Middle School Fashion: WTF Was I Thinking!?

September 3, 2009 Posted in Fashion, HaHa

You'll regret those fashion decisions one day, kids. Trust.

Now that we are all college students our life is full of stress – classes, jobs, and, oh yeah, that little task of figuring out what to do with the rest of our lives. I’m sure that on more than one occasion we have all stopped and wished we could go back to our carefree childhood years for at least a day:

By Brianna

Coming home from school to a Swiss Cake Roll waiting for you and eating it layer by layer while watching episodes of Sister Sister and The Secret World of Alex Mack. Then chatting on AIM for hours on end to all of our “homies” about the “phat!” shoes we wore that day.

Ah, that was the life.

But as wonderful as it was, there is one aspect of my childhood that I pray never comes back to haunt me: my wardrobe.

I blame my shopping addiction and poor fashion choices on my mother. From a very young age she had me convinced that a new dress was needed for every new event that popped up on the schedule. That being said, when there was a new trend on the market, I was one of the first ones to have it. Then? Cool. Now? The reason for many an embarrassing photo (which I very purposely left at home when I moved to campus). Looking back on the trends of our middle school days, I am left sitting on my floor surrounded by piles of reputation-killing photos wondering what the eff we were thinking back then…

The Scrunchy

scrunchie
I know every single one of you had a scrunchy. The larger than life hair-tie that could have held up a horse’s mane was definitely unnecessary for the sliver of a ponytail that covered a nine-year-old’s head. You had to have one in every color to match every outfit, and I even remember wearing them on my wrist, like they even had a chance in hell as working as a bracelet.

Overalls

overalls

I’m not sure if “milkmaid” was an actual trend or style featured in fashion magazines in the early 90′s, but it was in my world. I wore overalls every other day, and when feeling particularly adventurous let one strap hang down as if “not having time to finish dressing” made me instantly cooler. And when my beloved ‘ralls developed a hole in the knee, I thought it was awesome that my mom let me pick out a patch at the fabric store and sew it overtop.

She also did this to my…

Bell Bottoms (with platforms, of course)

Yes, the jeans that I could have climbed into through one leg. But they looked great, especially when balanced out by my footwear, which always gave me a good three inches of height (and 6 inches of width). My clunky shoe of choice was a Skechers platform sneaker. I also had a pair of chunky Mary Janes, which were always worn with a…

Skort

skort

And this is where things get a little fuzzy. Would I ever in a million years where a skort again? No chance in hell. But I can see the practicality. Young girls (and Hollywood starlets, apparently) aren’t always totally aware of leg position and skorts made it much easier to sit Indian-style during class (or a rousing game of duck, duck, goose on the playground), instead of doing the awkward connect-knees-and-fall-to-the-floor deal. But that combo was the fashion equivalent to the mullet – it just doesn’t work.

Poncho

poncho

I rocked the knit poncho like it was my after-school job. Because you never know if you’re going to get caught in a blizzard and need 13 pounds of fabric draped around your body to keep from freezing to death. Not that a poncho would protect your armpits or hands if such a situation arose…between the school bus and the classroom. But the fringed edges were so cute and the poncho was so chic! Especially in pictures, where it looks like I skinned some road kill and wrapped it around my shoulders.

The Tech Vest

old navy tech vest

OMG, the Old Navy Tech Vest. After seeing the commercials for them every day after school and dreaming of when I could feel the itchy, felt around my own neck, I begged my parents to get me one. Everyone else was rocking them in gym class and I felt so left out. All those pockets. All that warmth. Sigh. When I finally got one for Christmas, I was ecstatic…and so was my little brother who got the exact same one.

Wearing the Old Navy Tech Vest? Fail.
Matching your brother (color and all) in the yearly family photo? Double fail.

I know I’m not the only one who regrets over 80% of my middle school attire.
What pieces of your childhood wardrobes have you asking yourself “WTF was I thinking?!”

3852436 Comments2009-09-03+17%3A00%3A44Brianna-Fordham+University on "Middle School Fashion: WTF Was I Thinking!?"

Brithny - Duke Unive says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20099:03 am

Girlllll…my rainbow turtleneck? All the rage.

Erich says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20099:18 am

you say " I’m sure that on more than one occasion we have all stopped and wished we could go back to our carefree childhood years for at least a day:

I wish I had just an ounce of the energy I had back then.

Jess says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20099:21 am

oh yes. skorts, bell bottoms, and the platform skechers!

