Michael Jackson Style Evolution: From Child Star To Mega Star (PHOTOS)

There is no disputing that Michael Jackson was the King of Pop, but he was also a sultan of style.

MJ was an original. His one-of-a-kind ensembles dazzled millions and sparked countless trends.

When it came to Michael's iconic fashion--like his zipper-embellished red leather jacket, high-water pants, military-inspired outfits, fresh fedora and single rhinestoned glove--he was in a class all his own. Michael dictated what the world wanted to wear, while these days all it takes is a quick Google search to find out the designer duds a celeb is rocking and a credit card to buy the exact look.

Michael's style was, and still is, so popular that his clothes are currently headlining their own world tour. Now that's what you call swag.

It's been three years since his tragic passing and MJ is still moonwalking his way into the hearts of future generations -- there are already toddlers fully obsessed with the legend.

Although a string of cosmetic plastic surgeries and vitiligo drastically altered his appearance over the years, Michael's style remained the epitome of cool. And because he was an international star since the tender age of five, we've had the awesome opportunity to see his style evolve more than most any other star.

As today would have been Michael's 54th birthday, we're taking a look back at the King of Pop's epic style -- from his bell bottom wearing days with The Jackson 5 to his showstopping solo career.

What were your favorite MJ fashion moments? Make sure to vote on the looks in the slideshow below.

Loading Slideshow

• 1968

  CIRCA 1968: R&B quintet 'Jackson 5' pose for a portrait in circa 1968. Clockwise from bottom left: Michael Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Marlon Jackson. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1970

  CIRCA 1970: Pop singer Michael Jackson of the R&B quintet 'Jackson 5' performs onstage in circa 1970. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1970

  CIRCA 1970: Pop singer Michael Jackson of the R&B quintet 'Jackson 5' poses for a portrait in circa 1970. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1971

  DECEMBER 1971: Pop singer Michael Jackson of the R&B quintet 'Jackson 5' performs onstage wearing a bright patterned shirt in December 1971. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1971

  LOS ANGELES - JUNE 1971: Pop singer Michael Jackson of the R&B quintet 'Jackson 5' poses for a portrait wearing a Mickey Mouse t-shirt in circa 1971. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1972

  LOS ANGELES - APRIL 20: Michael Jackson poses for a photo shoot at his Hollywood Hills home on April 20, 1972 in Los Angeles California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1972

  Michael Jackson of the Jackson Five, portrait, London, November 1972. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)

• 1973

  American singer Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009) on stage with the Jackson Five at the Inglewood Forum in California, 26th August 1973. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1974

  American singer Michael Jackson (1958 - 2009) posing in New York in 1974. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)

• 1975

  JAMAICA - MARCH 01: Photo of Michael JACKSON and JACKSON FIVE; Posed group portrait, full length L-R Tito, Jackie, Michael, Jermaine and Marlon Jackson (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)

• 1976

  LOS ANGELES - SEPTEMBER 7: Pop singer Michael Jackson poses for a portrait session at home on September 7, 1976 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1979

  1979: Pop singer Michael Jackson attends an event wearing a sequined shirt and a bow tie in 1979. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1979

  NEW ORLEANS, UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 3: Michael Jackson performing on stage with The Jacksons on their Destiny Tour at the Municipal Auditorium on October 3,1979 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Ebet Roberts/Redferns)

• 1981

  American pop singer Michael Jackson carries the two American Music Awards he won for his album 'Off the Wall,' they are for Favorite Male Vocalist - Soul and R&B, and Favorite Album - Soul and R&B, Los Angeles, January 30, 1981. (Photo by Frank Edwards/Getty Images)

• 1983

  1983: Portrait of American pop star Michael Jackson wearing a red leather jacket at the opening of the stage musical, 'Dream Girls,' Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty Images)

• 1983

  LONDON -1983 : Michael Jackson at the BPI awards to collect an award on behalf of Barbra Streisand held in London 1983.(Photo by Dave Hogan/Getty Images)

