THEY say the 1970s were the decade that fashion forgot, but you only have to browse today's fashion rails to know that's nonsense.

Flares, denim jackets, kaftans, floral prints and long skirts are still very much in vogue almost half a century on from the age of flower power.

Doesn't every decade have its own sartorial shockers?

My teenage years were in the 1980s – and what fun we had! We flounced around in ra-ra skirts (with knee-high socks and Dr Martens shoes) and if that wasn't eye-catching enough, there were always the neon skin-tight trousers, oversized T-shirts and leg warmers to help you make a style statement.

This summer, it's the turn of the 1990s to hit the fashion merry-go-round. Cargo pants are back with a bang – made popular the first-time around when worn by girl band All Saints. This was a boyish look and required slim hips to pull it off. A flat tummy helped too, since they were often teamed with a tight-fitting, crop top.

Chances are if you wore them first time round, you will be steering well clear this time (but well done you if you still have slim hips and a washboard tum two decades on!)

More likely it will be your offspring who will be enjoying this trend, which will be new to them, but old hat to us.

Originality is a rare thing in fashion these days. When items do break through, they tend to be rather extreme and, if we are honest, pretty silly. Who remembers furry sandals? Surely, one of the most ridiculous trends to ever take hold. Ripped jeans were another. Back in the 80s, these were the thing to wear, and we trawled second-hand clothes shops and burrowed into jumble sales (remember them?) hoping to hit the jackpot and find some worn Levis with holes in them. Fast forward 30 years and Topshop were selling rail after rail of jeans with identical rips at the knee. Teens lapped them up, while parents shook their heads in disbelief at having to part with £40 for a pair of ripped trousers.

But it's the job of parents, isn't it, to disapprove of their teenager's fashion choices? Back in my youth, besides a messy bedroom, my appearance was a real source of tension in the family home. I remember shaving one side of my head to be like Grace Jones and proudly showing it off to my mum and dad. You would have thought I'd told them I was pregnant; they were furious. So much so that Dad took a black sack into my room and filled it with all my favourite "finds" from jumble sales. I never saw those clothes again.

Being a mum of a teenage daughter, I hope I am more reasonable with her fashion choices. So far that's been pretty easy because she isn't an exhibitionist like I was.

In fact, sometimes I feel that I am the one under scrutiny.

The author Kathy Lette likened having a teenage daughter to living with the Taliban. Young girls can be so disapproving of what their mothers wear. Woe betide you wear anything too short, too bright, too low-cut, too trendy. Or worse – buy something their friend has, or want to borrow something from their wardrobe.

It's enough to push you into wearing that ra-ra skirt again.

I'VE dusted down my trusty (and rusty) old bike and started cycling again.

At first, it was out of necessity: I needed to get to York Hospital for a series of physio appointments and this was the quickest and cheapest way to do it.

But then I realised I actually quite liked cycling. At the weekend, we had a ride out to a country pub. Despite being caught in a downpour and having to get off to push the old Raleigh up a steep hill near Kirkham Abbey, I rather enjoyed it.

And I'd cycle more – if I felt safer.

Almost every time I've been out, I've had a near miss with a car or van. My husband, who cycles to work, says this is a daily occurrence for him.

I try, where I can, to use cycle paths and avoid main roads. But it's not always possible.

It feels like you are taking your life in your hands when you head out on a bicycle.

York is a long way from being a truly cycle-friendly city.