History Main / OutdatedOutfit

* Popeye gets a pass when wearing his Navy whites (which haven't changed much in decades) but usually he's wearing a much more dated nautical outfit that was old-fashioned even in the 1930's.

** Pretty much everyone's outfit really! Daphne and Velma when not wearing more modern duds look incredibly dated. The only one that could be said to have avoided it is Shaggy, and he's only avoided it out of luck -- pants and a t-shirt just refuse to go out of style.
** In the animated movie ''Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase'', their clothing was updated. It had a hilarious comparison between present updated Daphne and her old-style Video Game counterpart:

[[MiamiVice http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/80suit.jpg]]
[[caption-width:250:Gotta love TheEighties.]]

No, this is not the WhiteDwarfStarlet, but rather a character who is identified with a type of outfit [[LimitedWardrobe (or just one)]] and have kept the look for far too many years without getting an update. This is common in ComicBooks where the story is set in the "[[ComicBookTime Present Day]]" and the clothes become hilariously anachronistic.

* In HarryPotterAndTheGobletOfFire, Ron comments on his Yule Ball robes, "...these aren't old, they're ancient!"

* Several examples: Donald's sailor suit, Big Bad Wolf's one-suspender-trousers and Cat-in-the-hat-hat, Daisy's bow, and so on. Admittedly, Scrooge's outfit is supposed to be outdated. Attempts to modernize them (as in ''QuackPack'') have been made, with mixed results. At best.

*** Jeff Foxworthy once did a routine on how men in general (and his father in particular) tend to tune out fashion at a certain point after marriage and parenthood and simply keep wearing old stuff; the usual timing of fashion cycles and human development mean that dads' clothes are the most horribly dated when the kids are in early adolescence.
*** Jerry Seinfeld also did a bit, saying you could tell what a man's favorite year was, since that's the fashion style he'll wear for the rest of his life.

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* There is a scene from an old ''LegionOfSuperHeroes'' comic featuring Wildfire (remember Wildfire?) who was flying by way of rocket exhausts. From his bell bottoms. His bell bottoms were '''frickin' rockets''' man!

* Captain Peacock of ''[[AreYouBeingServed Are You Being Served?]]'' is always seen wearing [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stroller_(style) semi-formal morning dress]], which had been long been abandoned by all but the staunchest businessmen, even in the 1980s. This goes hand in hand with the character, who is [[BritishStuffiness fastidious, pompous and stuffy]].

[[AC: {{Literature}}]]
* Lampshaded with Aziraphale from GoodOmens, who insists on wearing plaid, much to Crowley's disgust.
* The JamesBond of the novels has a pretty good sense of timeless style, except for the ''nylon underpants''.

If they ever ''do'' get some new duds, expect much poking of the fun at their hilarious past fashion sense, while said character adamantly maintains the look is "still cool!" and it's the world that's out of touch.

* [[ECW ECW's]] Tommy Dreamer drew an enormous amount of hate in his early days due to being a prettyboy face (good guy) and his comically outdated wrestling outfit, complete with bright green suspenders.

** Possibly lampshaded in ''[[AllStarDCComics All Star Superman]]'', when Jimmy is voted worst dressed man in Metropolis. In that series, he also takes a shine to "Kryptonian Overpants"

*** [[TheFlash Barry Allen]] was also associated with a bowtie long after they were popular. With his return, Geoff John's has Barry explaining that he had to borrow an old bowtie on the fly for a court appearance where he met his future love, Iris West, for the first time. She liked the look. He said nothing.

* Misty Knight still wears a poofy 1970s-era afro (weirdly, though, it's far more exaggerated than her actual style in the '70s). Luke Cage, on the other hand, has managed to get his shirt buttoned all the way up.
* Jubilee is the most extreme example that comes to mind. Allhough semi-possible as an outfit that a young girl would think is "cool" in the 1980s, the bright yellow trench coat and wrap around sunglasses became just plain painful as the '90s continued.

* Flashbacks to Marvel superheroes' origins and early adventures often show them in their original 1960's civilian outfits--particularly [[SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[IncredibleHulk Rick Jones.]]

* Dagwood Bumstead, with his 30's rich-guy evening wear, is a more subtle example of this trope. However, lack of updating (or recapping) has over the years caused his original status as a fish-out-of-water trust fund baby cast down into the middle class to be lost on modern readers.

