*The Fonz's black t-shirts

*Mrs. C no longer sporting her trademark beehive in the final season (and maybe the second to last, I don't really remember)

*Joanie's almost frizzy, tight, perm hairstyle - I guess, my key issue with this along with Scott Baio's hairstyle was that I didn't feel that Erin Moran's hairstyle was appropriate for the supposed time period (I guess early 1960s by this point) that Happy Day took place.

*Mr. C's aviator shades that he wore during the ninth season - Did Tom Bosley have some sort of temporary eye problem?

*Richie's porn/Jeff Foxworthy-style mustache (which Ron Howard sported for a good portion of the '80s like when he hosted SNL and appeared in the Return to Mayberry TV movie) in that two part episode from the final season involving his return, plus the final episode.

I liked Mrs. C's new hairstyle. She was overdue for a change! I thought it was cool they worked it into an episode, instead of it just starting without explanation. (It started in season 10, although the opening credits retained the older scenes of her with the old do.)


I also liked Fonz's black t-shirts. It was cool to switch it up every now and again. (Although he quit wearing them around the late 7th season or so, and never wore them again.)

They pretty much took liberties with almost everyone's hairstyles/looks after the first few years. Maybe they wanted to keep it somewhat looking like the current time, or didn't want to make the actors/actresses get specific haircuts just for the series.

The black T-shirt thing was ODD. lol

The aviator type glasses Mr. C wore, I like those.. They just looked cool on him, not sure why.. LOL

Definitely them not being true to the times.

Fonz' shirts and Mr. C's glasses: No opinion really.
Marion's hair: Nice to see a different style. The beehive made her look older than she was.
Joanie's hair: Not a period look, but at times I thought Erin was able to pull off the look pretty well, so it didn't bother me much.
Chachi's hair: Feathered, long cuts were definitely not period looks. Bad.
Richie's mustache: Definitely no. Maybe he and Mike Farrell (MASH) belonged to a mustache club in the '80s (lol).

Pretty much every period show of the era (Waltons, MASH, L & S) had similar anachronistic hairstyles, etc. When HD began, the primary male actors (except Fonzie) had short haircuts by most any standard. Look at Potsie: He went gradually from a short cut to a relatively long, feathered style. Ralph: Significantly longer as well.

I think the decline (in keeping the show looking like the time period it represented) began in season 6-7. In the first seasons they paid attention to detail, even the magazines. In later seasons, if you look closely you can see 80s looking "Glamour" & "Seventeen" magazines on the living room table. In some episodes extras are wearing Nikes, which did not exist in the 60s.

As for the hair...
-I prefered Richie's shorter hairdo. The one he had on Season 7 made him look older (although that was maybe the purpose, and he was older anyway)
-Joanie's hair was definitely not a '60s look, but since Erin usually had short hair she couldn't have a beehive or any other popular '60s look. She looked better with the shorter perm she started sporting on Season 9-onward.

-Fonz's black shirts: probably Henry had gained a few pounds and since black makes you look slimmer TPTB suggested the change.

It's too bad that they got lazy with the period styles during the later seasons. Some of the 60's era clothing and hairstyles were actually pretty groovy, and they could have had a lot of fun with them. Imagine Joanie with a Marlo Thomas flip or Chachi in a Nehru jacket.

The aviator type glasses Mr. C wore, I like those.. They just looked cool on him, not sure why.. LOL

Howard's shades however, made him look too much like a big shot (he manages a hardware store, it's not like he's a used car salesman) and not the blue color, old school dad we're normally used to seeing.

Those are excellent points regarding shoes and props, Chachi's clothes, Joanie's (and Rich's) hair, and Howard's glasses. Erin wore ponytails on Daktari but her hair was cut quite short when HD began. She later did have hers longer again and pulled back on HD, and could have done a cool flip or other style of the period.

I think too as far as Marion for example, remember that since HD was entering the 1960s as the seasons progressed, Marion could have on capri pants or something like Mary Tyler Moore wore in the home scenes on The Dick Van Dyke Show. IIRC, it was said that most women by those early 60s were wearing pants at home, so why not Marion?

I forgot to list Little House on the Prairie among period shows of the era that allowed 70s & 80s hairstyles to appear for the guys especially -- Almonzo and others sported hair that looked like Parker Stevenson / Shaun Cassidy Hardy Boys styling...!

http://www.imdb.com/media/rm846108672/nm0829017

I think the biggest prop mistake was when Fonzie had to talk to Mr. and Mrs. C in the middle of the night for some reason, and Howard was not only wearing a watch to bed, but...an LCD digital watch?

Something tells me that the cast might have rebelled against the '50s style haircuts and outfits after a few seasons, and since the show was a hit anyhow Garry probably decided not to make too big of a fuss about the situation (and something similar happened on Laverne & Shirley after the first few seasons as well). And it should be noted that Marion Ross was really the last holdout in that regard, as her look stayed roughly the same until Season 10.

That said, Erin and Scott's "1980s hair" did reach a ridiculous level by the final seasons.

I hated the way they dumbed down Potsie. I actually liked him in the first few seasons but to me he was un-bearable after pretty much season 5. I think his first season was the best.