Some people call this phenomenon Zeerust.
In 10 years time, people will laugh at the awful lumberjack beards that are in fashion at the moment.
“Mainstream” is exactly what the young turks are always rebelling against.
Tattoos have become something that old bankers and other respectable members of the middle-class have. Right now the kids seem to be getting more elaborate tats than their teachers have; I expect them to stop bothering and to find a different way to annoy the older generation soon.
Yuck. Say it ain’t so…
On a related note, please bring back body hair. Both for men and women…
Rap music (I hope)
Reality shows (I hope)
Nobody will remember Lady Gaga
Stuff in the 1970s *now *looks cheesy, but stuff from the *1930s *now looks - I dunno, quaint…historic…even kind of cool… Do things start off as tacky, but then become get ‘cooler’ as they age?
In the 2030s, will 1970s fashion look similarly retro-chic?
Ah. Then I’m expanding it to everything, except Levi jeans, etc.
I’m not saying they’re trendy, I’m just saying that they don’t cause shudders in most folks.
[Nitpick]
The term comes from robotics, not animation.
[/Nitpick]
Are they? The next quaint relic of the past that kids today think is cheesy and outdated is the generation gap and the notion that kids are rebellious and old folks are stuffy. That’s a relic from the 60s and 70s that has no relevance in today’s modern world.
Kids today aren’t rebellious. They aren’t looking to shock their parents. They’re team players who think old people are just fine.
Kids don’t get tattoos or wear the latest fashions to rebel against the man. They do it because it’s fun and silly, not because it’s shocking. Seriously, is anyone shocked? No, they aren’t shocked, because it’s not shocking and not intended to be shocking. Dude, 1968 was 46 years ago, the hippies and freaks who shocked the squares are looking into retirement communities.
There really was a generation gap in the 50s and 60s and 70s. Baby boomers grew up in a completely different world than their parents who lived through the depression and WWII. They couldn’t relate to their parents who grew up in poverty and hardship and suffering, and the parents couldn’t relate to kids who grew up in prosperity and freedom.
But that’s changed, since things are the same.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the “make everything look like a black box” fashion for electronic goods looks antiquated.
Tattoos have been around for thousands of years; their popularity just comes and goes. I wouldn’t be surprised if in The Future the weird thing about modern tattoos will be that they are immobile and passive, instead of being programmable moving images.
I don’t think so; some things just age better. We just tend not to remember or preserve the really tacky stuff. Also, the 1960s and 1970s had a lot of people being experimental or rebellious for their own sake, and as such they produced a lot of failures.
I saw what you did there. Made me LOL. 
I think the Janalle Monae hairstyles are kinda cute on some girls. And they really do seem futuristic. But I don’t think the look will ever be a classic one.
I really can’t see how folks won’t be regretting those skinny jeans in five years.
And pretty soon this rock and roll music fad will blow over!