As nostalgic as I am for the ’90s, a decade I actually lived through, I’m even more nostalgic for decades that I’ve experienced vicariously through books and movies. I love to imagine myself as a flapper in the ’20s, drinking champagne out of coupe cocktail glasses, twirling my long string of pearls and dancing to jazz in a loose, beaded dress.
Or as a housewife in the ’50s, riding my bicycle in a poofy dress and suede kitten heels, my blonde curls bouncing on my shoulders. Or as a turn-of-the-century explorer, crawling through caves in search of lost treasure and ancient tribes. Or as a journalist in the ’70s, tapping away at a typewriter to the tunes of The Rolling Stones (perhaps even at Rolling Stone).
It’s so easy to romanticize the past, even though you know that kissing your sweetheart goodbye while enshrouded in steam on a train platform in 1941 would be heartbreaking and terrifying in real life. If you’re old-fashioned, or if people often refer to you as an “old soul,” you can’t help but feel like you’re just not living in the right decade. If so, you’ll surely relate to all of the following.
