Fashion and other cultural trends are cyclical, so it’s no surprise when things come around again. What’s interesting right now is how far back people are looking – a century or more. A lot of current retro trends are neo-Victorian and neo-Edwardian. Which is where the mutton chops come in. A mention in one of the aforesaid articles about waxed mustaches prompted two of us to simultaneously comment that we knew people who’d grown outsized sideburns in the past year. And this was even before the release of The Young Victoria and Sherlock Holmes.

 

What’s the underlying cause of retro trends? The velvet and tweeds may only be the outward manifestation of a deeper need. Two-thirds of Americans surveyed in a November 2009 Roper Reports® US survey think the “good old days” were better than the present. In particular, there seems to be a yearning for civility in the midst of all the angry, profane, and violent outbursts we keep hearing about. It’s not surprising that one way people react is to pursue ‘genteel’ activities like tea parties.

 

For most people, revisiting the past is not a way of life; it’s a way to take a break. We’re often more in love with the idea than the reality. Take my daughter. She loves the idea of afternoon tea. She loves the fancy cups, the teapot, the steeping process, and the soothing old-fashioned feeling that the entire ritual offers. But she never actually finishes her tea. I don’t think she really likes the taste. Instead, she drinks a little and then goes back to her cell phone, laptop, and video games. Which, after all, seems to describe the way most of us consume nostalgia – in sips.

 

I have a niece who’s planning a summer wedding – with an Edwardian theme. Her fiancé is excited about the idea of wearing a smoking jacket. I’m wondering if anyone will have mutton chops.