History Main / FashionDissonance

* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'' comics of course started off with plenty of this with Rick Jones’s checkered jacket, ComicBook/BettyRoss’s Jacqueline Kennedy outfit and Bruce Banner’s iconic purple pants which wouldn’t have been seen as so garish back then as it is today. Interestingly later Hulk comics such as ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'' when flashing back to early days unlike other comics [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQeH5BtsnXabuQTSYH_G_pfzKF_zBxaG0hh9g&usqp=CAU deliberately don’t bother modernizing the outfits]], no matter how much it jars with the modern characterization of the cast, such as Betty who wouldn’t be caught dead wearing a pillow box nowadays.

* Invoked in the 2022 series ''Series/Candy2022, which starts in 1978 and ends in 1980. The costumes scream "1970s Fashion" in all its garish yet dull, polyester-covered glory. Some of the hairstyles and clothing are enough to be considered BeautyInversion for the actors in the lead roles, with even MsFanservice Jessica Biel appearing dowdy in [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill Peggy Hill-style glasses]] and a tight perm resembling a Chia Pet.

* ''ComicBook/TeenTitans 1980'' had this UpToEleven with ComicBook/{{Starfire}} with her EightiesHair and AbsoluteCleavage being the crowing showcase of the decade. There’s also ComicBook/{{Nightwing}} with his [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQy2HaRf8D1RGji-I-Z4x_Hr7yR8tA-D8OwASg7NDsXpuTMBKg7vEzLTXBO&s=10 Disco collar]] and Cyborg’s thigh-length metal leggings.

* ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' 2002 has this UpToEleven with [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esIi6uHlNFg/T6weaiZSJbI/AAAAAAAASMI/YChWGlpRpfI/s1600/matthew_lillard_freddie_prinze_jr_sarah_michelle_gellar_linda_cardellini_rowan_atkinson_scooby_doo_001.jpg the Scooby Gang]] and the rest of people on Spooky Island looking like they all just walked out of a 00s music video. Heck, Music/SugarRay show up to cameo at one point and Fred wears shorts, tanktop and sunglasses while possessed.

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* ''VideoGame/ParasiteEve'' features [[https://www.pngkit.com/png/detail/587-5879183_jacket-aya-brea-parasite-eve-1-outfit.png Aya Brea]], the NY ActionGirl heroine cop who along with a [[NinetiesHair face-framing haircut]] and black jacket, wears a high-rise demin blue jeans and a plain white top, which was considered the [[https://www.google.com/search?q=90s+denim+and+white+shirt&rlz=1C1SQJL_enAU874AU874&sxsrf=ALiCzsbhZOJqnpCiatTxhf752drM93epzQ:1656083118845&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGrJGwrsb4AhVdTWwGHfWPCjAQ_AUoAXoECAEQAw&biw=996&bih=736&dpr=1.25 height]] of minimalist hottness for women in 90s (being worn by the likes Kate Moss and princess Diana). Since fashion choices have changed since 1998, to modern gamers Aya looks like she'd be more at home on ''Series/{{Friends}}'', than fighting mitochondria mutants on the street.

* Early ''Manga/DragonBall'' (1984) is full of 80s fashion with characters rocking long mullet hair and even permed-out Afros in the case of Ranfan. While it was eventually taken over by the 90s aesthetics (see blow), there were still a lot of 80s holdovers seen by Bulma’s hairdo in the Mecha-Frieza arc which is a massive Afro-like perm [[https://www.google.com.au/search?q=bulma+afro&client=safari&hl=en-au&prmd=ivsn&sxsrf=ALeKk02017jZ1BKfQYOTLXjLqHykPDAVFw:1630036112036&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH17bbpdDyAhVzmeYKHXZdC3cQ_AUoAXoECAIQAQ&biw=414&bih=715&dpr=2 which many fans]] find beautiful. [[Anime/DragonBallZBardockTheFatherOfGOku Bardock’s team]] and other Saiyans (despite living far away from Earth) have extremely 80s wild metal band hairdos and getup like Fasha who has earrings, knee pads and a thigh-length leg warmer.

* ''Series/RedDwarf'' despite being set in the far future has this in spades. Cat wears many Music/JamesBrown-esque bright suits and later disco getup, tiger pattern coats, fancy earrings and other outfits likely inspired by Creator/GraceJones. Lister similar to Ace from ''Doctor Who'' wears badged leather jackets in the third, fourth and fifth seasons. The cast have great fun in the DVDCommentary looking back on themeselves and laughing at the 80s wardrobe and EightiesHair. Creator/CraigCharles bemoans seeing himself wear a red scarf around his ankle and wishes someone could’ve told him how stupid he looked.

