WHAT exactly do you wear to a protest march? This is the question I asked myself when confronted by several protesters in cute and fluffy rabbit costumes.

Stumbling across the demonstration in Westbourne, I soon discovered that these woodland creatures were far from cuddly.

“Say no to wearing fur!” screamed one of the angry bunnies at me.

Still smitten with their cartoon-like appearance, I jovially replied “Hypocrite” under my breath.

In that fleeting moment, I could see that I’d ruined their day. The protesters had been undermined by a poor choice of wardrobe – the slogans and handmade signs rendered useless by a pair of floppy ears, a suit of artificial fur and a pink nose.

It brings me back to the question of how to attire yourself for a bit of civil disobedience.

Judging by the anti-war protests a few years ago, it seems that masks remain a popular choice.

Yet like the rabbit protest, the Tony Blair and George Bush masks had little if any effect on government policy.

Wacky clothing is another fashion faux pas.

Anything that looks like it was borrowed from a circus or the set of CBeebies is more likely to suggest anarchy rather than a rational argument.

Perhaps you shouldn’t look ridiculous, if you want to be taken seriously.

WITH environmental activists planning to hold protests in Copenhagen and around the world on Saturday, here are my top five protest fashions: 1 Martin Luther King, Jr. Sharp suits characterised the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and ’60s. The smart and respectable dress code served to highlight the brutality meted out by the police authorities at many of the non-violent protest marches.

2 Emmeline Pankhurst. The British political activist and leader of the Suffragette movement, pictured, won women the right to vote. All the more amazing, she achieved this while wearing a very tight Edwardian corset and a large hat.

3 Tiananmen Square Tank Man. The unknown rebel stared down a column of Chinese tanks during the protests at Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989. Armed with only a bag of shopping, the Chinese student became an international symbol for the end of the Cold War era.

4 Abbie Hoffman. The American social and political activist became the angry voice of the ’60s Flower Power generation. Although not everyone was listening. The Who’s Pete Townshend knocked Hoffman offstage at the Woodstock music festival for violating the “sanctity of the stage”.

5 Jane Fonda. The American actress is a prime example of what not to wear to a protest. Posing in a North Vietnamese military helmet astride an anti-aircraft gun used to kill her fellow countrymen, this look seriously hindered her anti-war message.