I have a bit of a soft spot for anything retro, especially items from the 1950s and 60s. My husband calls me a traditionalist.
Sure, I have a computer, a cell phone, and a Wii, but I would much prefer to travel back to the days when things were simpler. Days when design and form were as important as function and utility. When writing meant clanking a typewriter and people still read newspapers.
So, this Friday, I am sharing some of my Favorite (Retro) Things, nostalgic for the past and the ways things used to be…
Hats and gloves. Long gone are the days of men strolling around town in hats. Gosh, I wish men still wore man hats. Likewise, women wore fancy hats and gloves everywhere. I admit, though, that white gloves in my line of work (changing poopy pants) would not be very practical, but still…
Typewriters. I mentioned this above and, let me just say, I love typewriters! I used to have one in high school when most of my friends had computers. I did eventually convince my parents of my need for a word processor, but I have always loved the clickety-clack of the typewriter keys. I imagine myself writing a book someday, locked in some attic with a picture window, and a baby blue typewriter.
Telephones. I’m not talking about cell phones. I’m talking about real telephones. Remember those? I can’t even remember the last time I spoke to someone on a traditional phone. This nifty phone adapter though makes my heart go pitter-patter. I think I need it.
Records. Thankfully,vinyls have made a comeback. There is nothing quite like pulling an album from it’s sleeve, slipping it onto the record track, placing that needle, and watching it spin. I’ll take this one please:
Music. Speaking of records, I am 1950s’ and 60s’ music junkie. Some of my favorite songs are from these eras. I especially love Mo-town. No one makes music like that anymore. Lady Gaga is no Billie Holiday.
Movie stars. Since I am married to a film geek, I see hundreds of movies a year. There are some actors I tolerate, some I downright loathe, and only a few I adore. There used to be a time when Hollywood was synonymous with glamor–when actresses were muses and actors were real men. Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, for example. Today’s Hollywood celebs just don’t compare.
Notebooks. My husband laughs at how little I like technology. He tries to convince me that using an app on my iPhone is far superior to writing something down on a little notebook I keep in my purse. I just can’t help myself. I love the feel of books, flipping through magazines, opening up a Sunday paper at the breakfast table. I hope those simple pleasures never disappear, even if I can only look longingly on the past.
What about you? Are you more of a traditionalist or do you love technology? What retro or old-school items would you bring back?
P.S. I did an interview of inspiring Christian bloggers over at A Place for Us blog from the talented and creative Destiny Alfonso. Please stop by, check it out, and show some love.
I am with you Nicole. One of my favorite things in the world to do is to sit down with a book. The ones with pages and not the hand held electronic devices. I could get lost in a Library for hours. My favortie Disney cartoon growing up was Beauty and the Beast because Belle was a bookworm who had a horse (Phillipe…lol) I refuse to give into technology as well. I also appreciate the old school movie stars, I wish Hollywood would return to those days. Back when people did not know what every move of every celebrity was. But there are many great things that come with all this fancy technology, and as long as I never have to give up my books, I am content :^)
i love this! i’m going to retweet it just b/c i couldn’t have said it better myself. i wonder if the next generations will be like.. “i miss iphones, and computers.”
favorite retro thing/dream? ice cream socials. it just sounds like fun! get dressed? eat ice cream? dance? heck yes. count me in.
Andrea,
Great addition! Ice cream socials. Yes, please.
Spot on, Nicole. A woman after my own heart regarding traditional garb!
As a naive, dreamy little girl, I grew up thinking one day I would dress myself as I pleased, just like the actresses of Hollywood. I envisioned myself being chauffeured up to restaurants, then stepping out of the limo in a long gown with a beautiful hat detailed with a feather or two, and me clutching a sparkly little hand purse. My man would be dressed smartly in his tuxedo and top hat. Off we would go for a night of glitz and glamor, elegant dining, a wonderful movie and a night of dancing before retiring back at our stately home all decked out in art deco! Yep, that was my dream as a little girl.
Today I still find myself drawn to the art deco style and I have little pieces in my home reminiscent of that era.
Somehow that era brings solace to me. I think it has to do with the fact that my parents were very young during that era and I always had a deep curiosity about their childhood. I absolutely adore my parents and all they mean to me and all they contributed to my life and my character. Maybe the flip side of what my parents endured, The Great Depression, is what I wanted to get out of my head, and wish for something better to dream about for them instead…dreaming about all of the glitz and the glamor…I’m sure my Mother, especially, had her days of dreaming about the better side of that time period.
At any rate, it rubbed off on me, and I’m thankful for that. I actually have a couple of antique pieces my Mother has passed down to me from that time period that I cherish and I will be passing down to my own children someday.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Nicole. It was a pleasant one!
What great childhood daydreams. I love it.
I’m drawn to the 1920’s as well. I have always said if I could live in any era, that would be it. It so nice too that you have antiques to cherish and keep in your family along the way.
I just have to comment on this one. I love history and if it were possible to visit (maybe even move to) the 1940s, I’d do it. I’m fascinated by the culture of the first half of the 20th century- the clothing, cars, music, advertising, movies, etc.- I love it all! I would also like to see Hollywood swing back the way of the “Old Hollywood” era. Gene Kelly is my personal favorite. I don’t own a record player anymore (why did I get rid of it?), but would sure like to have one again. I like having technology around, but nothing beats a quiet evening with an actual book or a face-to-face conversation with a friend.
Well said Kelly. I don’t hate technology, although I am a bit resistant to it. However, like you said, nothing beats a good book or a real in-person conversation. Nothing.
