Someone once told me about her little niece, who, after seeing both old black-and-white movies and new color versions, asked, “When did the world turn color?”
That made me remember my attitude toward the past and my desire to time travel to black-and-white times when men wore hats and long topcoats, when women got dressed up to go downtown on a shopping trip, and everyone dressed up for a plane trip. That desire probably comes from interesting stories heard from my parents and aunts and uncles when I was a child. I associate those stories with innocent times because when I heard those stories, the world was still black and white to me. You know– before I knew how screwed up the world really was.
Can you feel nostalgic for a time you were too young to fully understand? A time when the I Love Lucy episode in which Ethel was shocked that Lucy wanted her to go downtown on the subway in her blue jeans actually made sense. Ward Cleaver of Leave It To Beaver and Jim Anderson of Father Knows Best sat around in the evening reading the paper in a coat and tie. Granted, that was television and fictional representations of fashion and family, but they had to get the idea from somewhere.
Our ideas of proper attire have devolved precipitously, for some more than others. Around 20 years ago, when I was working for somebody else rather than myself, that somebody was just introducing the concept of casual Fridays. This meant no suit and tie for the men, but one man didn’t get it. He came in wearing a tank top, cutoffs, and a Steelers cap. He looked more prepared to clean his garage than to work a day in the business world.
Even a venue as tony as Heinz Hall here in Pittsburgh sees its share of jeans and T-shirts for many performances. Yes, I have worn jeans to Heinz Hall, but that was my bottom half; my top half was wearing a jacket and dress shirt.
But no hat. The world is in color now.
