Was there any man in the 1950’s that didn’t know the advertising jingle: “Brylcreem, a little dab’ll do you!”  And no self-respecting 50’s man would be without his bottle of Brylcreem to keep his hair in place. This stuff kept your hair shiny and slicked in place. Made from a mixture of mineral oil, beeswax, fragrance and chemicals it was greasy to say the least.  Running your fingers through a head of Brylcreem was like dipping your fingers into a bucket of car oil.

Luckily four young guys from Liverpool came along in the early 1960’s and they didn’t go for the greaser look. Not only did the Beatle’s music catch on, so did their fashion – including their hairstyles. Brylcreem sales began a downward spiral and not even John Travolta, playing the part of Danny Zuko in the 1978 smash-hit Grease, could bring the fashion back.

The really scary part is that Brylcreem  looks as if it could be making a comeback. You can now get Brylcreem spray and gels for men. Don’t men ever learn?

The beehive hairdo (photo 2)

If you thought the ‘greaser’ look was bad for men, women tried to outdo them with the beehive hairdo.

Creating a hairstyle like this was hard work. Not only was it hard on the hair, it was just as hard on the arms. Hours would be spent holding up little clumps of hair and brushing them backwards until they could stand up on their own.

Then came the hairspray, with its shellac-like qualities, forming an invisible helmet over the hair. If a guy ran his fingers through this hair he could easily break his fingers. 1960’s music star Dusty Springfield was the Queen of the Beehive. These days one could look to Marge Simpson with her blue beehive.

Drainpipe trousers (photo 3)

In the late 50’s and the early 60’s there was only one style of trousers for men, and that was drainpipes. Whether you were a Mod or a Rocker you wore drainpipes. Only your old dad wore baggy trousers.

Drainpipes were tight. In fact they were so tight you had to lie down to put them on. By the end of the 60’s they were doomed as flairs and bell bottoms became the rage. Yet drainpipes have not disappeared from the fashion scene. These days, however, we know them as ‘skinny jeans’.

Women's 'hippie' look (photo 4)

The 1960’s may have been the ‘dawning of the age of Aquarius’ but it certainly wasn’t the dawning of the age of good fashion. It was a time of peace, love and drugs such as marijuana and LSD. Luckily most of the women that wore kaftans, headbands, beads, body paint and ‘Jesus’ sandals were probably too stoned to remember it. If hippie garb looked ridiculous on men it looked even more preposterous on women.

Big bow ties (photo 5)

Bow ties, so it seems, have been around forever. Well at least since the 19th century when they had ridiculous names such as the ‘Butterfly’ and the ‘Batswing’. No formal men’s dress was complete without a bow tie. And they could be in any colour you liked, as long as that colour was black.

Then came the colour revolution and bow ties suddenly came in a rainbow of colours and patterns.  Not only were they colourful, they were big. Very big. Thankfully the fashion for big bow ties didn’t last too long into the 70’s and these days they are only worn by eccentrics and the odd circus clown.

Flower power (photo 6)

By the early 1970’s the hippie look was out of fashion for the fairer sex and the name on everyone’s lips was Laura Ashley.  Flowers and floppy hats were popping up everywhere.

While flowery print may have looked good on a girl of 14, they looked sad on a 34-year-old. Thankfully this was another fashion that didn’t hang around for too long. While girls may still want daisies on their duvets, few women want a dress that makes them look like a herbaceous border.

Men's white suits (photo 7)

Blame John Travolta. He was the one that really started it in the film Saturday Night Fever. We’re talking white suit here and every guy that hit the disco floor wanted to do so in a white suit, just like Travolta.

And just when we thought it was safe, along came Don Johnson. Playing the part of Detective Sonny Crockett in Miami Vice, Johnson’s favourite outfit was a white suit with a tee-shirt. Next thing you know every guy wanted to dress like this.

These days white suits are not that fashionable with young men, most of whom were still wearing school uniforms back in the 1980's and will not even remember shows like Miami Vice, They've probably never heard of Don Johnson either.

Women's 'power shoulder' look (photo 8)

In the 1980’s women everywhere were stuffing their blouses, jerseys and jackets with shoulder pads that made them look like an American football team or rejects from the Gestapo.

The soapies were to blame for this. Sue Ellen Ewing from Dallas and Alexis Carrington and Kystyle from Dynasty couldn’t put anything on without the shoulders being padded.
No outfit was complete without padding. During the 70’s women had fought the battle for equality. Now, in the 80’s, they were saying; “we’ll show you who’s the boss, but we can still look sexy while doing it.”

Power dressing was supposed to affirm women’s new-found strength, but eventually such aggressively in-your-face dressing looked a bit out of place and shoulder pads were ripped out faster than a bribe going into a politician’s pocket.

Men's checked trousers (photo 9)

Subtle checks seemed okay for suits and pants. Not by much, mind you. Then some bright spark had the idea to add colour to this mix. It has now gone from the sublime to the ridiculous in one easy step.

There are only two types of men that can wear checked pants. These are golfers and pimps. The most famous check, the Burberry beige, black and red has been around since the 1920’s and used to be the symbol of a smart man. That may change now, however.

The latest group to go crazy for this fashion are the ‘chavs’ – young, British, white working-class and usually unemployed. With a bit of luck the ‘chavs’ will soon move on to something else. Sooner rather than later.

Women's camouflage look (photo 10)

Most armies throughout the world use some sort of camouflage, or Disruptive Patterned Material (DPM) as it is correctly known, in the design of their uniforms. At the end of the 1980’s fashion designers decided that DPM was perfect for that latest wartime look.

Suddenly you could get anything in camouflage – tee-shirts, pants, skirts, bikinis, jackets, handbags and even bras and knickers. The purpose of camouflage is meant to conceal the wearer. Yet walking around the shopping mall dressed like a US Marine about to invade Iraq had the opposite effect.

As colleague Matt O’Brien remarked when he saw a really pretty young girl wearing enough camouflage to look like an infantry battalion: “I don’t know whether to try and shag her or salute her.”