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Hana Carter

Madonna's 40 years of style: From being a 'boy toy' to refusing to cover up

From pointy bras to black suits and top hats, Madonna has proven over her 40 years of making music that she's just as much the Queen of Style as she is Queen of Pop.

The 63-year-old has recently been setting the internet ablaze recently with a consistent stream of racy snaps, but her daring style isn't anything new.

The mum-of-six has been refusing to cover up for decades and has left a trail of smashed taboos in her wake.

1980s

Worlds away from her current fishnet and S&M vibes, Madonna wore a black bow in her back-combed blonde hair in her Lucky Star music video in 1983.

She wore a black skirt over leggings and had stars and crucifixes dangling from her ears and around her waist.

A few years later, she gave her style a total revamp during an appearance at Madison Square Garden in 1985.

She opted for thrift-shop look during The Virgin Tour which saw her wear a lace purple crop top with a black bra peeking through.

She accessorised with spiked leather bracelets and, still a fan of the crucifix jewellery, a large cross on her chest.

She wore footless fishnets - again, something she still enjoys wearing today - with a purple bow in her wavy blonde locks.

To add an extra pop of colour to the lavender ensemble, she added a bright patterned jacket and a pair of kitten-heeled boots, which really captured the era.

Throughout the eighties Madonna continued to wow fans with her eclectic wardrobe.

Maintaining a balance of sexy and quirky, Madonna's style soon inspired fans to buy their own lace fingerless gloves and slip on the fishnets.

At her first MTV Video Music Awards Madonna rocked up in a white corset with a tulle skirt peppered with hearts and a pair of white elbow-length lace gloves to complete the look.

She accessorised with a belt buckle that featured the words "BOY TOY" across her stomach.

In her hit Material Girl music video Madge channelled Marilyn Monroe as she wore a bright pink strapless William Travilla dress.

Still a clear fan of gloves, Madonna wore long pink ones to match her dress that was inspired from Marilyn's performance of Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend in the 1953 film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

In 1989 Madonna smashed taboos as she ditched the dresses for a suit in her Express Yourself music video.

She added a monocle to her boxy black suit and slicked back hair.

1990s

Ramping up the sex appeal once more, Madonna wore a long-sleeved translucent lace top tucked into a tight black skirt for her Vogue music video.

In perhaps one of her most iconic looks she stepped out with the famous cone bra on her Blonde Ambition Tour.

The spiky pink corset designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, has been fashion inspiration for years after.

In 1991 Madonna harnessed her Marilyn Monroe style once more at the Oscars where she wore a sparkly white gown and a white fur draped over her shoulders.

A year later Madonna released Erotica which was a turning point for her work.

She had started to explore sexuality within her music and her videos and in the album's title track she took on the role as the masked Mistress Dita.

As Dita she wore a sheer black blouse with a white tie and cuffs and completed the look with a thick black necktie.

Embracing her sexy side, she stepped out in PVC hotpants, a sequinned black bra and a huge diamanté head dress.

For her outfit on the Girlie Show Tour she added a pair of shiny leather platform lace up boots with, you guessed it, fishnets.

2000s

As we enter the noughties, Madonna was joined on stage by Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera who both wore white outfits inspired from her previous Like A Virgin era.

Madonna dressed as a ring master in a black top hat, black corset and knee-high boots.

She had a long chain that draped from her hip and wore a velvet jacket with sharp shoulder pads.

This was also the outfit she wore during the famous snog that she and Britney shared after she stripped her coat off.

In her 2005 Hung Up video she went back to her 80s style in a pink leotard and purple sequinned belt as she pranced around a mirrored dance studio.

In 2013 she went back to her dark hair and gave her look a punk makeover for the Met Gala.

The theme was "Punk: Chaos to Courture" and she nailed it with a belted and studded plaid jacket over a fishnet bodysuit and hot pink heels.

In 2015 she wore a white leopard-print dress, a hot pink studded jacket, and had dyed the ends of her long blonde hair bright pink.

She showed that she could keep up with the new pop stars emerging in her "B**** I'm Madonna" music video.

And in 2018 she delivered again for the Met Gala for their "Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination" theme.

She wore Paul Gaultier's black dress with a huge peticoat and a netted veil across her face. As always, she used this as a perfect opportunity to add a few crosses and wore a crown full of them.

Recently she has come under fire for her change in appearance (INSTAGRAM)

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In more recent times Madonna has been pushing the boundaries when it comes to her clothing.

The 63-year-old has been regularly posting fishnet-clad half-naked photos on Instagram and fans have mixed opinions on it.

Fans have recently claimed that she is "not the same person" after she took to Instagram to share a new topless snap.

Many suggested the singer had opted for plastic surgery to achieve her age-defying looks.

In 2012 she said: "I am certainly not against plastic surgery. However, I am absolutely against having to discuss it."

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