The MVP of the show, the comical glue holding the Friends group together, Chandler Bing is the cool and timeless king of layering vests over shirts (a true pioneer of the trend). In “The One With The Thumb” episode from the first season in 1994, Chandler attempts to teach Joey how to smoke for an acting job but ends up resuming his old habit instead. And he does all that while suavely pulling off a denim-shirt-and-chinos combination with an open wool vest on top. Also, notable mention goes to all his frequent camp-collared shirts, cosy sweatshirts and fun-patterned ties in his office ensembles. Oh, and of course the Velveteen Rabbit costume in season eight.

Ross Geller was never the most stylish of the men in Friends. In the style stakes he fell way down below Chandler and Joey. Even Central Perk’s Gunther outgunned him in the fashion department. Nevertheless, Ross was a trier and he tried his hand at all sorts of style including Miami Vice-style electric-blue suit with a yellow T-shirt, extreme tanning and teeth whitening, plus the one where he got his ear pierced. The point is Ross pushed the style boat out, even when it made him the butt of the joke, and there’s something admirable in that sense of adventure. Sometimes it all fell into place. The “Frankie Say Relax” tee moment was a classic Ross mishap. But it was also endearing, and in its makeshift-muscle-top way, showed Rachel – who’d just dumped him for what felt like the millionth time – exactly what she might be missing.

Though less of a cultural and generational touchstone than the sticky situation Ross found himself in season five, Joey Tribbiani’s penchant for leather was more consistent – he was, after all, the member of the gang Dr Geller turned to for advice in his hour of leather-induced despair. It says a lot that the costume department dressed Joey in a leather blazer for the pilot episode to signal his general bad boy-ness, and continued on that path throughout the first few seasons with pieces like this vest – which might just be the sartorial embodiment of the 1990s – until his character development necessitated a softer side. “I divided the boys into textures,” the show’s costume designer Ms Debra McGuire told the Guardian a few years back. “Ross was tweedy, Chandler had a lot of vintage and racing-stripe shirts, Joey had leather jackets, then later sweaters and chenille.”

Talking about Ross’s style usually means focussing on the risks he takes (OK, failures) but let’s admit: the man’s nothing if not confident. He looks great in a tux (see “The One Where No One’s Ready”) and the rest of the time, he has mastered the art of dressing for the job you want: it’s just that the job in question is “tenured professor of palaeontology”. Which brings us to the dinosaur tie (season three, episode 12, if you’re interested). Embarrassing novelty or well-chosen highlight? We’re not certain Ross is aiming for sprezzatura here, but if Prada can have robots or hibiscus flowers on its ties, let him have his dinosaurs. Just don’t make the roaring noise, OK?