First off let me say that many of the styles I've seen have been repeated, sometimes several times. Of course the young think they discovered it.
Let me give you a prime example. When I was in high school and college we had the preppy look and the surfer look. They existed together. In my private (Catholic) school we were mostly preppy. We wore oxford cloth button-down dress shirts, slacks, and loafers. Admittedly our school was a little different in that we had to wear a white dress shirt, tie, grey dress pants, and dress shoes. Even so, that's what our generation also wore outside of school, less the tie and maybe the shirt was colored and khakis in place of the grey slacks. When my youngest son, who is 45 years younger than I am, got dressed up during his high school and college days, he wore oxford button-down shirts, khakis, loafers or boat shoes. The tie and sports jacket would come out on special occasions. So, preppy made a comeback. I'm fairly certain that if the young folks of today knew that most of that look was popular in the 1960s they would be horrified.
The hairstyles now have become freer. I mostly had short hair during my early school years including a flattop and butch wax phase. In the early '60s, we all tried to get away with the long hair look of the Beach Boys. This was a problem because some parents opposed this look and our school did not allow the swept bang style or hair touching your collar. We grew our hair long, especially in the front but kept it combed back during school hours. My crowd never really embraced the Beatles' hairstyle or clothing. The Beach Boys and other surf music groups had more of an advantage in Florida over British guys. If you look back at old Beach Boys or Beatles photos, when they started, you will see that their hair was not very long or radical. They were also well dressed.
The length of pants has gone from short, to flood, to very long, even dragging on the ground. Neither is very attractive but the extra-long is also impractical. Stepping on your pants legs causes trips, dirt, and fraying. I think my first exposure to extra-long pant legs was during the bell-bottoms of the 1970s.
Shoes have gone through a few revolutions too. During my high school days, you had to wear Bass Weejun loafers to be stylish. When the overly long and overly flared pants were the thing to wear, we had those ridiculous platform shoes. Those were actually good for me as a vertically challenged guy but they were ugly and impractical. Now, tennis shoes/sneakers/athletic shoes are acceptable almost everywhere.
I'm old enough to have gone through several style changes in men's dress suits. We have gone from skinny lapels and ties to extra-wide ties and lapels then back again. Vests have been in and out of favor. Two-button, three-button, double-breasted jackets have all had their time. Suspenders (braces) or belts or neither? Pant cuffs or cuffless? Tie tacks, bars, chains or nothing? One or two slits in the back of the jacket? Pleated or flat front pants? You get the idea. All have been in and out of favor over the last 50 years. Right now it seems extra tight suits are the fashion du jour. Just wait, that suit you have in the closet will be in style again. And then it won't.
Almost every generation thinks their styles are unique and very cool. Those generations will eventually realize that much of their fashion is recycled and very well may be embarrassing when the pictures show up in future years.
I am not usually ashamed or embarrassed by the preppy or even the surfer styles of the '60s. I can not say the same about what we wore in the '70s. Those years were ugly. Wild colors and patterns. Terrible polyester materials. Even some conservative old guys went wild. Look at the golf outfits of the time.
What gets me are the fashions that are completely impractical or stupid. Although it has subsided somewhat, the pants waist/belt below the ass with boxers on display is stupid. You can not do any movement without holding up your pants. It is hard to walk and impossible to run. The extra-long and baggy shorts are also beginning to go out of style. Some were within an inch or two from being long pants. Hey, those extra short tight shorts of the past were not great looking either. Artificially ripped, worn, and torn pants don't make much sense either, especially when you consider that it costs more to pre-mutilate the garments. Hoodies are another style of today. I understand a hood on a sweatshirt or a jacket. I'm at a loss as to why we need hooded t-shirts.
Some recent styles have made it more difficult for me to buy clothes off the rack. I'm short so when styles dictate longer pant legs, shorts wind up a few inches below my knees and long pants drag the ground. Now some of that can also be attributed to the fact that people are bigger today than they were in the olden days when I grew up. There are way fewer small and medium-size choices these days. Lots more large, x-large, xx-large, even xxx-large sizes. But I digress.
I'm sure you have some favorite fashions and styles even if they are out of vogue. You probably also have styles you hate regardless of how popular they are. Let's be honest, most fashion has no rhyme or reason and changes are made mostly to make us buy a new wardrobe every few years. It is primarily a first-world issue.
As a retired guy, I don't have to follow any fashion trends. If it's comfortable and washable, it's in style for me. Suits are only for weddings and funerals. Look in your closet, how much is out of style but still perfectly good? How many things haven't you worn in months or years?
These fashion observations may be completely foreign to you depending on your age and geographical location. Regardless, you have been through fashion cycles.
Fashion, the older you get the less important it becomes.
wjh
