Picture it: The year is 1999. You call up your besties on your landline phone and see who wants to go out. You get ready by picking out your highest platform sandals and accessorize with a multitude of snap hair clips, but your look really hinges on one of your many going-out tops, and tonight you reach for your favorite halter top because you just saw Gwyneth Paltrow wearing one. Life is good.
In all seriousness, halter tops are synonymous with the late ’90s and early aughts, and although they have kind of died out since then, 2021 is the year we’re seeing the top come back into style in a big way. We took note of the neckline when we saw a handful of designers present halters in their F/W 20 collections and have even shared the celebrities who are getting on board to prove that this new wave of halters is definitely happening. To revisit the celebs who wore the look back in the day and then see (and shop) the 2021 iterations, simply keep scrolling.
Gwyneth Paltrow adored a halter top and was spotted here in 2000 donning one with another polarizing trend from that era: low-rise jeans.
None other than Posh Spice wore halters galore back in the day. From the choker necklace to her lip gloss–focused beauty look, this has the late ’90s written all over it.
If you need further proof that halters are undeniably back, just look to the necklines that keep popping up on the F/W 20 runways with shoulder-baring silhouettes.
Jacquemus S/S 2020
Dion Lee S/S 2020
Bevza S/S 2020
Style Tip: Double down on the top’s ’90s vibe by wearing it with a column skirt and heeled mules.
French girls always get it.
Cult Gaia’s halterneck pieces are all so good that I had trouble choosing just one.
Twisted details feels especially fresh.
Basic, but far from boring.
Anything in the color is doing it for me right now.
Style Tip: Make a colorful halter top the centerpiece for your next night-out look with your favorite jeans.
This one will sell out in 3, 2, 1…
The knitted fabric makes this look far pricier than it is.
Retro prints are right at home on a halter top.
So ’70s and yet so now.
This draping is giving me Paris Hilton vibes circa 2001.
Style Tip: Take a halterneck into the office by pairing it with trousers and knee-high boots.
So chic.
This is a best-seller on Revolve, and it’s not hard to see why.
