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Original poster

Weren’t some of the outfits in Friends really odd?

31 replies

MrsGrindah · 07/08/2020 17:08

This has been my lockdown binge watching. Struck me how odd some of the fashions were . For example :
One character dressed in clothes suitable for an entirely different season ( eg in a jumper when it’s supposed to be. hot)
Rachel frequently over dressed for the scene. Yes she’s supposed to be in fashion but that doesn’t mean she’d glam up all the time. Similarly Phoebes style is quirky but you can hardly tell when she’s supposed to be dressed up.
Monica wears an awful lot of brown..
Joey has terrible dress sense for someone whose supposed to be hot

There are just some episodes where you wonder what the wardrobe assistant was thinking..

OP posts:
FinnyStory · 07/08/2020 17:10

I think it's very dated now but was right at the time. Rachel's outfits were odd but I think they were supposed to be.

It would look worse if it was made 10 years earlier Grin

Original poster
MrsGrindah · 07/08/2020 17:12

No I don’t mean in terms of fashions now. I mean they weren’t dressed in line with the story or characters

OP posts:
OrangeGinLemonFanta · 07/08/2020 17:13

Looking at pop videos, a lot of Joey's outfits were quite fashionable for the time. The costumes are an easy way for casual viewers to figure out the characters' personality types quickly, they need to be a bit exaggerated.

The clothes on Sex And The City were similarly exaggerated and far more ugly Grin

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NameChange84 · 07/08/2020 17:14

The weirdest time was when it was in fashion to wear fake nipples with really tight tops (I recall Posh Spice wearing them too). I saw Rachel and Monica wearing them in a recent episode and wondered how it had ever got passed censorship as it just looks dreadful like they filmed in an igloo or like they were super aroused in their day to day life.

How was it ever a thing?!

Michaelbaubles · 07/08/2020 17:15

Chandler often wears jumpers in later series because Matthew Perry was very thin (due to a prescription drug dependence). Joey dresses how guys like him at the time dressed! Rachel always seemed very stylish and fashion-forward so I don’t think she was over dressed at the time as I always found her style including various hair styles very aspirational (I’d still dress like that tbh!).

Andylion · 07/08/2020 17:19

The clothes on Sex And The City were similarly exaggerated and far more ugly

Carrie looked like got dressed in the dark choosing from the reject bin of a used costume store. She still always looked great though. Confused

Original poster
MrsGrindah · 07/08/2020 17:22

Noooo!Joey has some really weird shirts and polo jumpers!

That episode where Rachel takes Phoebe and Charlie shopping is an example of what I mean..she’s wearing a strapless cocktail type dress just for shopping.

And don’t get me started on the empty handbags...

OP posts:
Whatthebloodyell · 07/08/2020 17:22

it was in fashion to wear fake nipples with really tight tops FAKE nipples???? I don’t remember that being a thing. I think it really just was their actual nipples!

MikeUniformMike · 07/08/2020 17:27

That is exactly it with Carrie!
Never really watched Friends but I remember we all wanted the Rachel haircut - the bouffant one with all the layers.

NameChange84 · 07/08/2020 17:29

@Whatthebloodyell

Nope. They were definitely fake nipples!

guestofaguest.com/new-york/things-we-love/nipples-with-a-point

NameChange84 · 07/08/2020 17:30

And more “facts I never really wanted to know but unfortunately found out” apparently it’s currently fashionable thanks to one of the Jenner sisters to have “Nipple Enhancing Injections” these days. Envy not envy.

TimeTruthandHearts · 07/08/2020 17:32

I never thought anything about the Friends outfits at the time, so they must have been 'of their time'

(and I actually had a boyfriend back then who used to wear jumpers tucked in to his trousers!)

Whereas even the first time round of SATC I thought Carrie looked like she'd found that days outfit whilst rifling through the bags left outside the Oxfam shop.

Cheesymonster · 07/08/2020 17:38

I enjoy the 90s fashions on Friends. I wear tartan PJ bottoms like Rachel and I liked a couple of coats Phoebe and Monica had. Weirdest thing I remember Rachel wearing was the episode where she's arguing with Gavin over who's giving the presentation to Ralph Lauren and she's got some sort of pinstripe shirt but it's shoulder-less and she's wearing a tie with it... Can't remember anything about the men other than Chandler's sweater vests which I think was made fun of by Joey. I seem to remember a lot of turtlenecks and of course, Ross's leather pants Grin

Sex and the City however was way over my head fashion wise although I did enjoy the handbags. I remember Carrie wearing a nurse's cape and watch at one point.

TakemedowntoPotatoCity · 07/08/2020 17:42

Rachel loved plaid/chequered didn't she?

BlueThursday · 07/08/2020 17:51

The 1999-2001 Rachel stuff I wore a lot of at the same time.

The Capri pants and handkerchief tops were definitely my thing

BacklashStarts · 07/08/2020 17:53

I think they are actually dressed as people were - if a touch exaggerated. I wore loads of brown then!

riotlady · 07/08/2020 17:56

I’m with you on the inappropriate jumpers thing, I’ve been rewatching Buffy recently and there’s often someone randomly in knitwear when everyone else is in mini skirts or t shirts. It’s California!

Nicknacky · 07/08/2020 17:57

I watched a programme with the stylist of Friends and it was interesting hearing her talk about the colour palettes she used for each character and why she styled each one in the way she did.

Smallsteps88 · 07/08/2020 17:58

Yes!! Grin

I always loved Rachel’s style. In most outfits. Some were weird.

NerrSnerr · 07/08/2020 18:03

@NameChange84 do you have any evidence about the fake nipples. Aniston was interviewed about the nipple thing and she just said it's the way her breasts are.

Not sure why nipples look dreadful. We all have them- some peoples are more prominent than others.

TimeTruthandHearts · 07/08/2020 18:06

[quote NerrSnerr]@NameChange84 do you have any evidence about the fake nipples. Aniston was interviewed about the nipple thing and she just said it's the way her breasts are.

Not sure why nipples look dreadful. We all have them- some peoples are more prominent than others. [/quote]
I can believe that, JA was very nipply in Murder Mystery, and that was made only last year. She just has a pert pair of norks and doesn't bother with wearing a bra.

RevIMJolly · 07/08/2020 18:07

I loved Rachel’s outfits, even the mini skirt with the longer skirt over the top.
Although there was a hideous jumper with a leather collar thing that was abysmalGrin

Brieminewine · 07/08/2020 18:07

Ah I love Rachel’s style, partially in the earlier series with the plaid little skirts. Monica was a bit drab and phoebe eccentric but I thought the boys were styled well within their characters.

flowerlessorchid · 07/08/2020 18:11

Fake nipples were definitely a 'thing', there's a SATC episode where Samantha gives Miranda some to test in a bar and the guys are all looking at her Grin. I always assumed Rachel wore them too.

woollyheart · 07/08/2020 18:17

Fake nipples is new to me, but can believe it.

At the time, you could get t-shirt bras. These were bras that were very clinging over the nipples, so you got maximum definition through a t-shirt.

It was a bit confusing for me a few years later to find that the t-shirt bra is an entirely different thing, intended to completely hide nipples.

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