Flashback: 1987

I don't need Mr. Blackwell to tell me my straight-legged jeans are out of style.

Everywhere I go lately I see the 80's. From those skinny jeans to acid-washed, The New York Dolls, punk, and lacy vests straight out of Pretty In Pink, I'm getting nauseous. It's not necessarily because I don't like the style per se. I think it could be very London-hip. I too danced around to Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, and loved Madonna's look just as much as the next child of the 80's. But what I fear, are those people--that decidedly large demographic of them--who think it will now be okay to wear heather grey leggings with white slouchy socks and big tee shirts with things like unicorns on them. I'm afraid of the people who will take this trend a step further and dig out their old frayed-edge shirts with the colored beads dangling from ends. The thought of those plastic beads tapping together is enough to cause a shiver to run down my spine. Will this mean the end of fashion?

After 1989, we were all sent into a fashion rut. Remember the days of Doc Martens with blue jeans and white tee shirts? We were blank canvases waiting for someone to throw paint onto us. Unfortunately, it was only a few years later when grunge hit the Northern Pacific music scene, and everyone was wearing flannel. Flannel might be fine if you're lining a sleeping bag or modeling for an L.L. Bean catalogue, but it just doesn't look right when you're riding on a New York subway. Maybe the Bounty Man can pull it off...but seriously, isn't his shtick old already too? I mean the PLAID flannel!?!? Ugh, what woman (or man) really wants someone running around their downtown loft wearing that and a pair of construction boots?

So ladies and gentleman, does this mean the demise of fashion? Or, are we just cycling through the generations? In two years, I predict fashion will head back to the age of Romanticism. In fact, I have my Seventeen magazines circa 1997 to prove it.