There is only one man in the music world who can dominate eight solid, uninterrupted minutes of an SNL musical performance. Fortunately, it just so happens to be same man who has been squeezing his magical tiny butt into outfits as fearlessly deviant as his X-rated lyrics for nearly four decades. Since Prince (née Prince Rogers Nelson) entered the music scene in 1979, he’s delighted our eyes with his eclectic, boundary-pushing stage costumes and “everyday” clothes. From the high-cut women’s panties he sported in the early ‘80s, to his Purple Rain–era love of high-neck ruffle shirts, metallic purple suits, and perfect curls, to his countless crop tops, to that time he wore an assless bright-yellow jumpsuit onstage at the 1991 VMAs, Prince has been an inspiration. After all, everyone and anyone can appreciate a butt cutout. (Plus, he’s back with a new album, and a new look that includes pre-trend white turtlenecks and three-eyed sunglasses by fellow Minnesotans Coco and Breezy.) What better time to gaze in wonder at nearly 40 years of Prince’s best fashions?
Click through our slideshow to see gold spangly suits, mindbogglingly tight pants, and, surprisingly, not one raspberry beret.