Your best friends had their uses back in the day: They would regularly lend you their Juicy lip glosses, assure you that you could indeed walk amazingly in heels, and open up their wardrobes to you. Chances are your were also encouraged to borrow clothes from your friend in the early 2000s, no matter how much she loved or loathed the garment. And since she was your soul sister through and through, you'd take her up on that offer — constantly.
If you were anything like my bestie and me, you probably went shopping together all the time (mall rats unite!) so your styles were similar enough — and even if you weren't the same size, you'd make it work. Something too big might have been cinched with a belt, while something too small was left unzipped, and you could always stuff a sock into a heel to make it the right fit. As broke teenagers, we were all a clever bunch.
But there were certain things in our friends' closets that would get reached for more often. Not that there was anything wrong with your BFF's classic Polos or her boot-cut jeans, but rifling through a foreign wardrobe usually meant coming out with more interesting garments in hand. I'm talking about the slip camisoles and the banana yellow heels, guys. Let's take a trip down memory lane: Below are 11 things you probably borrowed from your friend many moons ago.
1. Corset Tops
If someone's parents were away for the weekend and they were throwing a banger, the on-display underwear trend was usually the way to go. Clear bra straps, slip dresses, and — the crème de la crème — corset tops. If your parents were too strict to let you step out of the house in one, you could always count on your friend to smuggle you hers.
2. Shrunken Sweaters
Having a hard time deciding what to wear to school that day? Borrow a shrunken sweater, match it with a tank top with lacy straps, and call it a day.
3. Thin Scarves
To make an outfit truly amazing, one needs to accessorize, and if you didn't have a skinny scarf sparkly enough for your outfit, your friend could always be counted on to help you out.
4. Wrap-Around Sunglasses
Before huge bug-eye sunnies became popular, we had the unfortunate wrap-around sunglasses, and we could always swap out our old ones with a pair from our bestie. These made us look like we were starring in an Armani Exchange campaign, or like we were seeing an Eastern European boy behind our parents' backs.
5. Tube Tops
In what else were we going to go to IHOP in come the middle of summer?
6. Asymmetrical Skirts
I haven't yet met a teen girl who didn't have one of these bad boys in her closet, and we could always trust our friend to lend us the perfect one. Whether you were just going to go hang out in the mall with her or head to a bonfire, these rough-cut skirts were the way to go.
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7. Spaghetti Strap Tops For Parties
Could you even have imagined showing up to a high school party not wearing spaghetti straps? My god, they'd all think this was the first time you ever got invited out of the house.
8. Heels, But Especially Boot Heels
These were not to be confused with booties. No, these boot heels were reminiscent of J. Lo's spiked boots that she staggered us with in the "Jenny From The Block" music video, and they went amazingly with corset tops and/or sparkly skinny scarves.
9. Belly Tops
There were only so many tantalizing, belly button-baring, sheer tops your mom was going to let you get away with, so you sometimes had to dive into your friend's closet to mix up the rotation a little bit.
10. Sassy Pants
Silky capris, sassy gauchos, scrunched up cargos, wide leg denim — whatever your outfit needed to complete it, your pal had it.
11. Massive Belts
Whether you needed canvas belts, metallic woven ones slung low on the hips, chained belts that gave off some flair, or ginormous buckles, you could rummage through your friend's collection. And once you cinched it around your waist, well, you were fabulously 2000s-esque.
We should both love and absolutely hate our friends for pushing our fashion choices into bolder territory back in the day. Their generosity was both a blessing and a curse.
OK, maybe more of a curse than anything else.