* The notion of an {{Outdated Outfit}} became a running gag on ''{{Arrested Development}}'', with the character of Lupe who was known to wear exclusively hand-me-downs from Lucille. This usually resulted in funny background gags, such as a Halloween jumper on Thanksgiving or a Bush/Cheney jumper in late 2005.

** In the animated movies ''Scooby Doo And the Cyber Chase'', their clothing was updated. It had a hilarious comparison between present updated Daphne and her old-style Video Game counterpart:

* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', The Northern Water Nation city breaks out old Fire Nation uniforms for the purposes of troops sneaking up on the enemy commander and assassinating him. Sokka has to let them know that those uniforms are so old and out of date that they will never fool the enemy.

* Portuguese fashion was decades behind other countries in the 17th century, which was embarrassingly shown when a Portuguese princess, Catherine of Braganza, sailed to England to marry [[TheHouseOfStuart Charles II]].

** High-waistedness is coming back for men and women, at least in America, and vests have just become extremely popular. [[SamHuddy this troper]] credits MadMen.

Fashion is merciless. It beguiles kings and makes them slaves. It should come as no surprise that in the space of years (if not months) a perfectly fashionable dress or suit can go from ''tres chic'' to ''horrible,'' what ''is'' surprising is when someone keeps wearing said outfit... [[LongRunners for over fifty years!]]

If they ever ''do'' get some new duds, expect much poking of the fun at their hilarious past fashion sense, while said character adamantly maintains the look is "still cool!" and it's the world that's out of touch.

See also GrandfatherClause. Compare AwesomeAnachronisticApparel, where a character's clothes are so cool that, while they may be out of fashion, they are certainly never out of style. If a character has one oddly anachronistic detail on an otherwise unremarkable outfit, that's BowtiesAreCool.

** In Jubilee's early appearances she was a sidekick to Wolverine. Her costume was a parody of [[Comicbook/{{Batman}} Robin's]], explaining the yellow capelike coat.

* Flashbacks to superheroes' origins and early adventures often show them in their original 1960's civilian outfits--particularly [[SpiderMan Peter Parker]] and [[IncredibleHulk Rick Jones.]]

* ''ArchieComics'' are painfully guilty of this. Jughead's hat [[http://learning2share.blogspot.com/2009/04/search-term-jugheads-hat.html was actually in style]] for HighSchool boys in the late Thirties/early 1940s. Archie's ''car'' has gone from the intended "old beater" to "classic" ''twice'' (generic 1930s tourer and early Mustang).
** In TheNineties Jughead got a backwards baseball cap. Fortunately ThePowersThatBe decided to change his hat back, given that [[http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2008/12/18/comic-book-legends-revealed-186/ he was named after it]].

* [[SpirouAndFantasio Spirou]] is perhaps the ultimate incarnation of this trope: When he started the 1938 he was a bell-boy elevator operator in a chic hotel wearing the traditional red outfit. The outfit (especially the hat) has become tied with the character, even as bell boys. The thing is, bell-boys in general and elevator operators in particular no longer exist. Most readers ended up not knowing what the hell Spirou's uniform came from, but changing it became problematic because it was so intrinsically tied with the characters. Thus Spirou wore his outfit for many decades despite it being out of place. Newer authors compromised by making Spirou wear a variety of red clothes, and only keeping the uniform's hat to be used occasionally as a ContinuityNod. Many characters have even remarked on the odd hat's appearance or even outright questioned where it's from.

* The ''BashStreetKids'' from ''TheBeano.'' There was at least one strip where this was [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]].

* ''MickeySpillanesMikeHammer''. Stacy Keach wore the fedora and trenchcoat associated with the typical 1940/50's PrivateDetective, despite the fact that the series was set in TheEighties.

* ''SchoolhouseRock'' has a lot of those characters fall victim to this. The superhero Verb in his mirrored shades and shirt open to his belt really stands out. Not to mention all of those bell-bottoms!

* In ''AvatarTheLastAirbender'', The Northern Water Nation city breaks out old Fire Nation uniforms for the purposes of troops sneaking up on the enemy commander and assassinating him. Sokka has to let them know that those uniforms are so old and out of date that they will never fool the enemy.

* Lampshaded with Aziraphale from GoodOmens, who insists on wearing plaid, much to Crowley's disgust.

** High-waistedness is coming back for men and women, at least in America, and vests have just become extremely popular. [[SamHuddy this troper]] credits MadMen.