Using elementary methods we obtain a power-law lower bound on the two-point function of the planar XY spin model at low temperatures. This was famously first rigorously obtained by Frhlich and Spencer and establishes a Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless phase transition in the model. Our argument relies on a new loop representation of spin correlations, a recent result of Lammers on delocalisation of integer-valued height functions, and classical correlation inequalities. This is joint work with Diederik van Engelenburg.