A proverb says, “New is something old that has been long forgotten”. Similarly, a motto on a bookshop window says that “an old book is a new book in waiting for those who have not read it yet”. This leads me to the everlasting debate of “new vs. old” and “trendy vs. classic”. It also raises the question of our modern obsession with new things. It is amazing how our whole world can revolve around the word the “latest”: the latest fashions (in clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, watches, glasses — you name it — especially for women), the latest car models, the latest mobile phones,etc. Moreover, when there is a party or a wedding, people want to do what is fashionable at the moment. However, in retrospect, it becomes old and outmoded. This is why it becomes a disaster when in weddings, for example, the bride arrives with the sound of songs that are the “latest” but not beautiful and all the guests fidget in their chairs waiting for the event to end. The bride, however, will be oblivious of what is going on and happy with herself for being fashionable, but when she or her kids see the wedding movie a few years down the line, she might feel taken aback by the choices that she made. Being up-to-date does not necessarily mean that we have to throw beautiful classics away, nor does admiring the classics mean that we must live in the past. We can incorporate the classic with the modern and to do that we need to be freed from our obsession with “image”. We need to wear the dress rather than have the dress wear us. The wonderful thing about all classic items is that they pass the test of time. Classics have the unique ability to become part of the present, to be the roots that determine the final shape and taste of the fruits. In many ways, it makes them local and suitable for locals. This happens a lot in fashion but young people do not know that because most of the time they are too young to know that the cycle is being repeated. The sixties, seventies, and eighties, for instance, have all come back and then gone away in the new century; albeit they were repeated with a twist to update them and make them slightly different, and thus new. What is happening here is a form of return to the classic, rather than to the weird and to what is primarily aimed at attracting attention. The whole notion indirectly contests the theory of those who claim that there is no such thing as shared aspects of human nature and life; that history, in some ways, repeats itself and that — if we want to go to an extreme — there is nothing new under the sun. It is a fascinating debate with no end in sight. However, in reality we see a lot of old things being revived and renewed. It remains a matter of personal choice and freedom to choose, but I believe the choice should always be there.
