Ruffled shirts and pastel tuxedoes went out around the same time that parachute pants and mullets did.

But being out of style doesn’t prevent the occasional person from seeking to stand out in a crowd while sporting the vestiges of a bygone era.

Standing out in a crowd may seem clever, even funny at a high school dance or college party, but standing out is a bad thing when it detracts from the serious nature of an event.

No bride, for example, would want the minister at her wedding to sport a lime green suit and construction orange tie.

Yet, many businesses in Natchez do just that, all in the sake of trying to attract a little attention with their signs.

Natchez’s sign ordinance is a mess. Almost everyone who has ever wrestled with it or had to interpret it can agree on that.

Fortunately, Natchez City Planner Frankie Legaux hopes to soon have a revised version of the code for the Natchez aldermen to consider.

Her goal is to revise the code to simplify it and remove inconsistencies. The current code is confusing and contradictory in places.

We hope the revisions include not only clarifying the many challenges that dot the existing code, but also shore up issues that were outlawed years ago for good reason but never enforced — chief among them a ban on billboards in the historic areas of the city.

Ultimately, a good and thorough review of the sign ordinance is long overdue, and we’re delighted to see the city take on this task.