Caroline Mitic

Fashion for Awareness, ladies Stephen Harper CRIMINAL top, $25

Change is in the air.  General douchbaggery is rapidly being replaced by fine, vintage morals, grandfatherly attire and age-old wholesomeness.

For the first time in ages, perhaps ever, it is cool to be demure.  Men are sporting moustaches, 1950’s comb-overs and tight jeans or fitted trousers.  Girls have traded in their trashy, scoop-necked spandex for classic cotton dresses in pretty floral patterns, pastel tights, simple, loose hairstyles, and a fresh, healthy face that says, I only spent 15 minutes in front of the mirror, and I can wake up looking this good.

Rebellion isn’t cool anymore, unless it’s against the government or consumerism.  Instead of doing anything to be different, young men are digging deep into their father’s closets . . . perhaps their grandfather’s closets, and pulling out a tweed cardigan, dusting off a hand-crocheted, elbow-patched sweater, and donning a paper-boy flat cap to finish off the look.  They’re opening doors for friends, using words like please and sir, and mulling over the daily newspaper (some of them on iphones) or reading a borrowed copy of The Catcher in the Rye.  They’re sporting elegant time-pieces, visiting the barber for straight-shaves and shopping in thrift stores, before heading downtown for a cup of fair-trade coffee or locally micro-brewed pumpkin ale.

What happened to the bravado, arrogance and Abercrombe & Fitch?  Where did all the testosterone go?  Why am I finally able to have a real conversation with a sensitive, mild-tempered man?

Instead of parading around town, collar flipped like a puffy peacock as they compare notches, guys are slinging their vintage man-purse courier bags and Lomo film cameras over their shoulders, while discussing how much fun they had spending the weekend with their mothers.  Conversations are sprinkled with the words argyle and typeface.

Thick-rimmed glasses aren’t just for designers anymore, and facial hair belongs to more than just slobs and lumberjacks.  A full-fledged moustache no longer adorns just your grandfather or bus driver, it belongs to your brother too, and maybe even your boyfriend if you’ll let him.

Where did this sudden shift in attitude come from?  Is it merely a new style, or does it go deeper, striking a nostalgic chord with people’s psyche?  As uber-popular tv series Madmen goes into it’s sixth season, are the perfectly polished, cigar-smoking, optimistically perceived characters rubbing off on people?  Is Movember actually a fashion statement instead of just an awareness campaign? 

Have we entered a nouveau-romantic era?

And it isn’t just the guys.  Girls are donning cute, knit toques, conservative yet sexy dresses, and their mothers’ pearls.  We’re cutting shaggy bangs, and forgoing copious amounts of hairspray in favour of a messy, tousled bun.  We’re enjoying natural shades of makeup, art cafes, poetry and all four seasons.  It’s yesteryear with a simplified, organic twist.

We’re shopping at farmer’s markets instead of grocery stores, grouping nostalgic, chic items on Pinterest and taking Instagram photos of our vegan dinners.   We’re using one-speed bicycles designed in the 1960’s. We’re torn between checking the time on our 65 year-old pocket watch, or our 6 day-old ipad.