Bring back hula hoops

SUMMERABILIA:Cheesecloth, low-factor sun oil and hypercolour T-shirts - where have they all gone?

Miami Vice jacketsWhen Miami Vice became a hit show in the early 1980s, boys rushed out to buy pastel-coloured jackets so they could look like the show's handsome star, Don Johnson. To complete the Sonny Crockett look, we'd roll the sleeves up, trying to give the impression that we meant business. In most cases, however, it didn't have the desired effect - instead of looking like Don Johnson, most of us ended up looking like Pee-wee Herman.

Factor 2 OilVisit the suncream counter in any shop, and factor 50 lotion with added UV protection is placed prominently on the display, along with aftersun cream, skin damage repair cream and - quite possibly - extra-thick plaster-of-Paris total sunblock.

To find a low-factor oil, you have to peer into the darkest corners, or ask the assistant, who will give you reproachful looks and might even call the gardai to prevent you from harming yourself. In older days, though, Factor 2 had its place in the sun, and we slathered it on to get maximum burn in what little holiday time we had. And if the shops ran out, well, there was always cooking oil.

CheeseclothBefore the tyranny of cotton, we were free to wear clothes made from all sorts of materials, including nylon, rayon and polyester. Wearing this stuff in hot weather, however, had disastrous olfactory effects, although it did ensure that sales of deodorants remained brisk. Still, we refused to bow to boring old cotton, but we did find a compromise - a loose-woven variety of cotton known as "cheesecloth". Not only did it keep you cool, but it also showed you were cool, too - a cheesecloth grandad shirt was the height of hippie haute couture. Why was it called cheesecloth? Because it was first used in cheesemaking. It was also handy for making tofu, so there was another reason for hippies to like it.

Hula HoopsSummertime brings the kids out on the street to play all sorts of games. Before happy slapping, however, kids indulged in more innocent pastimes, such as hopscotch, jacks and twirling their hula hoops. Although hula hoops are still around, they used to be a serious summer craze - walk down any suburban street on a summer's day and you'd see crowds of kids with their hula hoops, each trying to outdo the other with how long they could keep it up. You didn't see haunches on these kids - if we could get hula hoops to make a proper comeback, we might have a cheap remedy for childhood obesity.

Hypercolour T-shirtsYou can't do all that much with a T-shirt. You can put everything from band logos to "I'm with Stupid" on your tee, or you can tie-dye them, but that's about it. Wait - we can make them do a neat trick - change colour when the sun comes out. Hypercolour T-shirts were heat-sensitive - their secret was in the thermochromic dye, which became activated when the temperature went up. It was supposed to go back to its original colour when cooled, but inevitably it would get damaged in the wash, leaving you with a T-shirt that looked like you'd dribbled down it.