I like a little bit of a mix between retro and new technology.
I am a huge fan of records — i have a bob dylan collection.
I also wish we could bring back lava lamps. I really never got one as a kid, i think now is the time.
Thanks Nicole, now i am itching for a thrift store.
Yes, lava lamps. They rock. Great retro choice.
I am 100% with you on the hats and gloves idea. The Brits do it right, hats should be still present in our way of life. I try to do my part to bring out hats for going out or being in the sun.
Old Hollywood stars. Yes please! I’ve previously mentioned my obsession with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, but Cary Grant, Spencer Tracy, and Katherine Hepburn are also on my list.
We have a new Ice cream/Soda fountain shop here in Cleveland,OH and it’s amazing. So ‘old-timey’, nostalgic and wonderful.
Heather,
I’m so jealous of your soda fountain shop. One of my favorite childhood memories was driving up north from where I grew up with my aunts to sit at an old fashion soda counter and order a seltzer with chocolate syrup.
There is such a sweet simplicity and innocence in certain things…like you said, “wonderful.”
I’m with you on the books! I refuse to get a kindle or a nook or whatever those do-hickey contraptions are that replace books! I love how a book feels, I love how they smell, I love that I can write in the margins if I so desire. I am so completely at home in a used a books store!
Sometimes I wish ladies still wore hats. Especially at Easter. I’m seriously considering bringing the Easter hat back next year. It seems you have to be 4 years old and adorable to wear a hat or 85 and eccentric. Can’t I be eccentric now?
I am also in love with old furniture. I love the classic antiques with Old World Charm. But I also adore the crazy colors and shapes from the 60s and 70s. I once saw a purple wavy couch that only had an arm on one side- I would love to have that couch! Furniture from Ikea makes me want to puke in my mouth. That is perhaps why our house is filled with hand me downs or rummage sale finds. I love our mismatched and unique our furniture is! Cookie cutter is not for me!
Carla,
I’ll meet you in some dusty old bookstore, in the back corner. I’ll be the one in a fancy hat, gloves, reading Salinger.
Love it! I’m totally there! We can discuss Holden Caulfield and all his simplistic complexities!
I’m actually trying to convince our young mentee to read the Catcher in the Rye, but she says she can’t get into it! I even read her the first few pages aloud and told her all about Salinger’s seclusion and hermitage. Still, no go. :(
i have to say i’m BOTH – is that okay? i love the retro styles but i love technology with all things with apps, blogs, etc.
btw cute blog – this is my first time here. heard about you thru destiny!!
Ilene,
Yes! You can of course be both. I hate to admit that technology is slowly wooing me, as well.
Thanks so much for stopping by and commenting!
Are you more of a traditionalist or do you love technology? What retro or old-school items would you bring back?
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Traditionalist all the way. Some modern inventions have mild value to me, but in a perfect world I would return to the time before answering machines, microwaves, and cassette tapes.
Like others who have commented, I would shoot for records, vinyl, albums. Definitely! When I was in high school (83-86), I used to travel to Chicago on the weekends to pick up rare b-side 45’s of early punk rock bands.
And, for the record: Otis Redding is one of the greatest vocalists of all time. I do like some Motown, but for me it is all about Otis.
He could sing, compose, play guitar….and he remained faithfully married to his bride the whole time! I regularly, and I mean regularly, lip-synch to his great song, “Hard to Handle”, in the microwave oven glass door while using a spatula as a microphone.
Okay Donald, it is official–you are one of my favorite people because you seem to love Otis Redding as much as I do. Awesome!
Yipppeee! (I knew it would only be a matter of time until I garnered such a coveted title!) Coming from you, it is pretty dang awesome.
And, of course, you have just moved up a notch yourself, passing sashimi as one of my favorite things. :)
Hey, have I mentioned lately how cool your husband is? He is. Like, #awesomesaucecool, even. I think it would be something to know you both in private life. I know my bride would dig you.
I’m pretty sure I’d have written this EXACT post. My husband’s over my should nodding as I read your list. lol I love old music, old movies, old fashion (although I’m not fashionable myself). And I totally wish my husband would wear a fedora.
Yes! We really are two peas in a bloggy pod!
My husband is very fond of hat wear and I fully support it. He has yet to rock a fedora, but you just gave me an idea…
My husband and I have taken up ballroom dancing in an effort to be more retro. So I’m sure I’ll get him to wear a fedora at SOME point!
Neat post. I loved my typewriter in high school school, too. But I’m a gadget girl through and through. LOVE my kindle. Would die without my iPod. My husband and I will be the first in line for the cyborg inplants.
But I agree with you about the notepad. There is something about jotting a note down on paper. I think its the freedom. You can add pictures and squigglies and arrows and all kinds of doo-hickeys that give the note more meaning later. I keep a notepad in my purse.
There is something more tangible about writing on a notepad. I connect better emotionally when I scribble down my thoughts on paper versus typing them onto a computer screen. Someday, if I am brave enough, I’ll try a Kindle. I just love holding books too much though.
I love to read and i love books. i could spend hours just wandering through a bookstore. I was very hesitant to buy a kindle.
The neatest thing about the kindle is I generally have 3 or 4 books going at one time. And I bounce around depending on what I’m in the mood for. With the kindle i can now carry all 4 of those books around at one time.
It is really awesome for traveling when I want to pack my bible, a novel and something non-fiction but i now i don’t have 10lbs worth of books in my suitcase.