Yesterday, my daughter and I were out shopping for a pair of socks - a surprisingly picky task for a seven year old.
I happened to spot these shoes, the likes of which I had not worn since university and was instantly filled with nostalgia. These Converse One Star's were worn by many grunge wannabes and I was no exception (n.b., Is there a grunge term equivalent to hippies? Grungies?). The whole process made wonder at what point nostalgia for items of fashion crosses over and transforms into a "personal style."
Nostalgia is something that I consider to be a simple yearning for the cultural practices and values signified by said item (i.e., a return to the height of Grunge, if you can believe it, or more likely a desire for my youth and the decreased responsibilities that came with it), whereas "style" is simply an aesthetic preference (also wrapped up in cultural affiliations).
I think one of the thing that distinguishes between the two is chronology. There needs to be a definite break with the past in order for them to be susceptible to nostalgia. For example, I stopped wearing Converse One Stars once I stopped working in the parking lot. Not necessarily by choice, since I think they stopped selling them (thus following the inevitable ebb and flow of fashion's supply and demand cycles). However, for professional purposes I've been wearing one form of Fluevog Michaels for almost fifteen years now (each pair has lasted about five years), and while I'm considering something different, my wife claims that the shoes represent an element of my personal style. When I see the One Stars, I think of those glorious parking lot years and the unbridled freedom I enjoyed while at work and school. When I see a pair of Michaels, I simply think: I have to work tomorrow. Perhaps after I change careers I'll think differently when I see a pair of Fluevogs.
A few moments later I saw a pair of Adidas Samba France World Cup limited edition runners and felt a yearning wholly distinct from nostalgia. It was more akin to desire, making me wonder at what point did fashion become a fetish. Since most fetish items have a sexual component to them, I didn't think these qualified.
But these certainly did.
