The past two years of on-and-off restrictions and being in-and-out of lockdown meant that past dancing days felt further away than ever before.
Instead of getting ready with pals to head out in our droves, we were toasting to each other over Zoom. It sometimes felt like we'd never again have the sort of nights out we once enjoyed.
We missed those nights of pre-drinking whilst either slapping on a face or dosing ourselves in aftershave. We missed shivering in the queue outside Beach Club, or banging on the cubicle door of a loo.
READ MORE: Club bangers every millennial will remember from the 2000s
We missed looking out the River Lagan from the El Divino smoking area, only to boot it inside at hearing the notes of our favourite song. We missed touching up our lippy or fixing our hair spikes in the bathroom mirror.
Regular nights out are back again, but there'll always be things we miss about getting ready and going out in '00s Belfast. No matter where you were headed, you wanted to look your best before stepping foot in the taxi to it.
Take a walk down memory lane with us as we remember what the clothing, hair and beauty trends we sported for a night out on the town in the '00s.
Athleticwear
The influence of the Spice Girls and footballers knew no bounds, as the early '00s saw people rock up to clubs in full-on sports gear. We're talking runners, cropped running tops and even tracksuits. Whether they were let in or not is another thing.
Frosted eyeshadow
All that glitters isn't gold, sometimes it's colder. Unlike the mattified 2010s, 2000s makeup was all about shimmer and shine - but in an icy rather than sun-kissed sense. Our attempts at blue-silver eyeshadow never looked quite as good as Britney's, though...
Ashy highlights
Women might've been getting their roots done for quite some time, but the '00s saw a rise in men opting for blonde highlights, too. Whether it was revamping the centre part 'do of the '90s with thick platinum streaks or adding frosted tips to gel-spiked hair, lads joined the battle between salon and box dye.
Chunky belts
Belts went from performing a function to being all about the look in the '00s, and the bigger they were, the better. An essential accessory, they were messily slung on top of denim skirts and jeans (too wide to fit the belt loops) or worn to cinch in a long top and accentuate the waist. Stunning.
Excessive amounts of false tan
Putting on tan is still a major part of getting ready for a night out for many in Northern Ireland. But we like to think (or at least hope) we've gotten much better at applying it through the years, as the early '00s had us looking more 'patchy Oompa Loompa' than 'beach babe'. Remember the blue murder that'd ensue when a spilled drink caused someone's tan to go running down their leg in streaks?
Strapless tops
Known more professionally as "bandeau tops" or more colloquially as "boob tubes", this was a piece of clothing to be found in every girls' wardrobe or suitcase in the '00s. Be it at the pool or on the dancefloor, you were bound to see someone wearing one of these - occasionally even matching with their pals.
Coloured clip-ins
Did we want to be edgy and experimental? Yes. Did we want to commit? No. So off we popped down to Claire's to get some synthetic clip-ins for a wee pop of colour and to live out our pop-star fantasies.
The faux-hawk
Another Beckham-inspired 'do, the faux-hawk had every lad and their da headed to the barbers to get the right shape cut in. And it still had to be specifically styled that way every time they left the house, anyway.
Platform shoes
One of the better '00s trends to have made a recent comeback, platform shoes gave us more height and less discomfort than regular-soled heels.
Saggy, baggy bottoms
Jeans, joggers, trousers, whatever - if they were bottoms worn by men, they were baggy and saggy. They hung low and your mum couldn't understand why you wouldn't just pull them up. But hey, everyone on MTV was wearing them, so why shouldn't you?
Let us know in the comments which of the above trends bring back memories for you.
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