Stairway to Heaven

As it turns out, it was a mistake to quote Led Zeppelin on the discussion board for my community development subject.

Not everyone is into drawing on rock anthologies to explain how communities rally together around a particular issue. Indeed, it seems as though my reference was completely lost on my audience of around 170 fellow students. So, the lesson for me here is that sometimes it is not so good to stand out from the crowd. If Molly Meldrum was in my class, my comment might have been a hit. But he isn't. It's just a bunch of people who like to talk about harmony and ideology and 'harnessing community spirit'. The risk did not pay off this time! A shame it happened at the beginning of the semester, how do I recover from this? (Not by dismissing entire class as bunch of rock-less souls .... at least not to their face).

A sign that I have approached a certain age: the 90s is back in fashion. It was long enough ago to be considered cool by 16 year olds now, but still feels close enough to me to be a little bit cringy. I remember my Mum shuddering at the 70s vintage I would parade around in when I was an undergraduate, for her it was all too close and horrific. I thought her comments just made her sound like an old person. And now ... well, the world has rotated a few more times and da-da! I am old too. But really - those little cropped blouses that tie up at the front and the big back packs and long floral skirts ... not great then. Don't look that much better now. The same can definitely be said for 100% polyester shirts (the really really thick ones with the belt in the same fabric that ties at the most unflattering part of the waist) - but because my Mum said it to me, and I was 20 years old - it was simply not a valid comment at the time. Now I understand.

However I look at it, I just can't see the 90s as 'vintage'. If I find a checked baggy shirt on a second hand rack, it is not embraced as good find. It is discarded for the smelly rag that it is. For anyone who is starting to think the 90s was kind of cool - I refer you to Jerry Seinfeld. Please look at those jeans, and get back to me. Not good then, kind of worse now. I keep repeating to myself that the 90s was now 20 years ago, and I admit that almost enough time has elapsed to enable me to pull out some of the key trends that marked that decade.

The next challenge 2000-2010? If you want to stay ahead of the pack, you better start tailoring some hot new vintage look circa 2005. Confusing? Yes? How do I make something look retro and now, that is actually still kind of part of what I wear, but just a little bit old?

I think that's basically the recipe of the fashion cycle.

Don't throw anything away, just keep wearing it, give it 10 years and recycle it as vintage. (But you can probably let the hyper-colour t-shirt go.)