ubiquitous - adjective - ever present
grunge - noun - a style of rock music featuring raucous guitar and lazy vocal delivery. In fashion, it features loose clothing and ripped jeans.
Sometimes I think I'm Oscar Wilde regenerated as I ascribe to his philosophy of Aestheticism: One should reflect art. Beauty should exist for the sake of beauty. Gosh, I'm dating myself by over a hundred years. If the actual Oscar were to come back to life for one day and attend a Broadway show where it is not unusual to see young audience members in shorts and flip flops, he would be astonished.
The ubiquitous grunge that dominated fashion in the 1990s is still ubiquitous. It is said that Stella McCartney, Marc Jacobs, and Alexander McQueen introduced grunge into the realm in the 1990s, and suddenly, "ugly" (baggy pants, dirty T's, ripped jeans and plaid flannel) became trendy. Groundbreaking (?). Yes, some thirty years ago, grunge entered stage left. And suddenly, anything remotely attractive, melodic, inspiring artistically exited stage right.
Grunge was and is all about tasteless dressing down. Tasteful dressing up takes effort. Growing up, Gen X and Millennials received trophies for zero effort. Why wouldn't their clothes reflect their lackadaisical state of mind? Much to my dismay, because Gen X is now just the right age to stand on center stage and command the spotlight, the comfort and ease of ugliness and/or mediocrity will stick around for awhile. Millennials don't seem to have a problem with it, probably because they were old enough to participate in the movement to an extent. (Remember Gothic? I do.)
Personally, I am hoping the kids of Gen Alpha will push out ubiquitous grunge in their own journey to the center if only as a form of rebellion. Sadly, I may be dead by the time genuine beauty and stunning, artistic excellence make a comeback, and I pray that AI has nothing to do with it. Perhaps in thirty years, a futuristic version of Jessica Daves will stumble upon an antique suitcase in the last remaining Victorian home and open it to uncover a copy of Vogue from the 1950s. She'll want to share it with fashion designers and poof! The effort of elegance will be in style again.
As for music, I am still seeing young folks playing in jazz bands and genuinely enjoying the melodies known to occupy the American Songbook. A short while ago, I actually met a twenty-three-year-old male who told me just how much he loves Sinatra. So there is hope that quality will make a comeback.
Okay. I'm allowed to dream. Aren't I?
"Never, never, never give up."
Thanks, Winston.
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