I can't resist an opportunity to prove that I am still "with it" and "have it", by identifying important trends that will help those on-the-hop to remain hip. I have picked up on two style trends that will, no doubt, make it across the water to the USA shortly and become adolescent icons. On the other hand, I could be entirely wrong, but then, that's fashion for you.
I first noticed these trends in Italy and have now confirmed their presence in Belgium. Italy as a style-setter speaks for itself, but for these trends to penetrate to Brussels, which has the style-consciousness of a post-war Soviet archipelago, they must have strong mojo indeed.
The first trend is the growing popularity of digital watches. Not the desperate compromises where a tiny digital read-out hides behind an analog face; I'm talking 70's and 80's digital dot-matrix with plastic bands and indecipherable digits, just as we once cherished. Again, we can count on time being measured to the tenth of a second, an accuracy that escapes analog hands that only vaguely point somewhere. Of course, the watches are still set to what we think is the current time, but with digital, we can once again be certain in our ambiguity.
Secondly, gone are the small ear-buds that used to indicate a person had escaped reality and was deep into a musical nirvana created by their MP3 player. Apparently they let too much noise escape the ear and failed to render the advocate completely deaf. The ear-buds are now being replaced by gigantic earphones, the more exotic and grand the better. They lend the wearer a certain alien look from the rear, which we can only assume is intended, but they must enhance the musical experience. On the plus side you no longer have to share the musical tastes of the enthusiast when you share a common space; on the down side you have to look twice to see if they really are listening to music or can be confirmed as from an alien planet. The odds are about even.
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