# Fads that have come back in new generations **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 19, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356 "2017-06-19T04:17:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/41 "2017-06-21T12:57:40Z")
> [@DeepLiquid](#): > > Vinyl (albums), long gone and now the must have item for every hipster I know. Bingo. THIS fits. Thanks!! ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/42 "2017-06-21T13:02:20Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > I guess young girls in bikinis were never really a fad, because they never went out of style. Tall and tan and young and lovely? And when she passes, each one she passes goes “ah?” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/43 "2017-06-21T15:44:00Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Bingo. THIS fits. Thanks!! (Referring to the vinyl resurgence.) Interesting – I actually thought it (like some other examples of retro tech given here, flip phones and instant cameras) failed the spirit of the OP, since in their first go-rounds they weren’t really “fads.” They were normal, useful, innovative consumer products! I guess I think of “fad” as connoting a certain uselessness and irrational popularity, like toys or fashion items. Obviously the category lines here are super-fuzzy. Best non-fashion examples I’ve seen in this thread have been toys (troll dolls, My Little Pony) and skateboards, which latter were revived as a fad in the 80s and then came back in a big way in the 00s. (The 00s revival actually saw a revival of the 60s form-factor: symmetrically oval, long, closer in shape to 60s long surfboards. 80s skateboards were very different.) How about food? I think the small-portioned, highly decorated plates of nouvelle cuisine came back in the past decade; that’s the faddiest example I can think of, since reviving and remaking old dishes and techniques is pretty firmly part of cooking. By the way, I think vinyl is a bit passé among music hipsters; _cassette tapes_ are how you show you’re serious. And that’s been a trend for quite a few years; maybe 8-tracks are on their way up now! If you want to trend-spot these kinds of retro-tech-revivals, Urban Outfitters is worth a visit. I saw boomboxes, cassette tapes, and instant cameras when I was there last week. (Of course, by the time UO starts selling something, it’s probably not very cool anymore, but you can spot last year’s cool, at least.) ---
**Author:** ![snoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@snoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snoe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/44 "2017-06-21T15:51:50Z")
Oh, hey – muscle cars! Not a well-executed revival, IMO, but it kinda fits, since it’s a revival of a popular and time-specific style that was passé for decades. (I’m not sure how “faddish” the new Mustangs etc are/were, but I feel like I started seeing a ton of them all at once a few years ago.) I don’t know if specific brands like the Mini Cooper or VW Bug are as strong examples, but they both came back, too. ---
**Author:** ![Marci\_Al](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47c2d/32.png) [@Marci\_Al](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marci_Al)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2017, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/45 "2017-06-21T23:27:13Z")
So far no one has mentioned zombies. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2017, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/46 "2017-06-22T00:58:11Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > Bingo. THIS fits. Thanks!! Really? They weren’t a fad _before…_ so they can’t be a _returning_ fad. ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2017, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356/47 "2017-06-23T20:46:54Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > I think “fashion” is a special case of “fad,” perhaps, but not quite what I was picturing. Very correct! _Fashion_ is a phenomenon affecting markets relating to personal appearance (i.e. for objects that are worn and hairstyles, etc.) _Fad_ is a phenomenon affecting markets for other kinds of objects (food, curios, collectibles.) _Crazes_ relate to behaviors (UFO sightings, styles of dance (Zumba, Jazzercise), etc.) _Panics_ and _Hysterias_ are related to socially negative behaviors (witch hunts, stock market swings) triggered by information (news, rumor, pundit pronouncements, demagogue statements, etc.) My contribution: Skateboards were popular in the early 1970s when the clay and steel wheels with visible bearings were upgraded to polyurethane wheels with sealed bearings. Kids were using ramps and empty pools to learn and demonstrate tricks on their boards. Then the fad faded out. Then the movie Back to the Future came out and was successful enough to gain two (some say 1.5) sequels. The lead character does some amazing stuff on a skateboard, and the fad was quickly revived. It hasn’t faded since. Roller skates enjoyed a similar fad and later revival. First booming in the early 1970’s with the forementioned improvement in wheels, then fading, then reviving when in-line skates (roller blades) were invented. –G! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fads-that-have-come-back-in-new-generations/789356.md?page=2)