Ask yourself this, what is more 2002 than opening your most famous song - Just A Little, in case you forgot - with the lyric ‘sexy’. Not even Christina Aguilera did that on Dirrty . Liberty X may have been Popstars poor losers after being beaten to cinch the OG talent show’s top prize by Hear’Say, but what they lost out in glory they made up for in uniforms. For the course of their six-year engagement with music, they spent the whole time in an another equally committed relationship: co-ordinated fashion. During their chart-topping (and chart-scrapping) career they produced bangers, like the unforgettable, Got to Have Your Love, dressed in as an illustrated guide to the peak 2000s trends of the day. Case in point, the next six pics:
1. Handkerchief Tops
Shield your eyes as this is a bright one. With the seatbelt closure and asymmetric cut, this could be Christopher Kane if you squint. Side note: why is Kelli Young wearing driving gloves? I can’t see a car on stage...
2. Waistcoats
If possible we’ll ignore the fact that Kevin Simm (far left if you don’t remember) looks like he spent the night butchering someone or something, and try and focus on Jessica Taylor, Michelle Heaton and Kelli’s budget Destiny’s Child’s get-up. The year was 2003, and everyone from Kate Moss to Kelly Rowland was wearing a vest, not sure that makes this zip-up halter neck number more forgivable though.
3. Fishnet Tops
Even if their stylist told me otherwise, I won’t for a second believe these aren’t just tights with a whole ripped in the crotch. Talk about budget. Though, kudos for being inventive.
4. Going Out Tops
No run-down of early 2000s style is complete without a picture of girls going out-out in fancy tops and some sort of denim. Back then, everyone was complicit. When twilight dawned evening wear was simple, a halter-neck and a denim skirt, a corset and jeans or a crop top and heels. Ohh for the simpler times…
5. Cargo Pants
There was a moment when cargo pants flirted with every iteration of pop star from TLC and All Saints right through to Liberty X. Maybe the pockets came in handy, or more likely; their low-rise cut was the perfect height for showing off regrettable tattoos, belly-button piercings and the requisite belly chain.
6. Matrix Leather
Name a more iconic moment in British post-millennium pop than Liberty X struggling through an aerobic dance routine in head-to-toe vinyl while holding canes.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.