Jan 30/75  SENSE AND NONSENSE

Hurray!  the nineteen—fifties are coming back. Thanks to “Happy Days” on T.V., 1975 is going to resemble 1955 in style and song. This is my personal prediction for the year. All we need is one popular musical group with sheared locks, and short hair will again be in for the guys. The gals will either curl their hair or pull it back in a pony tail. Lips will be emphasized with brilliant scarlet, orange or hot pink colours. There will be less emphasis on the eyes.

Skirts are already longer this year. By the end of the year, girls will be building up their sweater wardrobes again. Brylcream, combs, saddle shoes and bobby socks will soon be snapped up by consumers. Styles are beginning to reverse themselves. It seems that whenever one part of the anatomy is eliminated, another part becomes important. The last ten years or so have been focusing on the hair, the eyes and the legs. One could have no lips, no waist and big feet and be quite happy.

With the fifties look, one needs nice eyes, a big bust, a small waist and tiny feet. Oh well, one out of four isn’t too bad… It seems such a short time ago that the short skirt lengths came onto the fashion scene. I remember proclaiming loudly that knees wouldn’t last. After all a girl’s knees are only functional, they are not really a beauty point at all. A lot of people agreed with me that knees could be heard but should never be seen.

In our neighborhood we all decided to boycott the new styles and insist that legs should end just below the knees. However, one cannot fight fashion for long. Knees not only became visible but soon they were seen in the middle of the leg as the mini and then the micro mini became popular. Now, I am as contrary as ever. I don’t want to lower my hem. Besides, most of the latest minis have no hem to lower. They have only the merest bit of material pulled under and stitched into place. What can one do with their old minis when they become obsolete? The only thing that I can think of is to store them away for 20 years or so until they come back into style.

The old dances are being revived by the young people. A lot of them are taking lessons, to learn how to do the waltz, foxtrot etc. I am hoping that this time I will learn how to jive. I missed out on it last time around. I wonder how far back into the fifties we will travel. In the pre—Elvis days, people were doing the Tango, the Rhumba and the Mamba.I have never seen the Mamba done. What are you supposed to do when Rosemary Clooney goes “weh” in her old Mamba songs? I used to think someone was poking her in the solar plexus. I believe those were the last songs she ever recorded. It could be quite a strain singing your heart out while someone is karate-ing your midriff.

The other day was Elvis’ 40th birthday. They played some of his old songs on the radio and I became a fan of his again. He is just as weird in personality as ever though. He has gained a pot belly in recent months and refused to come out of his house to acknowledge the birthday greetings of his fans. In fact he is not going to leave the house at all until he regains his slim figure. This would never work for me as we keep our food in the house.

I have been trying to diet lately to hopefully find my waist again. It has been hidden for twenty years and I am not sure if it can be found. With a little luck the fifties look won’t return for a few months and I may have time to prepare for it. If not, well, we had plump people back in the fifties too.