10 Things Us Tween Girls Of The 2000s Couldn’t Wait to Buy (And Try On While Dancing In Front Of The Mirror)

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1. Our first thong: Ever since we saw the popular girls wear them on the first day of middle school, (and maybe since we first watched Sisqo’s “Thong Song” video), we begged our moms to let us buy one. After going to Wet Seal and taking 20 minutes to choose the perfect thong, we went home and tried it on, thinking that we’d look like…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oai1V7kaFBk&w=584&h=390]

…we started to wonder how those girls at school ever felt comfortable with their bedazzled thongs sticking out of their low-rise Hollister flares. We slowly transitioned from “wear with everything” to “only with leggings,” and by 20 we just didn’t care anymore.

2. Our first pair of heels: No more wearing heels just for special occasions, 13 meant wearing them to school—and rocking them. We wanted the highest, sexiest heels we could find.

3. Our first tube top: Tube tops meant “I am so ready for high school.” Unfortunately they were never dress-code friendly, so the key was to wear them under a sweater and take the sweater off halfway through the day. Sure, you couldn’t show your tube top off for half the day, but when you walked to the bus, all eyes were on you.

4. Our first trucker hat: I never said any of these things were flattering. But back in the early 2000’s, horrible trends like this one had us running to the “make your own trucker hat” kiosk at the mall.

Speaking of unflattering…

5. Our first (and hopefully only) pair of gaucho pants: Complete with color coordinating accessories.

6. Our first chain belt: JC Penny’s accessory section used to be full of these beauties. But we couldn’t ever wear them like we wanted to…

…so instead of even wearing them in public, we kept them for our mirror dancing practice sessions of “I’m a Slave 4 U”—which we did wearing a bra and fake bellybutton ring. Minus the abs.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzybwwf2HoQ&w=584&h=390]

7. Our first “cool” sweatshirt: This one was more of a DIY project. But every girl who grew up in the 2000’s tried this at one point—and went to school with a lopsided v cut into their hoodie.

8. Our first initial t-shirt: This usually led to buying an initial necklace. And purse.

9. Our first anything with rhinestones: The 2000’s were all about the sparkle.

10. Our first pair of kicks: The first day of school was all about showing off your footwear. When you’d show up in your K-Swiss, (that the cool crowd replaced with colored Adidas because K-Swiss was “so 7th grade,”), you’d unfortunately have to wait out the year before your mom would replace them.