Hold on to your (cowboy) hats, because I’m about to (not quite scientifically) prove to you that, 24 years after it ended, Dallas is still influencing fashion in a major way. When I was growing up in the 80s, Dallas was compulsory viewing in our house. Yes, I do mean compulsory. Whatever was going on, my mum had a rule that it all stopped for Dallas – homework, chores, sibling squabbles, even if it was actually past our bedtimes – every Wednesday night, my mum, stepdad (begrudgingly), me, my five brothers and sisters and Sloopy the dog would race in to the living room, leap onto our alloted (and fiercely fought for) beanbags and faux-black-leather-and-chrome sofa spaces, and await with baited breath for the answers to last week’s cliffhanger.

Perhaps the reason Dallas had such a huge influence on my sartorial life (though I didn’t know the word then), was that we lived in a large white farmhouse in the country, surrounded by fields and horses? Perhaps it was that our family was large, dramatic and alternatively squabbling/best friends on a daily basis? Maybe because my initials are JR? Anyway, folks, may I present the evidence for the eternal fashion power of Dallas:

Peachy Blusher

Volume

Dungarees

Hats

Cowboy Chic

Lip gloss

Jumpsuits

Suede fringing

Jewel brights – never be afraid of colour

The power blouse

Stay in the closet please… clip-on earrings, red leather, shoulder pads, and blue eyeshadow up to the eyebrow (sorry, Sue-Ellen!)