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Eighties fashion, take four: it's back and badder than ever.

Okay, you really know you're getting old when you see a trend come around again — for the four or fifth time!

Flicking through one of my favourite overseas mags, I was startled by all the tacky, wacky '80s gear. Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing '80s fashion — it was fun, zany, colourful and original. But I guess I'm feeling a sense of déjà vu. Wasn't I only rocking it a few years back? Was it really time to show its face again?

Think skinny ties, shoulder pads, acid wash jeans, floral prints, tight spiral perms. I could even drop tie-dye into the equation — although I'm pretty sure it was a '90s trend, along with Doc Martens. Clearly I am getting so old I'm losing my memory.

Social commentator Peter York claims we're not so much returning to the '80s, it's simply that we never left them. "The things we strived for in the 1980s are still true today. We've just got used to the career-driven, celebrity-obsessed life we had then."

Or is it just a marketing stunt — yet another way to attempt to appeal to a lucrative market: young professionals who wax nostalgic about their teenage years? Hell, I wish I could turn back time a few years. Maybe turning back your wardrobe is the next best thing?

Whatever the case, New Kids on the Block are releasing a new album, so I've decided if they can turn back the clock, so can I! It's time to put on a headband (again) and get physical (again), 'cos the metal is getting heavy and the spandex is about to get tight.