8 things we ALL bought from Claire’s back in the day (admit it)

Uniquely Irish

Mar 13, 2018

With the sad news this week that classic shopping centre store Claire's Accessories may be in serious financial difficulty, we decided to reflect on happier times.

Times when wearing fake Ugg boots with over-sized white plastic sunglasses and magnetic earrings was acceptable behaviour.

Irish gals loved a bit of Claire's Accessories, we we've compiled a list of the best, most nostalgic items to come out of the 00s mega-store.

8. Long plastic beads

An outfit in the mid-00s was incomplete without a string of plastic beads clacking around your neck.

Extra style points if you tied the end of the beads into a knot. Look out, Anna Wintour.

7. Leggings with lace at the bottom

We don't know about you, but we weren't allowed to leave the house without a pair of leggings under our skirts – and luckily, the capri legging with a lace hem was all the rage to rock under a denim skirt and oversized belt.

You could get these in 2-packs at Claire's, and that's exactly what we spent our hard-earned pocket money on.

The height of sophistication on 2007.

6. Clip-on hair bows

Where my former scene and emo kids at? While the hair bow trend of the 00s may have begun with the scene kids, it made it's way through every stereotypical secondary clique imaginable, and Claire's was the place to get your three-pack of printed hair bows.

Used almost exclusively for side swooping that serious side fringe you had going on, hair bows were the Junior Cert epitome of both cute, girl next door glamour and edgy, P!ATD themed angst.

5. Sequin stretchy belts

These sequin belts went perfectly with our tiered mini skirts and UGG boots.

You could get one in every colour, green for Paddy's Day, sparkly pink for the midterm disco, and your choice of gold or red for Christmas mass. Gorge.

4. Oversized bracelets

There seems to be a reoccurring theme here regarding the texture of everything we used to buy in Claire's.

If it was bright, plastic and would clatter up and down our wrists as we walked, we we're having them.

Made popular by the likes of Lindsay Lohan, we all had more than a few huge bangles we stacked up for the disco.

3. Friendship necklaces

Were you EVEN besties if you didn't go around school with half a love heart necklace reading either 'Be Frie' or 'St Nds,' depending on how the heart was split?

Claire's had them in every shape, size and shade imaginable, and there was something so satisfying about cementing a day spent browsing the shops with your bestie and your pocket money with a new friendship necklace.

2. 'Fancy' jewellery

There was always one totem of bling in Claire's accessories that we looked upon with awe. Nothing on that rotating rack was made of bright pink plastic, oh no. This was rack where you got those twisty diamante clips for wedding-guest up-dos, or a sparkly birth stone necklace for your cousin's confirmation.

It was out of bounds except for on the more sacred of occasions, and you found yourself coveting the sparkly drop earrings with reverence, before choosing to buy another pack of neon shoelaces instead.