Nuances of Nostalgia
“I don’t like nostalgia, unless it’s mine.” - Lou Reed
Nostalgia:
“A wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life… a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time.”
Strange… Somehow the definition of nostalgia fails to capture any essence of the word at all.
If you were to ask me, nostalgia is an unannounced, but always welcome visitor who brings warm golden sunshine to your insides, a Pop Rocks crackle to your mind, and a wondering glint to your eye.
(Yes, those Pop Rocks.)
The reaction resembles the feeling when you’ve played at the beach all day; you’re perfectly weary, head full of windy warm sea air, and you curl up into cool, crisp sheets.
I believe that nostalgia plays a fundamental role in our personal style. What we choose to buy, put on, obsess over.
It is the thing that makes introducing a new unfamiliar element into our identity… familiar.
Have you ever seen something for the first time, and instantly, strangely loved it so truly that it tugged at your heart strings?
It was so right, so more-ish, so belonging!
It was probably because the pattern resembled that of your Mom’s 90’s scrunchy skirt. The fabric - your long sleeved baby pink body suit. The slouchiness like you’re babysitter’s silhouette.
Case in point: The day I met the Furla Candy Bag.
My eyes glimmered in its rubbery, pvc pencil case, semi-transparent reflection;
My head swelled at the touch of it’s jelly, chewy, Barbie foot handles;
And oh the smell… Water wings, beach balls, and doll heads.
This inanimate object was now the source of my inexplicable instant obsession.
And somehow, this most blatantly shallow concept is simultaneously quite, dare I say… deep?
People say, and it is true, that nothing is original… everything is inspired by something else. A copy of a copy. Most people dress based on someone they’ve seen in a movie, or a magazine… A trend they see at the mall (the worst). But there is something that makes us truly unique - our memories.
And what could make you feel better in an outfit than draping yourself in little relics of happiness?
When my husband asks me “What made you pick out that dress?”, my answer is always “I don’t know, I just like it.”
But the real answer is probably Gymnast Barbie, Paris and The Cranberries.
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