• 1984

  1984: Pop Star Michael Jackson performs onstage in 1984. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1984

  11th Annual American Music Awards--Michael Jackson (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage)

• 1986

  The 14th Annual American Music Awards--Michael Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor (Photo by Barry King/WireImage)

• 1988

  MN - 1988: Pop singer Michael Jackson performs onstage during his 'Bad World Tour' in 1988. (Photo by Jim Steinfeldt/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

• 1990

  Michael Jackson (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)

• 1993

  The 35th Annual GRAMMY Awards--Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

• 1993

  Michael Jackson is Honored With Hollywood Walk of Fame (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)

• 1996

  AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND - NOVEMBER 10: Michael Jackson performs on stage during is 'HIStory' world tour concert at Ericsson Stadium November 10, 1996 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

• 1997

  "Happy Birthday, Elizabeth Taylor: A Celebration of Life"

• 1999

  SUN CITY, SOUTH AFRICA - SEPTEMBER 5: Former South African President Nelson Mandela (L) claps his hands after American pop-icon Michael Jackson was given a lifetime achievement award during the Kora All Africa music awards in Sun City some 120 km northeast of Johannesburg , 04 September 1999. (Photo credit should read ADIL BRADLOW/AFP/Getty Images)

• 2001

  The 16th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

• 2001

  Michael Jackson Tribute Celebrating 30th Anniversary of His Solo Years

• 2003

  The 3rd Annual BET Awards -Michael Jackson presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to James Brown (Photo by Steve Grayson/WireImage for BET Entertainment)

• 2004

  WASHINGTON - MARCH 31: Singer Michael Jackson waves to fans after a meeting with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) on March 31, 2004 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Jackson was on Capitol Hill to meet with African-American lawmakers and offer his support on the fight against AIDS and help for African children. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

• 2005

  SANTA MARIA, CA - JUNE 3: Michael Jackson waves to fans as he arrives fo closing arguements in his child molestation trial at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse June 3, 2005 in Santa Maria, California. Jackson is charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

• 2006

  Michael Jackson during MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2006 - Press Room at Yoyogi National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Nathan Shanahan/FilmMagic)

• 2009

  LONDON - MARCH 05: Michael Jackson announces plans for Summer residency at the O2 Arena at a press conference held at the O2 Arena on March 5, 2009 in London, England. (Photo by Eamonn McCormack/WireImage)

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Comments

[Martin Pagels]

05:52 AM on 09/06/2012

I love Michael from the bottom of my heart.

[PenDragon57]

11:07 AM on 09/03/2012

Thanks for the article highlighting Jackson's interest in fashion. Just another way he influenced modern culture - aside from music, dance, art and poetry - he was and still is a trendsetter in the world of flamboyant attire.

Referring to some of the comments here, it still astounds me that people continue to believe that Jackson's altered appearance was by design. Don't you people read? Jackson's skin color changed because he had a particularly virulent strain of the skin disease Vitiligo, which strips the pigment from the skin (and lashes and eyebrows too). In the early days the lighter patches were covered with dark make-up but eventually the white patches became so extensive that total de-pigmentation was the only option for a man so constantly in the public eye. Although it's true that he did undergo surgery on that oh-so-famous nose voluntarily at first, the fact that he also suffered from the auto-immune disease Lupus, meant that the surgery did not heal as it should, enforcing more corrective surgery which was not successful. There's no evidence that he had cheek implants, his jaw widened or any other constructive surgery just for the hell of it.

So before making cruel comments about someone suffering the ravages of two different skin diseases, remember it could just as easily have happened to you.

[onptlss]

02:32 PM on 09/04/2012

Most people are disinformed, ignorant, or simply hate the fact some special personalities like Mr.Jackson can have that amount of success. Inconsciously, they want to take those superstars down. Michael had VITILIGO and LUPUS, that is true. But most people don't wanna know. They prefer their own freaking stories, that makes them confortable with their own ignorance, jealousy and lack of achievement in life.

