How fashions can invert
Virgil:
January 4th, 2007
The front page of my TV Guide today told me how “geek will be the image of 2007″, and I found it interesting to reflect on the inversion. There seems to be a rising chic to look a bit geeky. In the words of Big Brother 2004’s Stuart, “there’s cool, and there’s geek, and you put them together, and you get even cooler.”
There are two motivations I can see for this, and they’re linked. The simple fact of the matter is that people started using computers, and a lot. Even the trendiest of people are now completely familiar with Start Buttons, the Internet, instant chat, and error messages. Secondly, a wave of self-esteem, self-worth and self-pride swept common thought. If you’re intelligent then be proud because it really is good. If you’re geeky then that’s who you are, and you’re valuable.
The way I see this, it’s a step forward in thought that’s led to a craze in fashion. “Geek chic” is still an extreme, and there’s only one thing that’s certain about it: to the bespectacled eyes of a slightly nerdish boy, there’s nothing hotter than a slightly nerdish girl - it’s clique chic.