I remember in 6th grade I basically wore the same outfit to every dance we had: a yellow tshirt with a cat on the front, and these black Mudd pants that were unlike any other fabric I've worn since. silky, but thick? I wore them with my purple iridescent skechers.

Andd the tech vest. I had a lime green one, my brother got a blue one, and my sister got a red one. We looked SO good.

Liv says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20099:46 am

I completely forgot about the tech vest.. and the fact that I had a bright pink one that I coordinated with my bell bottoms. I was a mini-fashionista by turn-of-the-millennium standards.

Maria says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200910:11 am

Pleather pants. I had 3 pairs, and wore them CONSTANTLY.

And when I was in elementary school, A refused to wear any type of pants that weren't made from that horrible spandex. I was about 15 years ahead of the leggings-as-pants trend.

erin says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200910:35 am

Carpenter pants, over sized Grateful Dead Tie-died tee's with all of my pants form 4th grade till 7th, anything with racing stripes, and def. that tech vest from old navy, along with several other fleece things that were "cool" at the time.

Charlotte says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200910:49 am

Maria, yeah my whole class in grade 5 wore leggings as pants along with waist-length hoodies. With sneakers. I dont know what the hell we were thinking.

Also everyone had those thin bangs that were perfectly styled into 3 wisps of hair.

Erich says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200911:17 am

I"m a little older and I remember in 6th grade everyone used to wear parachute pants

Ellie says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200911:34 am

There's a picture of me from the third grade in black leggings, a plaid button-down shirt, and converses. Apparently I could see what would be in style in the future, because that outfit sure wasn't back then.

WorkItBerk says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20092:34 pm

I remember those overalls! But I made sure to stay away from the ponchos. I knew they were trouble.

http://workitberk.blogspot.com

Breda says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20093:58 pm

In middle school, I refused to wear shirts that fit properly. I still have a souvenir Yellowstone t-shirt which I still wear to work out in because it's HUGE. At 5'11", I'm probably 6 inches taller than I was when I bought this shirt, and, while I'm still skinny, I've gained the necessary post-puberty weight, but this shirt drowns me. And it's not the only one of its size!

Oli says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20094:05 pm

the poncho made me smile- I made fun of my friend for wearing one once. . .she never sported it again. :- 3'

Jamie says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 20096:05 pm

does anyone remember those little butterfly hair clips. the ones with the springs on them so the wings flapped when you walked!? i had all of them. every. single. glittery pair.

and pleather pants. mine were metalic gold. i wore them to all of the 6th grade dances

now my go too outfit was a pair of LIME EFFIN GREEN bike shorts. and a hot pink tee with a hippie teddy bear holding up a peace sign [it also was wearing a lime green and pink tyedyed tshirt and headscarf so it worked] hot pink butterfly springy clips. and black and white keds sneakers [my mom was anal about footwear.] and that was in 2001.

my mom recently showed the pics of that "stylin" outfit to my boyfriend. i almost died….

Engineer says:
Thu, 3rd Sep 200911:56 pm

What were you thinking? You were probably thinking by yourself instead of taking orders from the industry

tissue says:
Fri, 4th Sep 20097:46 am

Is it bad that I still dig the platforms and bell bottoms?

Maggie says:
Fri, 4th Sep 200910:18 am

-Pastel plaid flannel shirt

-Green corduroy overalls (What? They were from the American Girl catalog!)

-Chunky black slides

-Autumn leaf print turtleneck (Thanks, Mom)

-Black "Angel" brand pants in that same silky-but-thick fabric that Jess is talking about

-Ribbed turtlenecks

-Short boxy t-shirts

-Denim skorts

-Clear heeled jellies

-Velour wide-leg pants with a blue floral pattern from the Gap

erin says:
Fri, 4th Sep 20092:17 pm

@Engineer we were all trying to be cool and were taking styling tips from the fashion industry as we still do now. Perhaps in future instead of being a real downer like a jerk you could not post if you think we are all so stupid.

shari says:
Fri, 4th Sep 20098:42 pm

oh man these bring back memories! the old navy performance fleece commercial that had the line "i'll be there at nine" in that little song with FOREVER be my favorite commercial of all time!

Elle says:
Fri, 4th Sep 200911:05 pm

I always wore jellies! haha, oh and did you guys ever go through the colored shoe lace faze?

Theresa says:
Sat, 5th Sep 20093:50 pm

Don't forget the GAP/Old Navy "Anoraks" that folded up into its own kangaroo pocket. HA!

loveejonesy says:
Wed, 9th Sep 20093:29 am

I actually really miss Old Navy Performance Fleece. hahahahaha.

sara says:
Wed, 9th Sep 20093:43 am

Yes I LOVED the butterfly clips and colored shoelaces. Those were definitely highlights of middle school. Also, I begged my mom to let me wear t-shirts every single day. I ordered a t-shirt from every fundraiser and event possible. I realized in highschool that clothes that fit to my body were more attractive, but I had so many t-shirts my mom wouldn't buy me new stuff!

