History Main / OutdatedOutfit

* ''Series/MadMen'' covers the entire span of The60s but that doesn't mean that every character gets a new wardrobe according to every years' new trends. The older characters wear the same outfits from The50s or The40s like the three-piece suits of Roger Sterling and Bert Cooper, or the early 20th century shirt with cameo brooch wore by Jurassic secretary Ida Blankenship. Even the gorgeous Joan Harris sticks for most of the show to her Marilynesque wardrobe when it's becoming outdated in the late 1960s (she does eventually upgrade her style in the last seasons).

* In ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' set in 1922, flapper Millie tries to get her new friend Dorothy to change her old-fashioned long dresses for short skirts and bob her equally olf-fashioned long hair.[[/folder]]

* ''[[Literature/MikeHammer Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer]]''. 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.

* Oliver of the Series/BradyBunch, when he appears in ''[[https://scrappydooisfoundaliveinnebraska.tumblr.com/post/623928392772960256/nobody-had-to-die-batman-the-brave-and-bold nobody had to die]]'' is described as a "Baby John Lennon" (with the long hair and the round glasses) and the unnamed narrator describes his apparel as the product of a bygone era. [[BigSisterInstinct She still wants to protect him, though.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Fans}}'', Rumy's family is so old-fashioned that they may as well live in the 19th century. Her sister in particular could give [[The Simpsons Mr. Burns]] a run for his money as far as an inability to comprehend what people are into these days, and she's never seen out of a kimono.

* LongRunners are especially susceptible to this trope, even more so [[IconicOutfit if the outfit ends up becoming a vital part of the character.]] See [[Franchise/StreetFighter Chun-]][[ChineseGirl Li's]] [[{{Qipao}} blue qipao]] and [[VideoGame/FatalFury Terry]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Bogard's]] ponytail and trucker hat.

* ''Manga/StroyOfADumbPrefectAndHighSchoolGirlWithInappropriateSkirtLength'': Sukegawa dresses and acts like a ''[[JapaneseDelinquents sukeban]]'' from the 80s or 90s, before any of the characters were born. None of them except Izubuchi recognizes her long skirt and fingerless gloves as signs of delinquent fashion.

** ComicBook/MaryJaneWatson is a huge victim of this, being a fashion model during her appearances in the 1980s and 1990s. The funny thing was that the contemporary "[[EightiesHair big hair]]" look that Todd [=McFarlane=] gave her in the 1990s actually dated more quickly than her "so outdated it's cool again" 1960s hairstyle, which was then brought back.

* ComicStrip/{{Beetle Bailey}} still wears the standard Army uniform that was used between the late 40's and early 70's.

* {n ''Film/ThoroughlyModernMillie'' set in 1922, flapper Millie tries to get her new friend Dorothy to change her old-fashioned long dresses for short skirts and bob her equally olf-fashioned long hair.[[/folder]]

** Certain vampires are identified by their old-style clothes. (One of the more hilarious examples was in the episode that introduced Faith, where Faith is first seen dancing with a ''disco vampire''.) Creator/JossWhedon originally intended all vampires to wear [[FrozenFashionSense clothing matching the time period in which they died]], but realized that the concept was major NightmareRetardant. The first episode had a passing reference to the idea, with Buffy identifying a vampire based on his 1980s fashion.

* Steed in the ''Series/TheAvengers'',set in the mid-sixties, wears a bowler hat and old-fashioned suits, to match his classic cars and generally old-fashiond style. His partner, Mrs. Peel, by contrast wore very up-to-date (for the time) Mod fashions and drove an also modern for-the-time Lotus Elan.

* Steed in the ''Series/TheAvengers'',set in the mid-sixties, wears a bowler hat and old-fashioned suits, to match his cassic cars and generally old-fashiond style. His partner, Mrs. Peel, by contrast wore very up-to-date (for the time) Mod fashions and drove an also modern for-the-time Lotus Elan.

* Steed in the ''Series/Avengers'',set in the mid-sixties, wears a bowler hat and old-fashioned suits, to match his cassic cars and generally old-fashiond style. His partner, Mrs. Peel, by contrast wore very up-to-date (for the time) Mod fashions and drove an also modern for-the-time Lotus Elan.

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* Typhoid Mary, an enemy of Franchise/{{Daredevil}}, originally wore outfits based on NewWaveMusic. In the 2000s, this was replaced with leather.

* In the ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'' series, "pre-war" outfits are clearly 50s fashion despite that the war happened in the late 21st century. This is a major clue (among many others) that the game takes place in an alternate universe - the game is stuck in the 50s, mostly to afford the zeerust.
* Just... when does ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'' take place anyways? Just look at Miles! The game takes place TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture and he's wearing a ruffled cravat as if it was the Victorian era, although this seems to be something common to the Von Karma family he's from, and [[FirstPersonSmartass Phoenix has made snide comments to himself about his ruffles]].
* ''{{VideoGame/Shantae}}'' has a variation with Rottytops; she wears a sweat band, tank top and daisy duke combo in what is an Arabian-inspired setting, never mind the first game [[UnintentionalPeriodPiece coming out in 2002]][[note]]It was originally planned to be released in the 90s.[[/note]], yet Rottytops' wardrobe has stuck with the series since then, even after other characters got design changes.