[beinginformed]

09:30 PM on 09/02/2012

Michael was beautiful at any age, inside and outside.

[Deborah Malone Sargeant]

11:37 PM on 08/31/2012

I am available to EDIT this page! Please edit and correct the spelling for title: REMEMBERING.

[greetings earthling]

08:34 PM on 08/31/2012

From handsome black man to ugly white woman.

[clarke101]

07:26 PM on 08/31/2012

If by "Epic" style, you mean WEIRD and CRAZY, then I agree with you. I'm sure somebody else dressed him and chose the clothes for his performances and video's.

[corlista]

06:18 PM on 08/30/2012

Michael, you were unparalleled, so enormously gifted and able to bring so much joy to so many. I hope you know - wherever you are - how hugely the world misses you.

[jmanrod]

12:47 AM on 08/30/2012

Cute, natural Black Kid, Brown in late teens to mid-twenties, White after 35- Man produced, medical metamorphosis painful and expensive. Michael was bound and determined to join the White race- How sad he couldn't accept and didn't like being Black. The root of a decent existance on this earth is accepting and better yet, liking what you were born, then doing the best with it. Not Michael. Just an observation. He didn't effect my life, so, truly it's a "who cares" situation to me. I don't think Michael or his family ever felt for my or many other people's situation.

[Sneekycheeks]

02:58 PM on 08/30/2012

I pretty much feel the same way, I mean he was a musical genius I will give him that but after the Thriller album I was pretty much done. I still listen to his old stuff when he was with his brothers, and some stuff after Thriller, but I haven't actually bought anything since Thriller. By the time of his passing he didn't even look white any more, he looked like a ghost like he was living but not really living his death was tragic and very sad and now he leaves a legacy of which his family is desperately trying to tear down by fighting over his money(kids money) tragic indeed.

[111FAS]

08:22 PM on 09/02/2012

You must be in tight with jmanrod, huh?

[pydollwillie]

11:15 PM on 09/02/2012

To Sneekycheeks & jmanrod... please educate yourself about the autoimmune disease vitiligo before making such crass remarks.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitiligo/DS00586

[111FAS]

08:21 PM on 09/02/2012

Oh boy, you're a piece of work jmanrod, seriously! You'd make a perfect journalist by joining the lame forces of the MEDIAbeast. It's my conviction to correct the comments and or opinions (your observation) of those who simply spew out tabloid garbage about Michael Jackson without reading the facts first. WRONG >Michael was bound and determined to join the White race< WRONG Michael Jackson was bound and determined, as an entertainer who was constantly in the public eye, to correct the pigmentation of a skin disorder known as vitiligo with the medication that was prescribed to him. He had way more white patches on his body than he did brown.
WRONG> How sad he couldn't accept and didn't like being Black< WRONG Michael Jackson has publicly spoken numerous times of his pride in being a black man.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBaX5ND2huU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctTA11qZJ0A

If he didn’t affect your life, why make any comments about him at all and why make comments that are degrading and untrue? I guess that’s how you tabloid lyin’ people operate.

[Florha Jones]

12:46 AM on 08/30/2012

I will always love you, Michael.

[Rubberbandman]

12:28 AM on 08/30/2012

The greatest entertainer to have ever lived, period.

[KickstandCat]

09:06 PM on 08/29/2012

Miss you lots, Michael. Thanks for everything.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=9QwaGnsQez4&feature=endscreen

[Sandiland]

08:50 PM on 08/29/2012

Michael Jackson was a genius and a beautiful human being

[bluesunday10]

01:11 PM on 09/01/2012

....... that also diddled children

[justicepending]

11:02 AM on 09/03/2012

Words are powerful. They can be used as tools for good, as well as weapons that harm.

