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Friendship Bracelets: 2011's version of Silly Bandz

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Today is officially the longest day of the year and the first day of summer, which means it's high time you dumped your winter boo and started getting your summer ducks in a row. You'll be spending a lot more time hanging with your bros and besties, so it's a good idea to let them know what's up ASAP. Gift them one of these friendship bracelets and they're automatically obligated to chill with you all summer long—or at least until the bracelet falls off, whichever comes first.

Like last year's Silly Bandz, there are a multitude of posers to wade through, so here's a quick rundown of your options.

The Leader of the Pack

These bungee-cord-slash-caribiner combos from Proenza Schouler are the bracelets that set off this season's trend. At $125 a pop, getting matching bands for your whole crew is kind of extravagant, so it's probably more of a DIY situation. Use your Google to find a million blogs with step-by-step instructions on how to make a knockoff. That's two for you.

The Mass Market

When you can't be bothered with weaving an entire collection of handmade bracelets out of “meaningful” colors, just grab a couple off the rack and hope for the best. This turquoise and orange number, for example, can totally stand for Spring Break '09 Cancun, plus all those tequila sunrises you imbibed together and subsequently tossed into the ocean. WOOOOOO!

The Artsy

Pretty much synonymous with Etsy, but hey! there's some cool stuff on there. If your group is a classier sort, then present them with something with a bit more weight. New York's CB Designs offers these woven chains in a bunch of awesome colors, like cobalt, lime, and royal purple. Calling dibs on the citron and orange one, though.

The Original

If you are exceedingly popular, exceedingly poor, or a sucker for nostalgia, opt for these grade-school originals. At $5 for 72 bracelets, you can whore 'em out to all your friends and still have plenty left over to hit on girls boys at the park bar.