by Annie Lewandowski
Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, platforms, records, and Birkenstocks, everywhere you look a “new” trend your parents rocked in the 70s is popping back up again. Of course, some of this is due to the fond nostalgia of those who were actually alive around the middle of the last century, but teens and young adults have begun to relish in the polaroids and groovy flower-print blouses that have been sported by goers of both Woodstock and Coachella. Why are we so obsessed with the pop culture of 40 years ago? Are we bored in our progressive world? Do we just want to go back to what is marketed as a simpler, carefree world? Are we just the most uncreative generation yet? Hopefully not. Actually, not at all. Our generation is, and will continue to be innovative and openminded beyond its years.
We have defined the 21st century for better or worse, with Beyoncé and the iPhone, but also bedazzled golf cap and Crocs. Yeah, we’ve definitely made our own mark. My theory is, most parents at this time grew up in the 60s and 70s and naturally remember their childhood as golden, halcyon days of happiness. They then impart these “good vibes” so to speak on their own children. This kind of lighthearted whimsy is quite rarely felt by today’s youth. Honestly, I feel like kids today are more neurotic than ever before. This is the precise reason why we want to appropriate the clothes, music, and overall “feel” of what we have been told was a better time. As fun and stylish as this might be, I don’t it’s the right way to try to escape the stress of today’s world.
There were problems 40 years ago that we have abolished and would never wish to revert back to, and new problems have developed that need our attention. No matter where you place your finger on the timeline of humankind, you find new and different issues plaguing and consuming a time period. Of course, you should go ahead and deck yourselves out in bell- bottoms and bangles, but remember to keep moving forward as a 21st century kid.
Left: Coachella. Right: Woodstock. About 45 years apart
HB IN RETROSPECT 