Friday, February 01, 2008

Ah...The Good Ol' Days


I have always had a fascination with the past. Even when I was young, I became enamored of history. In junior high, I begged my history teacher to allow me to create a bulletin board of the Civil War for his room. He granted my request and I had a blast putting it together. I made no secret of my love for bygone eras, and all my friends knew that I had a fondness for out of the ordinary stuff.

I wasn't your typical teen. On Friday and Saturday nights, I would often stay home from basketball games and write. I'd turn on my classical music (I was a big fan of Bach and Mozart), get out my blue pen (always blue, never black - too depressing), notebook paper, and sit down at my desk to write my stories - and yes, they almost always took place in the past.

I've never been a fan of modern architecture and modern design. I prefer the lush Victorian period to decorate my house - I actually have gold and burgundy-painted walls, burgundy carpet, and fringed lampshades. Thankfully, hubby doesn't mind because the garage is his place, and the house is mine to decorate. ;-)

Whenever I go shopping, I like to buy the more vintage-looking clothes - especially shoes. And my nightgowns shoot straight to the floor and, as my husband likes to call them, look like something Laura Ingalls would wear (in my defense, they are not long-sleeved, but have a tank-top at the top). I like how they make me feel frilly and feminine.

I love movies of just about any time period, but I hold a special affinity for classic movies. This began in my childhood when I would watch Silver Screen Classics on PBS. I zealously collect classic movies on DVD and love to read autobiographies of Hollywood Golden Age stars.

In short, I'm usually more in love with the past than the present. There are exceptions, of course. I love my 2007 Jeep Liberty. I love the Internet. I love blogging. I love the miracles of modern medicine.

But I don't have an iPod and have no desire to get one. I just need a cell phone that works - it doesn't need to take pictures or let me play games or log on to the Internet. I don't have a Blackberry to help me stay organized because I would rather use an old-fashioned calendar and just write everything down with a pen. Sometimes I think the pen is a fad of the past!

I also don't enjoy the fashions of this era, either. Low-waisted jeans, slinky tops, and pinched boots don't really do a lot for me. I'd like to return to the fashions of the 1940's and 1950s, where women wore hats and gloves and stylish dresses and looked classy, and men wore fedoras and suits or nice slacks and a shirt.

So. That's me. Call me old-fashioned. I don't mind. In fact, I'll take it as a compliment. :-)

7 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:57 AM

    Do you sew? There are some wonderful sites with vintage patterns from Victorian, Edwardian, and turn of the 20th century, and they're not too complicated.

    And, quite frankly, a beautifully made shirtwaist or a calf-length skirt NEVER goes out of style!

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  2. Devon, I'm a complete clutz at sewing. :-) Wish I was better at it!

    I'm looking now to buy more vintage-looking clothes inspired by the '40s. First I have to get this extra weight off, though!

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  3. Anonymous3:15 PM

    I have a foot in both worlds. I do love my techie stuff. But I love to go antiquing. Like handwritten letters. Old photographs. And quilts made by my grandmother...and her mother.

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  4. Aw, I loved this post! I am not into the fashions of the past, except for normal jeans. Not too high not to low, normal - that is all I ask!

    but I love nostalgia stuff like what you posted about. Great pic too!

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  5. I loved this post too and you'll have to forgive me because now -- I'm thinking about a character for a future story who insists on dressing and decorating circa 1942. She's terrific! She's got dyed black hair and a hairstyle very Veronica Lake. See? You can't say anything around writers without planting seeds. :)

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  6. I like to study the past from the comfort of my very modern life. I'm not too enamored of the good ol' days. And I'm sorry, but now that I have one, I would die without an iPod. And Tivo.

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  7. This is such a great snapshot of you, Melissa--I really enjoyed reading it. :)

    I love dresses from the '40s, and I'm a pen-and-datebook user too.

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