Top 15 most regrettable fashion styles Brits wish they could erase from history

Brits’ biggest style regrets include shell suits, low-rise jeans and peplum tops. A poll of 2,000 adults found overly distressed jeans, giant shoulder pads and cargo trousers with too many pockets also ranked highly as the outfits they shudder at when looking back.

Others still question what they were thinking wearing tiny handbags and bedazzling clothing with rhinestones. Gen Zs under 24 are the generation most haunted by their fashion faux pas, followed closely by older Millennials aged between 35 and 44. Of the 93% who dare to look at old pics, nearly a third (30%) admit they cringe at their former selves.

The research was commissioned by Samsung which has partnered with comedian and former model Michelle de Swarte to celebrate Galaxy AI and Photo Assist’s Generative Edit.

De Swarte draws on her years in the fashion spotlight to show how Brits can finally “fix” their fashion history.

She said: “I used to be a model, which means there’s a lot of photographic evidence of me taking fashion very seriously while wearing things I absolutely shouldn’t have trusted. Back then, if a shoot went wrong, you just had to live with it forever – bad bags, loud logos, people blinking, the lot.

“Fashion should be playful, not something that jumps out of your camera roll and humbles you years later, so being able to keep the memory and quietly fix the bits that didn’t age well is a welcome evolution.”

The study showed more than a third (34%) look back at old photos of themselves throughout the year and wish they could ‘undo’ or change a specific outfit choice.

Respondents said they would pay an average of £26 to have all of their unwanted pics vanished from the internet forever.

A third feel “pained” by the evidence of their past fashion decisions, with 30% of those with pics on their social media reckoning their feeds are like a minefield of their biggest fashion regrets.

As such, three in 10 delete the photos entirely, 26% archive a post so no one else could see it and 19% un-tag themselves.

Over half (55%) of those on social media would feel more confident about their pages if they had the ability to erase fashion mistakes from the past without deleting the pic. And 22% would use this tool to fix and edit outfits on old online photos.

Of those looking back at old pics, 17% have deleted one because they didn’t like their hair or makeup, they weren’t looking at the camera (15%) or because of their dodgy outfit (14%).

And 37% of them would welcome AI tools that could adapt old images by adding modern items – although 41% would not use this and keep those pics just the way they were.

Annika Bizon from Samsung, which has launched the Galaxy S25 Ultra, said: “While fashion trends are constantly evolving, our research clearly shows that photos of our past style decisions can feel permanent.”

TOP 15 MOST REGRETTABLE STYLES WORN:

1. Shell suits
2. Giant shoulder pads
3. Overly distressed jeans
4. Low-rise jeans
5. Peplum tops
6. Cargo trousers with too many pockets
7. Velour tracksuits
8. Slogan tees
9. Spray-on skinny jeans
10. Leg warmers
11. Skinny scarves on men
12. Stacked jewellery
13. Men’s bootcut jeans with pointy shoes
14. Extra small handbags
15. Rhinestone everything