Eight years ago, Cherry and I had a debate with Whitney about a particular fashion trend, jeans that were flares.
“They will never last. Flares are a temporary trend. They were popular back in the day.”
“Flares are not trendy.”
“They were.”
“They are not anymore.”
Both sides were adamant in their position. As I consider several flare jeans eight years on, I have come to accept that flares are now an option, not a trend. What started as a fashion in the late sixties has not become norm. Even as I try to remember the face of the iconic leader then, I find myself standing in front of the options in a Gap store. Straight, bootleg, and flares stand as equal partners. What was a trend then is anything but now.
As I recall the late sixties and early seventies, when everything was flared, I am confident that it was trendy. The thin leg form fitting styles of the early sixties had given way to trend of flares and bell-bottomed shared clothing. Everything, from coat sleeves to dress slacks to jeans, came in the latest fashion! At its height, the best example in high school was Danny’s tailored trousers with their 24-inch waist, 5-inch zipper, and 28-inch bells. We were impressed. This was an amazing example of a trendy fashion at its best.
Three years later, bell-bottoms and flares had vanished. I do not know where the excess stock went. You could not find anyone wearing them. Even discount stores had moved back to the traditional norm. They had left to parts unknown.
New movements and ideas are confusing. Are they a trend or a passing fad? Will they last? What happens with they come back? It is just another cycle?
A cynic observed that a new movement was a threat. Accurately, the assessment came. “A lot of people are going along with him, not only here in Ephesus but all through Asia province.” (Acts 19.25) Even if it was not going to last, it was still a threat.
Trendy, viable, or ________?
