From what I've gleaned, most everybody thinks that the best costume is the one that was extant when they started reading. It's not always the case; Superman really was decked out like a glorified circus acrobat, Captain America had the triangular shield (one issue...), Wonder Woman was in a skirt, and Alan Scott Green Lantern - oh boy!

But it's interesting to see, for example, what design of Superman is favorite. "I loved Shuster's!" "Mr. Byrne's is the best!" "Jim Lee did it best!' From that original circus outfit to the one I find classic (Boring or Swan) to Mr. Byrne's (practically the same) to a high collar, no red "gym shorts", extra long sleeves, and actually armor - we all seem to favor the one when we began.

I wonder who's looked at a different era's and preferred it? Have y'all a different favorite? 

Mr. Byrne, I would appreciate your input - and as a creator, your loving detail to costumes appropriate to different eras is delightful (e.g., the original X-Men to their graduate outfits), and I have strong belief that if you don't like any specific costume... you just don't use it.

Those long-running snide remarks about the "underpants" are probably what lead DC to brand the outfit as "uncool" or whatever, which is why the trunks went away. So we have multiple redesigns of one of the most iconic superhero costumes ever, and none of them work. 

(Don't get me started on Venom...)

My other favorite since childhood was Captain America, and I love that costume immensely.  However, it was a little unclear what was happening with those little "waves" on Cap's chest.  I did like it when people started drawing those in more detail, really showing that it was some sort of chainmail.  But then people went TOO far, drawing them like Red Sonja's coins, sticking out from the smooth line of his form--it almost looked like feathers sometimes!  I also liked Bryan Hitch's version over in the ULTIMATE line, but he insisted on leaving off the head wings; somehow, that always made Cap look bald.

The Atom also always looked "bald" to me too when I first encountered him (and for many years after that).  When Gil Kane redesigned him for THE SWORD OF THE ATOM--simply by adding some battle accessories and opening up the top of his mask--I thought that was brilliant.  That should have gone on for much longer than it did.

I started IRON MAN when he had those circles around his shoulders and, while I sort of liked them (even though I found them almost impossible to draw right), I really love the movie version without them.  That's what live action should do--translate a drawn design to reality, using real-life materials and real-life body contours, etc.  (Same thing with the movie Ant-Man.)

Subtle changes can sometimes improve a look, but not complete redos. A slow evolution is ok, but any revolution is too much. Doing it as a marketing gimmick is the worse reason ever.

I think the one time a complete redo worked was when Daredevil went all red. That made sense.