19 Reasons Why You Miss Getting The Delia*s Catalog

It’s one of those forgotten teenage thrills.

1. It regularly featured low-maintenance hairstyles for short-haired girls.

Aren’t you sick of all those girls from the Urban Outfitters catalogs with the long flowy hair?

Also, cute stubby pigtails need to make a comeback.

2. There was only one kind of jean: the mid-rise.

Remember the days when jeans weren’t low-rise OR high-rise? We didn’t have to worry about plumber’s crack or whale tail or mid-day bloat. Life was easy and everything fit.

3. They sold inflatable furniture for the perfect teenage bedroom.

Everyone is all obsessed with “space-saving furniture,” yet no one even considers the convenient portability of inflatable chairs and couches.

Source: Tumblr.com

4. You learned what “rocket pants” were. And you totally wanted them.

You might remember these amorphously flared pants. They were like JNCO’s for the girl next door.

5. The models all looked like BFFs.

Nothing bonds two people like matching camisoles. They are 2 for 1, after all.

6. A tomboyish skateboarding outfit would be perfectly balanced with a half-ponytail.

In this newfangled age of complicated braids, hair-chalking, and beehives, we forget that there is something so effortlessly flattering about a half-ponytail.

7. You didn’t have to decide whether you were a wedge or a platform person.

These shoes are BOTH.

8. The girls were always striking irreverent poses and making goofy faces.

Granted, it’s hard to look cool and aloof when you’re dressed like an extra in a New Radicals music video.

+ 1 for model wearing braces.

9. tHiS foNT.

More retailers should really be capitalizing on the chain letter aesthetic.

10. All the bottoms had drawstring waistbands.

They really took the guesswork out of figuring out if you were a S, M, or L.

United in Comfiness.

11. You looked tall in your plat-flops.

Extra height + slip-on comfort makes you wonder why anyone would subject themselves to heels.

12. Flared capris were the perfect pants for summer.

Remember every jeans trend of the past 5 years that has been completely beaten to death? Now you understand why flared capris feel so refreshing.

13. This camo maxi dress.

Almost guaranteed to be ripped off in an Alexander Wang collection of the near future.

14. The jewelry was cheap and plentiful.

Which was great, because you most likely had six piercings to fill.

And you really needed some cute bobby pins for this classic “growing my bangs out” hairstyle.

15. Somehow, a crotch-pocket jean skirt made sense.

Girls like to play pocket pool, too.

16. The skirts were modestly knee-length.

When was the last time you even saw this shade of powder blue?

17. You were encouraged to rock a cropped halter.

In retrospect, dELiA’s was a very anti-cleavage publication.

18. The physical act of filling out a form to place an order felt really momentous.

Google Checkout is just not the same.

19. STACKABLE POTS OF GLITTER.

Here it is: the funnest page of the entire catalog. As a grown-ass woman, I still want everything on this page in every color available.

Photos taken from Melissa Aquino’s Flickr.