The Going Out Top of Your 2000s Rom-Com Fantasies
I thought the perfect going out top was a myth — until I found it
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Imagine this message but delivered instead on the screen of a Nokia 3410 with a lime green plastic case snapped around its brick body — that’s the medium in which this letter arrives to you.
“Jeans and a going out top” is the cross-generational go-to outfit formula for women of all ages having a cheeky night on the town. Worn to sweet sixteens and frat parties and sticky bars and bachelorette dinners and beyond, one must have a curated selection of going out tops on file for when that text inevitably arrives in your inbox.
The perfect going out top has always felt like an urban legend — until I found it. For $35, no less. And I’m here to evangelize.
What makes the perfect going out top:
It’s a statement on its own. With an unassuming pair of jeans, the top is doing the heavy lifting here. It has an oomph factor that can carry the outfit in terms of design and interest. Whether that be through pattern, texture, or silhouette, something about it captures your attention.
It’s dressy enough for a nice dinner yet casual enough for a dive bar. The perfect going out top can take you anywhere “out” is for the night. It’s able to be dressed up or down depending on your plans: appropriate for a gorgeous multi-course meal but also for throwing back $3 tequila shots at the karaoke bar. (Silk is our best friend for this type of look, and the majority of the finds I linked are 100% silk.)
You don’t need to wear a bra. It has enough breast support that you don’t have to fuck around with boob stickers or a strapless situation. It is so much more comfortable to feel secure in your clothing — and when you feel more comfortable, you feel more confident. The perfect going out top ensures you can dance the night away without an unwanted nip-slip.
The iconic going out top of the 2000s:
Though I rarely see chatter about this brand, it certainly isn’t a secret in the industry — in fact, it’s been plastered all over your screen for 20+ years.
This is a brand whose clothes were heavily featured in some of the most popular TV shows and movies of the 2000s including Sex and the City, The OC, Gilmore Girls, 13 Going on 30, One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, Gossip Girl, The Princess Diaries, Melrose Place, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and more.
But the resale prices rarely reflect the magnitude of impact. I snagged the above top for $35, and the 37 finds I linked below fall mostly in the $15-$60 range.