** Leon’s ''[=RE2=]'' concept art shows him wearing a cap and one of his alternate outfits in the original is an extremely 90s tank top and cap. The remake makes his main police uniform much less 90s by dulling the blue and removing the shoulder pads and white sneakers. Though the casual outfit Leon wears at the start is pretty 90s with a buttoned up shirt over a white top with blue jeans and returning white sneakers.

* ''ComicBook/RobinSeries'': Most noticeable at school where most of the kids are definitely dressed and styled according to the decade, there's also the fact that Tim wears the "curtains" hairstyle and rides a skateboard as a civilian.

* ComicBook/LukeCage will never live down his original costume, which featured an open yellow shirt and a tiara. He still gets mocked for it by other heroes from time to time today (while [[LessEmbarrassingTerm he insists that it was a]] ''headband''). One can only guess that his current BaldBlackLeaderGuy look will become similarly dissonant by the 2030s.

* Invoked in the 2022 series ''Series/{{Candy}}, which starts in 1978 and ends in 1980. The costumes scream "1970s Fashion" in all its garish yet dull, polyester-covered glory. Some of the hairstyles and clothing are enough to be considered BeautyInversion for the actors in the lead roles, with even MsFanservice Jessica Biel appearing dowdy in [[WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill Peggy Hill-style glasses]] and a tight perm resembling a Chia Pet.

* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'' is a particularly weird example. Since the series has been ongoing for more than 20 years but only a few years have passed in the story itself, it seems like fashion progresses from its 80s starting point to the present at a tremendous pace. There's also been a couple of art shifts and Keiichi gave up smoking without it ever being mentioned, possibly showing the changing attitudes about smoking over the past couple of decades.

Since most costumers aren't psychic, this happens a lot when old shows are rerun. It can also cause FridgeLogic if the show is set in the future. "Wait... why do people in the year 2800 wear clothes from the '70s?" Fashion Dissonance isn't completely restricted to shows set in the future, though — in fact, it can also be obvious if they're set in the time they were made, or [[HollywoodCostuming even if they're set in the]] ''[[HollywoodCostuming past]]'' (see GorgeousPeriodDress for one example of this, but a more specific example is the question of why no one in ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'' has EightiesHair).

The beginning of the New Millennium was futurist and optimistic, with bad CGI, bubble imagery, organically-shaped tech with clear cases, and lots of holographic textures and silver. UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror killed this pretty quickly, replacing it with kitschy Americana like flags, cowboy imagery, camo and double-denim. Men wore black flame-print shirts and bleached the tips of their hair or gelled it into a fauxhawk; women wore their hair zigzag-parted and ironed flat, an ultra-short crop top, an ultra-orange fake tan, and ultra-low-rise bootcut jeans to show off their rhinestone-studded thong straps and tribal tramp stamp of a Playboy bunny. The brighter skater and more gothic [[EmoTeen emo]] looks defined teens towards the middle of the decade; both genders got their ears stretched, or wished their parents would let them. Designer stubble was common for men, and in formal wear, skinny lapels on suits and skinny ties were popular. "Smart casual" for men included the now long-defunct trend of wearing an orphaned suit jacket (*not* a blazer) with jeans.

* ''Film/ScoobyDoo'' 2002 has this UpToEleven with [[http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-esIi6uHlNFg/T6weaiZSJbI/AAAAAAAASMI/YChWGlpRpfI/s1600/matthew_lillard_freddie_prinze_jr_sarah_michelle_gellar_linda_cardellini_rowan_atkinson_scooby_doo_001.jpg the Scooby Gang]] and the rest of people on Spooky Island looking like they all just walked out of a 00s music video. Heck, Music/SugarRay show up to cameo at one point and Fred wears a shorts, tanktop and sunglasses while possessed.

* ''Franchise/DragonBall'' has quite a lot of this, as the manga and anime ran from the mid 80s all the way through to the 90s. When not in gi the Z-Fighters [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRtLWh-dHpt4Zp1yfOc5jeWrb2tzgoGcN5zbA&usqp=CAU wore shorts, caps, tank tops, jeans, high socks and Hawaiian shirts]]. The crowning example is Piccolo during the beloved DrivingTest FillerArc, where he’s [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQmJr3OVtAMxo90LX4pfzLXzSbiP87iSVWg4g&usqp=CAU wearing a backwards cap, bright yellow shirt over a purple long sleeved top]] [[https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRW2qBTs_XbcXkqSbENKgMtr0vbzbN8HGfSMw&usqp=CAU and wearing a pairs of jeans with blue sneakers]]. The result makes the Demon King reincarnated look like he’s from ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir''. Android 17 and 18’s wardrobe while more natural the most of the cast, is still extremely 90s, more so with 17 than 18.

