Mod phase (circa 1964-66)
The Look: Bangs; short, three-button Italian jackets; Lambretta scooters
Influences: Emerging post-war Italian designers, the French new wave, American soul music. Fronted the band Davie Bowie and the Lower Third
Hippie/folkie phase (circa 1967-71)
The Look: Long, blond tresses; dresses; dippy, fey, folkie lyrics
Influences: "The Hobbit," Andy Warhol, the Velvet Underground, mime artist Lindsay Kemp
Albums: "Man of Words, Man of Music," "The Man Who Sold the World," "Hunky Dory"
Ziggy Stardust phase (circa 1971-74)
Albums: "The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars," "Aladdin Sane"; to a lesser extent, "Diamond Dogs"
The look: Orange mullet, platform shoes and shiny, skintight jumpsuits with coast-to-coast shoulders, designed by Kansai Yamamoto; Kabuki-style makeup. Boy George and the future members of Duran Duran were taking notes
Influences: Alex and his dapper droogs in the film "A Clockwork Orange"; Little Richard, Jean Genet, Japanese No Theatre, "Vile Bodies" novel by Evelyn Waugh, 1920s Hollywood decadence
Plastic soul phase (circa 1975)
The Look: Short jackets, pegged pants with long pocket chain, regrettable plaids, U.S. Air Force flight suit decades before George W. Bush
Influences: Philly soul, the Ohio Players, Luther Vandross, Latin clubs, guitarist Carlos Alomar and, obviously, America
Albums: "Young Americans"
Berlin/Thin White Duke phase (circa 1976-80)
The Look: 1930s Eric Von Stroheim chic, including slicked-back hair, white formal shirts, vests and jodhpurs; pancake makeup, emotional detachment, unfortunate quotes about Adolph Hitler being the first rock star. Appeared on "Saturday Night Live" in prison matron drag
Influences: German expressionist films, Weimar cabaret, synth-rock pioneers Kraftwerk, the Cold War, loads of cocaine
Albums: "Station to Station"; "The Berlin Trilogy" of "Low," "Heroes" and "Lodger"; to a lesser extent, "Scary Monsters," whose cover featured Bowie as a damaged harlequin
MTV phase (circa 1983-87)
The Look: Sinatra-esque entertainer persona, white suit with strategically loosened tie, teased blonde hair, elaborate touring sets, long form videos such as "Blue Jean"
Influences: MTV, Iggy Pop, producer Nile Rodgers of Chic, club mixes.
Albums: "Let's Dance," "Tonight," "Never Let Me Down"
The tailored phase (circa 1989-?)
The Look: Conservative pinstriped Italian suits and scruffy buccaneer-style facial hair, as seen on the eponymous 1989 album "Tin Machine," Bowie's avant garde hard rock band. With notable exceptions, such as distressed Alexander McQueen-designed British Union Jack frock on the cover of 1997's "Earthling," the elegantly suited, slightly disheveled dandy would be Bowie's default look, more or less, from here on in.
Influences: The Italians, Saville Row
Albums: "Tin Machine," "Tin Machine II"
