My little sister is currently a very hip, very young high school student, and a quick inspection of her school dance wardrobe will prove (easily) that what I wore to Homecoming in 2005 is completely different from what she wore to hers in 2015. Don't get me wrong — I looked good, for 2005. But looking back, what I wore is straight out of a 2000s teen sitcom or movie ( She's All That , anyone?). There were a lot of things I loved from the 2000s, but man — I'm a little embarrassed about some of the decade's most popular trends. Only now am I realizing what they were, because it's been so long that I've pushed it to the back of my memory space.
My little sister and I agree on a lot of the latest fashion and beauty trends, but she still could not understand why I had to have jewels on everything I wore to school dances, from the back of my hair, to the straps of my shoes, to the lining of my clutch — studs. Galore. I guess you can say I had an extravagant sense of style back then...or I just really wanted to look like one of the Mean Girls.
No matter how uncool my sister thinks I am, I know in my heart that I loved what I wore! I even made top 20 on our high school's Homecoming court, and my dad got to walk me down the announcement aisle (see main image above), so there's that.
I'd like to think that my Homecoming in 2005 was a success, and despite my sister's "cool girl" remarks, I have absolutely no regrets in my attire.
I know I wasn't alone in my bejeweled madness. If you were a high school student back in the '00s, you probably wore one of the following to your homecoming, too:
A Tube-Top Type Dress
OK, let's all just admit that tube tops were basically everything in the 2000s. Why? Well, because they were everywhere. For my homecoming, I couldn't exactly get a tube top dress, but it was definitely designed similarly.
Sandal Heels
Jeffrey Campbell Jewett Leather Sandal, Nastygal.com , $67.50
Sandal heels were definitely "in," but are very much still "in" today. I wore a pair of jeweled sandal heels and the best part was that I could actually dance all night in them. It was one of the smartest decisions I ever made in high school. Long live the sandal heel.
Hoop Earrings
During my high school days, I had hoop earrings in almost every color. Let's just say I really wanted to channel my inner J. Lo. So, for Homecoming, I decided to wear hoop earrings with studded diamonds on them. To be fancy.
Butterfly Hair Accessories
While my butterfly hair accessories were in the back of my half-up, half-down do, I know a lot of my friends sported them all over their hair. It was fabulous. Nowadays, butterfly hair accessories are pretty much unheard of, but I suggest we bring the clips back and trend them again. All in favor, say aye!
Extra Tight Curly Hairstyles
Although I went the loose curled hair route, nearly all of my friends had super tight curls. And you know what? I totally appreciated them, because I could see the budding future hair gurus in all of them. It was a lot of effort, people.
Bejeweled Bracelets
Like I mentioned, every accessory I wore had jewels on them, which obviously included my bracelets.
Choker Necklaces
Although I didn't wear one to Homecoming, I probably should have. While the choker trend is alive and well today, it was ultra cool back in the 00s, thanks to all those OG trendsetters.
Images: Author's Own
