Aviators: popular in the '60s, even more so in the '80s, and back for another round in the noughties.

Some five years ago, and much to my horror, I noticed the '80s creeping back into the stores via the acid greens and bright fuchsia. I found myself in retro fashion hell and realised that any new additions to my wardrobe were going to be few and far between. Look, I've never exactly been accused of being 'trendy' or 'fashion forward' - in reality the only thing that probably keeps me from being arrested by the fashion police is the fact that I can at least colour-coordinate, and even then there are days that I look like a throwback from the Angolan war. There is one thing I do remember, however: the '80s fashion era has been sniffed at and regarded as a decade of fashion faux pas. But every year for the last five, I've noticed more and more '80s creeping back onto our mannequins. Footless leggings, stove-pipe... er, sorry - skinny jeans, oversized and bat-wing T-shirts with cinched hemlines, lace fingerless gloves... and I find myself asking "Why, oh, why?". That is, until I picked up a copy of Fashion Babylon and learned about the 20-year rule, which is clearly being applied. Still, retro rules or not, I can't help but cringe when I see the words 'leopard-print in acid pink and orange' coming out of this year's CT Fashion Week, but feel marginally relieved upon realising it's just an underwear line and grateful that my retinas are not going to be seared with that animal imprint. But it doesn't stop there. Please could someone tell me what is with the extra wings of fabric that are being added to neatly cut dresses to give them excess weight in the pelvic area? Like woman actually want bigger hips and... *ahem*... derrieres? (I thought JLo was so last season.) Or is this just supposed to neatly hide them... like the harem pants à la MC Hammer is hiding fat thighs? And if that's the case, and it works for you, then who am I to call the authorities? Fortunately, it's just a phase and I, for one, am looking forward to getting past it. Quickly. That said, I'd be keen to see the resurgence of the newspaper-print T-shirt, but am much more interested in seeing the next break-out of bell-bottoms... They work so much better with my legs. Happy fashioning, folks!

Shan Radcliffe, Retail editor retailnews@bizcommunity.com Responses to this column welcomed in our new online editor's column archive. Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net.