Joy Dennis says:
Wed, 9th Sep 20095:36 pm

Levi's 501's BEFORE they were cool. They were the only jeans that were long enough for my 34" inseam in the 6th grade. Once a gawky geek, always a gawky geek – but my jeans are STILL cool.

Kate says:
Sun, 13th Sep 20098:01 am

I ALWAYS had one of those plastic "chokers" around my neck, wrist and ankle. You know, the ones that were made out of plastic and came in a gazillion colours? I prefered the rainbow one…

Wow. I am so glad I out grew that.

Tammy says:
Sun, 13th Sep 200911:59 am

lolllzz the skorts..

valkyrie9 says:
Sun, 13th Sep 20093:16 pm

Awww, I still think skorts, ponchos, and bell-bottoms can look good if done right.

Overalls and scrunchies, on the other hand…

hapacalgirl says:
Sun, 13th Sep 20099:38 pm

sadly I am a guilty offender of each one those except for the poncho. Oh the days when we thought we were stylish when in reality we were not.

Becca- Clarion Unive says:
Mon, 14th Sep 20095:47 am

dude… I still rock the bellbottoms…I also tend to rock the skort… because the one that I have you can't see the shorts at all… it's nice to throw on when i'm wearing an aircast (i sprain my ankle a lot) and ladylike posture isn't always comfortable

Chrystal says:
Mon, 14th Sep 200911:08 am

OMG this brings back all the horrible fashion memories I had so carefully blocked from my brain!!!! I remember one of my favorite outfits was this bright blue t-shirt (too short, of course) with glittery turtles across the chest, paired with black satin(-ish?) pants, and platform Sketchers. When I wasn't rocking the too-small t-shirt and black satiny pants, it was humongous bell bottom jeans and an oversized Tommy Hilfiger t-shirt with just the front tucked in. Stellar.. lol. Does anyone else remember those black plastic 'tattoo' chokers that looked like braided black fishing line? And how about those little plastic butterfly-shaped mini hairclaws, where you pulled back a bunch of little sections of hair from the front and made some sort of headband-like effect (that, looking back, makes me think of some kind of alien head device)?? Good stuff…… lol

heather says:
Tue, 15th Sep 20098:06 pm

oh dear god, i remember having orange platform sneakers, they were perfect for when it came to the lipsyncing competition at the end of the school year when my friends and i did spice girls (i was sporty).

also, i had like, three, pairs of those bell-bottoms. my mum thought it was so cool that the fashions of her youth were back in style.

FASHIONS TV SITE says:
Thu, 17th Sep 200911:38 am

The Scrunchy is the most beautifull thing in accessories of child and young girls and women also.manifold scrunchy are available in asian market and other places but plastic scrunchy is also using for fashion in pakistan and india people which are most beautifull in fashion accessories. I remember those overalls! But I made sure to stay away from the ponchos. I knew they were trouble.
http://fashionstv.yolasite.com/latest-fashion-acc…

Darwin says:
Sat, 19th Sep 20092:53 pm

For me, it was just not wearing clothes that fit. Sorry, but a 5'6 guy weighing 130 should not be wearing a Medium sized t-shirt. Now I understand that stores run big and that I sometimes have to look in the Boy's section for their Extra Large.

Oh and don't look like a skater. Baggy jeans look so horrible.

Globals says:
Fri, 2nd Oct 20094:26 pm

all good things

mollination says:
Sat, 17th Oct 200911:00 am

I wore all of these except the poncho.

Also:

The tanks tops over t-shirts.

The tommy hilfiger overalls, with a red long sleeve shirt (dont ask!?), and those black sketcher shoes (their version of Dr.Martins I think).

Tommy Hilfiger ANYthing actually. But I couldn't afford clothes like that, so I'd get whatever T.J. Maxx or Ross wound up with – windbreakers usually.

Two, skin-tight, little princess-leia inspired buns on either side of my head.

By 8th grade I aimed for whatever skanky, tight, shiny, sparkly thing I could get my hands on.

Liz says:
Wed, 3rd Mar 201011:51 am

matching shorts and t-shirts (as in same exact pattern.

neon everything.

slap bracelets. i was a really big dork. i also had short hair and huuuuuge glasses.

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