A new $9000 Balenciaga coat is currently causing a stir on Twitter, due to its striking resemblance to that time Joey put on all of Chandler’s clothes on Friends.
It’s pretty uncanny:
All the ‘Friends‘ Outfits We Should Bring Back
The cast of Friends in all their '90s glory. (Warner Bros.)
Which got us thinking: What else did they wear on Friends that could still work a couple of decades later? In the interest of filtering, we’re sticking to Ross’ fashion rules from when he goes shopping with Rachel and Phoebe and specifies: “Nothing silver, nothing with hair and nothing with padlocks on it.”
Phoebe’s Santa Pants
Whether you’re pregnant, or just in need of what Joey would refer to as “eatin’ pants,” Phoebe’s Santa trousers offer comfort, warmth and style! Also, wearing holiday-based clothing year round is sustainability in action—and that’s totally now!
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Ross’ Ladies Shirt
In a Season 10 episode, Ross accidentally takes one of Rachel’s shopping bags and winds up wearing her new pink shirt on a date, mistakenly thinking she bought it for him. It’s played for laughs because Friends had a tendency to make fun of men ever wandering outside of the tight bonds of traditional masculinity. But in Gen Z’s gender fluid, unisex-embracing times? Men donning women’s clothes to elevate their style is definitely to be encouraged! (Also, did this episode start the deep-V neckline trend for men?)
Rachel’s Clueless Get-Up
“The One Where the Monkey Gets Away” aired in March 1995, and Clueless came out four months later. Truly, it was the year of super-short A-line tartan paired with cute knee-high socks—and we’re still totally buggin’ over it 20+ years later. Which is why the hosts of The Cooler recently tried to revive this look:
Joey’s Man Bag
“The One With Joey’s Bag” aired in 1999, during the fifth season of Friends. After Rachel persuades Joey the “man’s bag” is “sexy,” Chandler and Ross literally stop in their tracks when they see him carrying his new accessory. Even after Joey tells them, “It’s as handy as it is becoming,” Chandler and Ross can’t stop making jokes about carrying makeup and going on dates with men. Eventually, Joey even loses out on a job because of it. “I don’t know if the world is ready for you and your bag,” Rachel sighs. It wasn’t in 1999, but ain’t nobody got time for this kind of homophobia and toxic masculinity anymore! Man bags for everyone!
Gunther’s Color Blocking
People just don’t use color the way they used to in the ’90s. Just look at grumpy Central Perk barista, Gunther, with his “hair brighter than the sun,” as Rachel once noted. His face may have stayed sour, but his shirts were always sweet, and the only thing he loved more than Rachel were primary colors and slightly unhinged neckties. In the age of doomscrolling, we could always use more color.
Monica and Rachel’s ‘Girls’ Shirts
Who run the world? Girls! But Queen Beyoncé didn’t even tell us that until seven years after Friends ended. No wonder these shirts have been in demand for so many years; they are still available to buy!
Chandler No Pants
These days, it’s considered fashion-forward for men to wear oversized shirts with nothing else at all. Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness even pairs his with heels. But it was Chandler who accidentally invented this bold new look in Season 4, when Rachel’s boss left him handcuffed to a chair, and then a filing cabinet, mid-seduction. Sexy!
Phoebe’s Boho Chic
When Friends started, Phoebe’s wardrobe was designed very explicitly to demonstrate her kooky boho-chic style. But what was fringe back then is now an annual Coachella practice. Phoebe’s groovy wardrobe—especially in Season 1—was a wealth of hippie-dippie, desert-ready coolness. All she was missing was a flower crown. (Oh, and while we’re on Phoebe, let’s bring back black and white striped tights; they used to work outside of Halloween and still could!)
Ross’s Frankie Shirt
When Friends featured an old Frankie Goes to Hollywood shirt during a fight between Ross and Rachel, it was used as a vaguely amusing relic of the ’80s. In 2018, that shirt is a beautiful reminder of a simpler time, when a song containing zero curse words and some pretty tame sexual innuendos could still get banned on the radio. Also, it goes without saying, but those Frankie shirts were legitimately righteous. Ironic bold prints last forever.
Estelle’s Suits
With her wild, yet somehow perfectly coordinated prints, oversized accessories and always sharp manicures, Estelle was easily the most underrated fashion icon in Friends. You couldn’t really get away with those Working Girl shoulder pads at any point during the ’90s, but these days? Have at it! That yellow suit/blue phone combo is fire whichever way you look at it.
See? They are all still there for us!