* The Neal Adams era of ComicBook/{{Batman}} while welcomely DarkerAndEdgier compared to previous comics still had plenty of corny 70s fashion and aesthetics. The crowing example is during the ComicBook/RasAlGhul saga where the already tacky-looking Ra’s changes into a pair of green tights and has a [[ShirtlessScene shirtless]] SwordFight with Batman. This version of Bruce has been christened “[[FanNickName Hairy-Chested Love God Batman]]” by fans. From the same arc there’s also Talia who wears a parted collared dress with a boob window and during the fight PaintedOnPants.

** Then there's [[FanNickname Yusuke "Mom Jeans" Urameshi]]. Hell, there's [[http://yuyufashion.tumblr.com/ an entire joke blog]] dedicated to all the weird fashion choices found on the show.

Unfortunately, fashion is highly context-sensitive. There are only a few fashions that have stood the test of time (like T-shirts and jeans[[note]]though the ''cut'' and texture of the jeans are subject to trends; not many people can pull off the acid-washed look nowadays, and particularly loose fits have been very rare since the late 2000s[[/note]], [[SharpDressedMan two-piece suits]], and the LittleBlackDress) and even the particulars of those vague templates can fluctuate with the decades--and odds are, your fashions didn't stick around. If a character from a show that [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture supposedly takes place in the 21st century]] has EightiesHair, he's going to look weird... almost as if he's from the eighties.[[note]]Funnily enough, some types of EightiesHair ''did'' actually [[PopularityPolynomial come back in style]] in the first two decades of the 21st century, especially in [[UsefulNotes/TheNewTens the 2010s]], to the point of a revival, though probably not in the way eighties sci-fi predicted.[[/note]] The legendary film costume designer Edith Head, well aware of this problem, explained on several occasions that she often didn't design according to the current styles in order to avoid [[{{Zeerust}} having the clothes look dated when the movie actually came out]], preferring to go for a more classic style that would look good over the years.

The beginning of the New Millennium was futurist and optimistic, with bad CGI, bubble imagery, organically-shaped tech with clear cases, and lots of holographic textures and silver. UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror killed this pretty quickly, replacing it with kitschy Americana like flags, cowboy imagery, camo and double-denim. Men wore black flame-print shirts and bleached the tips of their hair or gelled it into a fauxhawk; women wore their hair zigzag-parted and ironed flat, an ultra-short crop top, an ultra-orange fake tan, and ultra-low-rise bootcut jeans to show off their rhinestone-studded thong straps and tribal tramp stamp of a Playboy bunny. The brighter skater and more gothic [[EmoTeen emo]] looks defined teens towards the middle of the decade; both genders got their ears stretched, or wished their parents would let them. By the end of the decade, with the recession looming, jeans got extremely skinny, shoes degenerated to ballet flats, and women began dressing in smelly old clothing from vintage shops while carrying ukeleles while their boyfriends began growing moustaches and dressing like lumberjack grandfathers in red-framed shades — the emergence of the {{Hipster}} trend.

The Eighties were about neon, power dressing, and FashionableAsymmetry. The female silhouette had huge, baggy oversized batwing shirts you could smuggle a baby under combined with tight-fitting spandex leggings or frilly skirts; men wore white jeans, t-shirts with huge slogans and black leather jackets, maybe sleeveless, with silk scarves tied into the findings and fingerless gloves. Leotards and sweatbands were day clothes, makeup was dark and loud, earrings were bigger than the ear they were attached to, and everyone had [[EightiesHair an enormous perm held aloft with ozone-destroying amounts of chemicals]].

Unfortunately, fashion is highly context-sensitive. There are only a few fashions that have stood the test of time (like T-shirts and jeans[[note]]though the ''cut'' and texture of the jeans are subject to trends; not many people can pull off the acid-washed look nowadays, and particularly loose fits have been very rare since the late 2000s[[/note]], [[SharpDressedMan three-piece suits]], and the LittleBlackDress) and even the particulars of those vague templates can fluctuate with the decades--and odds are, your fashions didn't stick around. If a character from a show that [[TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture supposedly takes place in the 21st century]] has EightiesHair, he's going to look weird... almost as if he's from the eighties.[[note]]Funnily enough, some types of EightiesHair ''did'' actually [[PopularityPolynomial come back in style]] in the first two decades of the 21st century, especially in [[UsefulNotes/TheNewTens the 2010s]], to the point of a revival, though probably not in the way eighties sci-fi predicted.[[/note]] The legendary film costume designer Edith Head, well aware of this problem, explained on several occasions that she often didn't design according to the current styles in order to avoid [[{{Zeerust}} having the clothes look dated when the movie actually came out]], preferring to go for a more classic style that would look good over the years.

