-tanned and binge-drinking “guidos” and “guidettes” has continued to live on in our hearts and our screens in the form of Instagram memes and the spinoff, Jersey Shore: Family Vacation. For those who may not be on the “Shore Train,” the show has the perfect balance of friend group drama, going-out experiences, and an overarching familial bond that has kept the crew close for years. “Gym, Tan, Laundry” was not only the perfect recipe for guido upkeep, but it also served as one of the foundations for their niche lifestyle the show gives regular viewers a look into. It provided an opportunity for MTV’s audiences to become inconsequentially a part of a world where every day is a new opportunity to go out with your friends and make memories in Seaside.
Image Courtesy: MTV via Parade
“I’m Going to Jersey Shore, B****!”
What began as a VH1 competition for buff New Jerseyites, became a summer that changed the lives of eight strangers, all of who had drastically different plans for their lives; the one thing they shared was their pride in their Italian culture and their commitment to having a good time. Pauly DelVecchio (“DJ Pauly D”), Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Vinny Guadagnino, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola and Angelina “Dirty Little Hamster” Pivarnick all appeared for the first season of the show, where they all lived together in a house in Seaside Heights for the summer. The camaraderie and tension – both sexual and otherwise – attracted millions of viewers over the years, making it MTV’s highest-rated series in the network’s history, as reported by MTV.
Jersey Shore definitely became a guilty-pleasure show for viewers, both original watchers and nostalgic streamers alike. However, despite initially writing off the show as more of an ironic watch, people began connecting with the cast because of their persistence to be themselves. Each member of the crew had their own identities that viewers related to JWoww being the ride-or-die bestie who will fight anyone who do you wrong, Snooki being adorable, cartwheeling “Meatball” who always makes the night fun, Pauly and Vinny’s quick wits and constant pursuit of hot chicks, and Mike “The Situation,” who you can definitely count on to stir the pot. The classic archetypes within the reality TV show made for great group watch sessions and references as to who is the “Snooki” or the “JWoww” of the friend group even years later.
Image Courtesy: MTV via ABC
“Never Fall in Love at The Jersey Shore”
Outside of the surprising relatability of the series, the quotable drama made it so hard for viewers to look away. Ronnie’s constant “creeping” on other girls whilst in a torrid on-and-off relationship with Sammi over the course of six seasons, not only brought on crazy fights between JWoww, Snooki, and Sammi but also gave us the infamous “note.” In a misguided attempt at warning their friend of her boyfriend’s infidelities, JWoww and Snooki took it upon themselves to compose a thoughtfully written note detailing the extent of what Sammi had been overlooking.
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Still referenced years later, this note brought the first major drama in the house, as Sammi felt betrayed by her friends that refused to cop up to the letter and in the end, stayed with her lousy boyfriend. This rift invited years of tension between Jenni and Nicole with Angelina, who actually inspired the note, and gave us the infamous quote “You can stay and get your a** beat or you can stay and get your a** beat” and Angelina’s earned nickname as the “Dirty Little Hamster.” Some of the best fist fights between the housemates spawned from this drama and eventually led to Angelina leaving the show, not once, but twice due to her poor relationship with everyone in-house.
“Where’s the Beach?”
The original version of the show ended back in 2013 but was revived with the cast having producer credits in Jersey Shore: Family Vacation in 2018. The show’s success even led to 11 spin-offs worldwide, which were unsurprisingly not as good as the original with the beloved cast. The revival has encouraged even more rewatches of the original show, as well as attracting a new generation of viewers, and is now on its sixth season. Jersey Shore and its iconic and unforgettable cast has and will remain in the hearts of pot stirrers (ourselves included) and we cannot wait to see what else will be in store for the lives of the “Seaside” crew.
“It’s T-Shirt Time!”
Inextricable to Jersey Shore’s cultural impact is the show’s notorious fashion. The resurgence of “the y2k aesthetic” is going strong, including some trends that were definitely popular at the Shore Store back in the day. The cast’s gloriously “cheugy” fashion is making major comebacks. Of course, we must give credit to the queen of spray tans, oversized sunglasses, and Uggs: Snooki.
Snooki’s impact on modern fashion isn’t talked about enough. Fake tan is as popular today as it was for the self-proclaimed guidos and guidettes. Practically everyone I know owns an ironic graphic tee with sassy slogans like “DUMP HIM,” “I <3 [insert anything here],” or “I GOT BOURBON FACED ON SH*T STREET.” The average Gen Z knows the struggle of spending hours on Depop searching for brands like Ed Hardy for a reasonable price. And don’t even get me started on the absolutely impossible feat of snagging a pair of Uggs’ new platform minis. The further I go down the Pinterest rabbit hole, the more I find myself saving looks straight out of the Jersey Shore cast’s beach house closets. From the uber-popular trucker hat trend to fuzzy leg warmers, to wrap-around sunglasses, Jersey Shore is the most unapologetically 2010s thing to come out of the 2010s – and that’s why we love them.
Left: Snooki in fuzzy boots, cheetah print oversized sunglasses, and a Hello Kitty tote bag.
Right: a Pinterest post from 2023.
Image Courtesy: Pinterest
Snooki in a graphic t-shirt, trucker hat, Gucci bag, and her iconic Uggs. Meanwhile, the newest model of Ugg boots has been sold out for weeks.
Image Courtesy: The Cut
Image Courtesy: Ugg
Pauly D in Ed Hardy
Image Courtesy: Zimbio
PacSun selling Ed Hardy (notice the “low stock” and “trending” messages on the page).
Image Courtesy: Pacsun
The reality tv show’s unfiltered view of life at the Jersey Shore gives its viewers a unique insight into the fashion, lifestyle, and drama of its cast members. Being up close and personal with Snooki, JWoww, Sammi, Angelina, Ronnie, Vinny, Mike “The Situation,” and Pauly D makes us feel like we too spent the summer doing cartwheels at Karma and getting in fights on the boardwalk. At its big New Jersey Italian heart, this show is about a group of people being unapologetically themselves. They are real as can be, and their fashion truly reflects that. There’s no better way to pay homage to such an iconic show than to replicate the fabulously chuegy trends of its iconic era.
Strike Out,
Writers: Cristina Angee & Isabel Wilder
Editor: Jayna O
Graphic Designer: Mallory Reale
Tallahassee