Jennifer Aniston is more than just a friend. Though she recently signed on to play lovable, ditsy Rachel for two more seasons, Aniston has already started to look beyond the hit sitcom, portraying a rocker chick in the upcoming movie Metal Gods and testing her Internet savvy by producing and hosting a new chatfest, Jen XX, for teenage girls on Voxxy.com. "I'm looking forward to interacting directly with the audience and getting to say things I can't say on network television," Aniston says. She will actually participate in a chat session during every episode! • Jen XX will launch this fall and air monthly on the Web site. So far, Aniston has committed to 13 half-hour episodes, and her role will be more Serena Altschul than Rachel Green. "She'll be out there talking to girls about their lives, whether they are writing 'zines, making rap songs or getting involved in politics," says Voxxy.com cofounder Maxine Lapiduss. • The two met when Aniston was a 19-year-old struggling actress, and they have been friends ever since. Lapiduss considers her pal a great role model for girls: "I think they really like her because she's funny, self-deprecating and very warm." • The one thing Aniston isn't is a glamour-puss. And the actress hopes that Jen XX (on which you might see her Friends castmates- maybe even soul mate Brad Pitt) will paint her in a more realistic light. "When you're a celebrity, everyone thinks you ride around in limos, and you have this charmed life," says Lapiduss. "But Jen doesn't always have 40 makeup people trailing behind her." In fact, she hates heels and prefers to dress down. For more on Aniston's style, read on...

Since Aniston graduated from high school in 1987, her style has evolved, almost always for the better. Though she's learned to dress for awards-night success, Aniston still prefers more casual duds: "I like a pair of comfy pants, flip-flops and a T-shirt."

For six years, costume designer Debra McGuire has one of the most enviable jobs in Hollywood: Dressing the ensemble cast of Friends. Seventeen caught up with McGuire- who recently launched her own line of ready-to-wear fashions- shortly after the show's producers announced that the inseparable six would return for a seventh season. We found out just how she developed a distinctive style for Rachel (Aniston), Monica (Courteney Cox Arquette) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow).

Can you tell us how you've gone about choosing the clothes for the show's female cast members over the years?
I come from a fine arts background, so I think in terms of color palettes. In the beginning, each character had her own palette. For instance, I dressed Courteney in black, white, ivory, gray, burgundy and red. Jennifer wore a lot of blues and greens. Phoebe was about color and pattern, so I dressed Lisa in yellows and purples. At that point, I made about 75 percent of the show's wardrobe, but by the third year I loosened up a bit.

Why did you take the palette approach?
I think the show was very confusing for viewers. They didn't know who these people were, so I used color to help define them. Now that the viewers feel they know the characters, I have a lot more freedom.

What are the quintessential items of clothing for, say, Rachel?
I got a lot of flak at the beginning when I had her wear midriff T-shirts in the winter. But I think we did it very tastefully. In the second season, Rachel was the first to wear capris. She also looks great in leather jackets and pants that fall low on the hips. I like to show off Jennifer's body. Her clothes all fit extremely well. But they don't just go from the rack to her body; they're [usually] altered.

How about Monica and Phoebe? Monica is a pants-and-shirt girl--a good hemmed, lined pair of pants and a great three-quarter, crisp white shirt can go pretty far for Courteney. And for Phoebe, I started with a retro '60/'70s look- very flowy. Back then, I really had to search to find vintage and ethnic pieces. Now those are all you see in the stores.

Are all the clothes that the girls wear on the show superexpensive?
It's all about what looks good. I may go into a store on Melrose that has tops for $9.99 and they're right on the money. I go from the lowest end to the highest. Since I'm not totally dealing with reality, it's OK for them to wear $10 pants on a given day and $2,000 ones the next.

Do you work with particular designers to develop the looks?
I don't think designers really like to work with me because I may take something they've created and recut it, reshape it, add a sleeve or eliminate a ruffle. It's not about their vision. I don't really care about that.

Do the actors have a say in what they wear?
They bring a lot to the plate, in terms of their personal evolution. It's very much a collaborative process.

What's something you'd never put on the girls?
Anything baggy.

Sometimes the show has flashbacks of the girls as they looked in high school. Are those fun for you?
The retro shows are the most exciting for me. I really have to try to figure out what they would have been wearing at the time. Since Monica was extremely overweight as a teen, I know Courteney's going to be very uncomfortable, so I try to dress her in comfortable clothes for those scenes.

Is there something you dressed the cast members in at the beginning of the Friends' run that they still wear today?
Tight T-shirts, but that's about it...

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