* ComicBook/{{Gambit}} and ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} from ''ComicBook/XMen'' are easily the most unmistakably 90s characters of the team with their pink armour/yellow trench coat wardrobe being considered gloriously tacky nowadays. Thanks to their inclusion in the immensely popular Fox ''[[WesternAnimation/XMenTheAnimatedSeries X-Men 90s cartoon]]'' (despite only being relatively new members in comics at the time) they both gained enough of fanbase to survive past the decade, although modern comics generally give them less garish outfits.

* Many of the very chic fashions in ''Film/AnnieHall'' look dated and silly by today's standards, notably, Tony Roberts's perm and white leisure suit. Ironically, HollywoodNerd Alvie's rather dowdy wardrobe seems inoffensive by comparison.

* ''Series/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy'', similarly to the Fourth Doctor above, dresses Ford in tacky abstractions of Seventies fashion.

** Claire Redfield from the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 second game]] wears a BikerBabe pink vest and hot pants over lycra and Jill Valentine from the [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 third game]] has a blue tubetop and mini-skirt with a jumper warped around her waist that in the words of [[Creator/BenCroshaw Yahtzee]] makes her look like “an embarrassing single mother accompanying her daughter to a roller disco”. Capcom eventually deemed Claire’s original outfit too garish and changed it twice, replacing the vest with a jacket and the hot pants with regular blue shorts shorts in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarkSideChronicles'' and the ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil2 RE2make]]'' gave her jeans and a bigger jacket with sleeves. Similarly Jill in ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvil3 RE3make]]'' got the tubetop and skirt traded out for a tank top and jeans. Though both their original 90s outfits are available as DLC, though Capcom decided to make Claire’s outfit HotterAndSexier by removing the lycra from under her top.

* ''Film/OnHerMajestysSecretService'' was released in 1969, at the height of the counter-cultural revolution. This is why Creator/GeorgeLazenby's Film/JamesBond wears [[http://screenmusings.org/movie/blu-ray/On-Her-Majestys-Secret-Service/images/On-Her-Majestys-Secret-Service-0212.jpg a puffy dress shirt with his tuxedo]], the only Bond to do so (in promotional photos for ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' from 1973, Creator/RogerMoore's Bond also wore a puffy shirt with his tuxedo, although in the finished film, Bond doesn't wear a tuxedo at all).

* Early ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games are guilty of this. Most noticeably Sonya with her [[WorkoutFanservice green 90s aerobics gear]] which seems strange for a Special Forces officer to wear (though her {{Stripperiffic}} ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' outfit is no better). Johnny Cage, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung in the second game wear spandex as well, to say nothing of Kitana, Jade and Mileena‘s [[LeotardOfPower leotards]]. ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' also gave us Kurtis Stryker and his backwards cap (which ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' thankfully had him flip around).

* Early ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games are guilty of this. Most noticeably Sonya with her [[WorkoutFanservice green 90s aerobics gear]] which seems strange for a Special Forces officer to wear (though her {{Stripperiffic}} ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' outfit is no better). Johnny Cage, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung in the second game wear spandex as well, to say nothing of Kitana, Jade and Mileena‘s [[LeotardOfPower leotards]]. ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' also gave us Kurtis Stryker and his backwards cap (which ''MK9'' thankfully had him flip around).

* Early ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games are guilty of this. Most noticeably Sonya with her [[WorkoutFanservice green 90s aerobics gear]] which seems strange for a Special Forces officer to wear (though her {{Stripperiffic}} ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' outfit is no better). Johnny Cage, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung in the second game wear spandex as well, to say nothing of Kitana, Jade and Mileena‘s [[LeotardOfPower leotards]]. ''VideoGame/MortalKombat3'' also gave us Kurtis Stryker and his backward cap (which ''MK9'' thankfully had him flip around).

* Early ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' games are guilty of this. Most noticeably Sonya with her [[WorkoutFanservice green 90s aerobics gear]] which seems strange for a Special Forces officer to wear (though her {{Stripperiffic}} ''[[VideoGame/MortalKombat9 MK9]]'' outfit is no better). Johnny Cage, Jax, Liu Kang, Shang Tsung in the second game wear spandex as well, to say nothing of Kitana, Jade and Mileena‘s [[LeotardOfPower leotards]].