Back in our tween years, many of us took our fashion cues from Disney Channel Original movie outfits. How could you not when they were all so sparkly and achingly hip? Hilary Duff always had it going on with her zany hair concoctions and her sparkly everything. Lindsay Lohan brought her A-game when it came to hip little dresses and matching moto jackets. As for Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, they made us want to update our closets with graphic tees and sweet little cardigans. But now that a handful of years have gone by, those amazing DCOM looks can seem a little, ah, dated.
Back in the day, the only way to wear your jeans was super low-rise, but now it just seems too close to a Britney Spears music video look for comfort. Or if you see a cropped sweater hitting somewhere along your bra line, you know you just went back in time about 10 to 15 years or so. The cut-off pants seem tired, the subtle details of blazers and cardigans holler back at the earlier millennium, and prints and outfit materials are so '90s that you would think Monica Geller was making her comeback.
While these DCOM styles might make us think back to our childhoods, I think I can speak for the majority of humans and say that we’re pretty glad fashion has evolved in a different direction. Below are 11 of the most outdated Disney Channel Original Movie outfits of all time.
1. Princess Protection Program
Remember the days when putting long sleeves underneath T-shirts was the thing to do? It's very Chad Michael Murray and is prone to giving you flashbacks to your babysitting, glitter-eyeshadow-wearing, junior high days. Especially if both the shirts have some sort of graphics involved in them á la Carter Mason here. We all make questionable choices in those teen years; it's OK.
2. Life-Size
I know Eve is supposed to be a Barbie doll, but her outfit is such a perfect throwback to the early 2000s. It's almost like she's a character tumbling out of Clueless. While many of us still love to wear vibrant, electric shades, it's rare that we'd match them together in the same color group. Even though two-pieces are super in right now, baring your navel is a little too Britney Spears á la "Baby One More Time" to not feel dated. And that feather trim on the cardigan? Yas, that's some early millennium goodness right there.
3. Cadet Kelly
Granted all things Lizzie McGuire were once zany and colorful and ready to make our pre-teen hearts go a-pattering, but Hilary Duff's Cadet Kelly look is quite the amazing throwback. Not many people opt for a glitter tee to match with their Lisa Frank-esque army print, and that bedazzled pilgrim belt would have made 14-year-old me pay reverent homage. Not to mention that stack of metal bangles. A girl's outfit was never complete without 40 jangling bangles.
4. Zenon: Girl Of The 21st Century
Mmm, spaghetti straps. Nothing is more '90s than a good spaghetti strap on your evening dress. Especially if your evening dress comes with matching cuffs.
5. Now You See It
Remember those lacy camisoles that looked like they should have been worn as undershirts but were paired with everything from sleek pencil skirts to let's-meet-at-the-mall low rise jeans? Now they're back to being retired as pajama shirts. But the real genius teenage girl layering move here was pairing the camisole on top of a T-shirt.
Also, butterfly necklaces. Why were we all so into the butterfly 10 years ago?
6. The Cheetah Girls
So much is happening here. The graphic print boot-cut pants. The pipe-lined low-rise denim jeans. The double belt layering. The sweater shirt matched with a sparkly cloth belt that dangles down to your shins. The cropped sweater layered on top of a white tee... It's like I'm looking back into my ninth grade closet. And I really, really want to close the door.
7. Twitches
Remember when blazers had flared sleeves? It was like bell bottoms for your shirts. Or when skirts were tiered like a tiramisu? That's early millennium gold right there. But you can see how fashion is starting to reach back into our middle school days by bringing things like the tunic back in vogue, though now we've ditched the awkward cinching of a chunky belt hitting low on our hips. Small tweaks, but big improvements.
8. Get A Clue
Lindsay Lohan never disappointed when it came to tween style, and this movie brought on the sartorial gold. You have your polyester pants with intense graphic prints, matched with a graphic T-shirt because why not? Then you have her gal pal in that furry bucket hat and giant rosette choker necklace matching you cool for cool.
9. Stuck In The Suburbs
Jersey T-shirts matching Starburst-colored moto jackets might feel a little dated nowadays, but not as much as newspaper boy hats sassily paired with giant hoop earrings. I could see this as an attempt at trying out the contrast-styling so many of us are fond of (where we match sweatpants with high heels or long maxi dresses with cozy sweatshirts), but 10 years ago, the look hadn't yet been nailed.
10. Wendy Wu: Homecoming Warrior
Do you remember the super popular move of layering your cotton camis so you got two different colors of lacy straps? It gave your high school look a cool pop. How about belting your T-shirt at your waist? Or wearing heavily patterned tights like they were the easiest thing to style? I remember playing with all these looks as a kid and loving it. They really did flex our creative muscles.
11. Pixel Perfect
Slinky, glittery turtlenecks that looked like they were made out of Fruit Roll Ups? Black studded belts accenting your midriff? Polyester graphic shirts with belts slung low on top of them, and canvas, studded chunky belts holding up your jeans? Yep, it's the Cool Girl Starter Pack of 2000.
All I can say is... Thank goodness humans evolve over time, guys. Thank goodness.
Images: Disney Channel Original Movies (12)
