Every once in a while, the ghosts of our fashion past creep back into style. It happened with mom jeans, jelly shoes and even low-rise jeans, and now another polarizing trend is making a comeback.
Much to our chagrin, the wide belts that dominated the early 2000s are trying to win their way into our hearts once again. And we have some pretty strong feelings about it.
As first spotted by Elle, wide belts have been popping up over the last few years. Back in 2017, fashion brand Loewe debuted this Japanese-inspired obi belt at fashion week, and we just chalked it up to high fashion's penchant for whimsy.
The Fall 2019 Dior collection just happened to feature oodles of exaggerated wrap belts, but we still weren't alarmed. Soon enough, though, fashionistas like Shailene Woodley gave the retired accessory their seal of approval in an admittedly glam way. And now, wide belts are creeping their way into mainstream fashion. It's kind of like a bad game of whack-a-mole, and we are losing.
Don't get us wrong, a great belt can do wonders for your outfit and can accentuate your figure in the best possible way. But the wide belts we remember from the early aughts were more tacky than tres chic.
Socialites like Paris Hilton were early adopters of the look and cinched their tops with the trendy accessory. Reality stars like Heidi Montag and Snooki quickly followed suit and jumped on the trend.
Wide belts were the go-to accessory for tunics and leggings.
And fashionistas like Victoria Beckham seemed to have one motto: The thicker the belt, the better.
Wide belts were great for accentuating your silhouette, but they were also worn low and draped, much to our dismay.
More often than not, celebrities of the 2000s paired a gorgeous dress with a thick, wide belt that wasn't really necessary in the first place.
Even members of the TODAY digital staff were once guilty of rocking wide belts. TODAY senior lifestyle editor Emily Sher had a good laugh looking at this throwback photo of herself.
“The funniest part is that the belt isn’t holding up anything — it has no job. And I’m not even wearing it on my natural waist to create the illusion of an hourglass figure, so it actually makes zero sense. And yet, I wore it constantly,” she said.
Meanwhile, TODAY food editor Emi Boscamp had mixed feelings about the trend. “I actually think they look good paired with a long skirt and an oversized sweater! Over a tank top with low-rise jeans? Never, ever, EVER again.”
TODAY editorial director Meena Duerson said she will definitely be skipping this one throwback trend. “I was happy to be at the point in my life where the denim trend was jeans that come up to my bellybutton and I don’t ever want to return to a life in which I have to wear a belt across my stomach — so I would pass on the return of this trend, if it’s up to me,” she said.
No matter how desperately you try to bury those fashion faux pas of the past, sometimes they just come back again!