Before any one of us accuses someone/anyone of grievous acts, we owe to the person who we are accusing, as well as to our credibility and integrity, to research the facts.

[drandlph]

05:09 PM on 08/29/2012

The "King of all Kings".....My main man MJ. I'm 50 years old and I've been a hardcore fan since "I want you back". What a beautiful human being!! My favorite CD is HISTORY.....so deep. Next was Invincible, then Off the Wall....Favorite outfit was the Billie Jean Video outfit......Most famous person ever.....Hee Hee Hee......

[Sneekycheeks]

02:53 PM on 08/30/2012

The "KING OF ALL KINGS".........really? You might want to rethink that comment, I'm just saying.

[Little Susie]

12:14 AM on 08/31/2012

yeah!!! King of all the Kings ... !! His Life was really Royal ... n I still remember that Greatest King who is best in all d kings i have ever seen in my life ..!! ^_^ Long Live King Of Pop in our hearts..!! :)))

[111FAS]

04:02 PM on 09/02/2012

You had to of known someone would comment on your comment, right? "She's entitled to say what she wants to say. You might want to rethink YOUR comment, jus' sayin'"

[M Smoove]

04:51 PM on 08/29/2012

They've been playing Michael's videos all day on the music video channel, and I'm lovin it!!!

You Will Always Be The Greatest Michael!!!

[LOLAMarie1]

12:20 AM on 08/31/2012

AAAW, I missed that? Yes, he will always be the greatest and can never be another one like him! Michael's legacy will live on forever!

R.I.P. "MJ"

[themechanicsix]

03:28 PM on 08/29/2012

I'm MJ's age and feel like I followed him all my and his life. Just to let you know, I'm pure Heterosexual. Just seems he was a very nice looking man and it pains me that he felt he had to change his self as radically as he did.

[111FAS]

04:44 PM on 09/02/2012

What in the world does your sexual orientation have to do with anything? You, like the rest of the uneducated ones, should realize that Michael Jackson didn’t “change his self as radically….” as you say he did. You’re wrong for judging a person who is diagnosed with a debilitating skin disorder such as vitiligo. Lest you forget (since you claim to be the great follower!) he was also diagnosed with Lupus. The medication alone has severe side effects let ‘lone having the disease in the first place. He had a nose job, so what! He had a cleft put in his chin, so what? His hair changed, so what! I challenge those of you who make snide & ignorant comments about Michael Jackson’s appearance to view your elementary school photos, one from high school and one from now …. GASP! Surprised? My, how you’ve changed!!! Imagine that! It’s called LIFE, duh!

http://dancingwiththeelephant.wordpress.com/rereading-michael-jackson/

"One of the things we think we know about Jackson after 1993 is that he had extensive plastic surgery — that he was, in fact, obsessed with plastic surgery. Yet those judgments are based on photographs, and when assembling those photographs for comparison, the tabloids invariably pick the most divergent ones, the outliers: in other words, the ones that most vividly support the conclusion they’re trying to prove" - Willa Stillwater

[111FAS]

08:32 PM on 09/02/2012

What in the world does your sexual orientation have to do with anything? You, like the rest of the uneducated ones, should realize that Michael Jackson didn’t “change his self as radically….” as you say he did. You’re wrong for judging a person who is diagnosed with a debilitating skin disorder such as vitiligo. Lest you forget (since you claim to be the great follower!) he was also diagnosed with Lupus. The medication alone has severe side effects let ‘lone having the disease in the first place. He had a nose job, so what! He had a cleft put in his chin, so what? His hair changed, so what! I challenge those of you who make snide & ignorant comments about Michael Jackson’s appearance to view your elementary school photos, one from high school and one from now …. GASP! Surprised? My, how you’ve changed!!! Imagine that! It’s called LIFE, duh!

[themechanicsix]

01:21 PM on 09/03/2012

Do you really believe that? really? You are such a FOOL!!!