smacky and bucky

I was listening to Classic Rewind on the satellite radio in my wife's car over the weekend. The station is billed as "the next generation of classic rock." They played Hall and Oates, Foreigner, and Journey. It got me thinking about how everything I grew up with is just starting to be considered retro, (and how that makes me feel old, but that's another post) and what other things that were fads when I was a teen have yet to become big again. Then it hit me. The major cultural fashion push that could be hitting in a big way:

If a tattered copy of this book were to get into the hands of the current popular crowd at a high school in a descent-sized town, we'll be seeing preppy clothes on everyone under 18 next fall.

The evidence:

• I've already heard rumblings of people "popping" their collars (and thought "Oh no, please don't tell me people are doing that again!").

• Laura mentioned that the news did a story on plaids being back in style.

Those are two of the cornerstones of preppyism. If people start wearing loafers or "boat shoes" without socks, we'll know it's time to raise the fashion terror threat level to orange. If a teen boy willingly wears plaid pants usually seen on golfers and the elderly, the level goes directly to red.