* ComicBook/MistyKnight still wears a poofy 1970s-era afro (weirdly, though, it's far more exaggerated than her actual style in the '70s). ComicBook/LukeCage, on the other hand, has managed to get his shirt buttoned all the way up.

* ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} is the most extreme example that comes to mind. Although 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. She did have a more modern costume during her time with the Comicbook/NewWarriors.

* The BeehiveHairdo associated with Night Girl of the [[ComicBook/{{LegionOfSuper-Heroes}} Legion of Substitute Heroes]]. She did switch to 'letting her hair down' for a few years in 1970s, and again for the long-term in the early 1980s to the very end of the original Legion continuity in 1994.

* Men who don't normally wear business suits may keep one in the closet for special occasions and use it for years or decades because it doesn't get worn enough to be damaged. Sharp-eyed observers should be able to nail when a man bought his suit down to the year by looking at the cut.

* ComicBook/MistyKnight still wears a poofy 1970s-era afro (weirdly, though, it's far more exaggerated than her actual style in the '70s). {{ComicBook/Luke Cage|HeroForHire}}, on the other hand, has managed to get his shirt buttoned all the way up.

* ComicBook/JubileeMarvelComics is the most extreme example that comes to mind. Although 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. She did have a more modern costume during her time with the Comicbook/NewWarriors.

* ComicBook/{{Jubilee}} is the most extreme example that comes to mind. Although 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. She did have a more modern costume during her time with the Comicbook/NewWarriors.

* ComicBook/JimmyOlsen sometimes still wears a blazer and bowtie in ''Franchise/{{Superman}}''. Poked fun at in ''ComicBook/AllStarSuperman'', when Jimmy is voted worst dressed man in Metropolis. In that series, he also takes a shine to "Kryptonian Overpants". This trope changes depending on the decade, as blazers and bow-ties have gone in-and-out of style since Jimmy's debut.

* Superman himself. The "shorts over tights" thing was actually the outfit worn by athletes in the early 20th century and heavily associated with circus strongmen. So the "classic super-hero look" is [[OlderThanTheyThink actually over a century old.]] (And ironically the way that spandex outfits are sometimes worn with shorts brings the whole trope full-circle, with reality becoming fiction becoming reality again.)
* It's come full circle with Connor Kent's ComicBook/{{Superboy|1994}}. His leather-jacket, colorful outfit, piercings and surfer cut suggest a completely different personality than the one he was originally going for. He has updated his look a couple of times since then and is now a T-shirt and jeans kind of guy.

* Franchise/{{Tintin}}:

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* ''ComicStrip/{{Blondie}}'': Dagwood Bumstead once commented to a man on a park bench about how many "weirdos" were walking around the city. That man couldn't help but notice that Dagwood wears a suit with one giant button on the front of it. (Apparently, this is a holdover from the 1920s, although it's a good bet not many Tropers are old enough to confirm this.) Specifically, it's a single shirt stud in a particularly stiff, formal shirt meant exclusively for white tie and tails. It's not meant to be worn with anything else, and is all but extinct even there, with most modern formal shirts taking two or three studs. (The high-waisted trousers and mandatory waistcoat worth with white tie mean that the four-stud shirts used with tuxedos don't really work.)
* Most of the girls in ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' usually wear typically [[TheFifties 1950s]]-style dresses. (Lucy and Sally eventually started sporting slacks, but kept their coiffed '50s hairdos.) A late strip makes reference to ''Literature/HarryPotter'' but the kids still dress like it's the 1950s, 1960s at the latest.
* ''ComicStrip/NineChickweedLane'' - for a comic that's supposedly set in the present a lot of the characters dress in a style more suited to TheSixties or TheSeventies (turtleneck shirts and dresses for the ladies, tweed coats with elbow patches for the men) ... though considering that most of the characters are academics and a bit old-fashioned and conservative at that, this makes some sense at least for Juliette and her peers (less so for Edda).
* ComicStrip/{{Beetle Bailey}} still wears the standard Army uniform that was used between the late 40's and early 70's.
* Swedish military-humour character 91:an Karlsson still wears a blue uniform (outdated already when he was created in the 20's) despite most his comrades having switched to more modern camo.
* While not as pronounced as others here, ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'s owner Jon has [[SeventiesHair hair]], a collar shirt and shoes that firmly put his creation in the seventies. Given his DiscoDan tendencies and general social ineptitude, not to mention VagueAge, this actually suits his character quite well.
* Very conspicuous in ''ComicStrip/AndyCapp'' where every character's outfit ([[Main/RetroUniverse and the whole scenery surrounding them]]) is stuck in the late 50's- early 60's. This doesn't stop them from using smartphones in the more recent strips.
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** Spike has been using the same leather jacket since he looted it off of Nikki Wood in 1977, and has had the same bleached hair since at least before Billy Idol, seeing as it's been mentioned in canon that Billy stole his hair from Spike.