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BY JENNIFER SILVERMAN
In fashion college, students of style are taught that fashion is evolutionary, not revolutionary.
Of all the tidbits that were drilled into the brains beneath our coiffures, for some reason that seemingly useless fashion factoid always stuck with me.
(As did the mandate that under absolutely no circumstance, should any fashionista ever utter the phrase, “I have a passion for fashion.” Apparently, the fashion gods find the locution trite and uninspired.)
Since most of my musings tend to originate from fashion idioms, lately, I’ve been pondering the cycle of evolution. In both fashion and in life, almost everything that comes around gradually goes around, as old eventually, tends to evolve anew.
Of course, this can be good and bad.
“Mom jeans” from the 1980’s, seem to be back with a vengeance. (Trust me, mom jeans are a bad, unflattering trend. They do proportion no justice.)
The recent resurgence of overt discrimination is the badest of bad.
Conversely, there’s the good stuff that evolution has once again munificently returned to society such as TV show reboots, the electric spin on a classic Bugatti, and of course, podcasts.
Podcasts are a rather surprising phenomenon.
“FOMO” (fear of missing out) is so rampant of late that all things profound or trivial are recorded, photographed, and/or immortalized on social media. Isn’t it a wonder that in such a noisy world, suddenly millions of people are simply listening to something?
I liken the podcast experience to evenings when families gathered around those ornate radios of yesteryear to revel in their favorite radio mystery theater programs.
Like radio hearkening from days past, podcasts somehow feel more personal than TV - more like an intimate conversation that somehow facilitates the act of paying attention.
If you tend to follow this blog, you’re probably not at all surprised that my favorite podcast is Oprah’s Super Soul.
While recently continuing my pursuit of the perfect liquid eyeliner cat eye, I enjoyed an episode in which the great and powerful, Oprah Winfrey interviewed legendary TV producer, developer, and screenwriter, Norman Lear.
Now age 101, an inspirational Lear joined Winfrey a few years back to contemplate life lessons, and rap about his autobiography, Even This I Get to Experience.
Although the interview in its entirety was totally fascinating, I have a feeling that one of Lear’s mantras for success will make like fashion rules of thumb, taking up permanent residence in my memory.
To paraphrase, Lear shared that two words exist which most of us never embrace, and absolutely should – “over” and “next.”
According to Lear, accepting “overs” during life’s ups and downs is crucial to moving forward.
Admitting that something is truly over requires acknowledging that marvelous experiences have come to an end, and dreadful ones will remain forever unchanged – no redoes on the menu.
If we cannot accept that something – an opportunity, an experience, a relationship, our most favorite fashion trend, is over, can we really ever move on?
If we treat endings as though they are works in progress, wouldn’t we be in a perpetual state of limbo? Apparently, that’s where “next” comes in.
When Winfrey inquired if Lear mourned the endings of his 100 plus TV shows, especially iconic groundbreakers like All in the Family, Good Times, Maude, and The Jeffersons, he said “no”.
Lear was already on to the next one - developing his next idea, writing his next hit, laying the groundwork for all the “nexts” the future might bring.
Maybe Lear’s philosophy of not dwelling on the past is at least partially responsible for his unprecedented success.
Afterall, if we never accept our “overs”, are we even capable of recognizing our potential “nexts?”
In my interpretation, Norman Lear’s quotes indicate that manifesting a chain of success and fulfillment is best achieved by embracing the lifecycle of evolution rather than fighting it.
In fashion terms, it’s like electing to sport blinders 24/7 even though they prevent us from truly seeing the world’s possibilities.
Thus, we miss out on all the best shoe sales that life has to offer.
So, “over” and “next” are my two new favorite aspirational words...at least for this week anyway. (By the way, in case you’re wondering, blinders definitely fall into the “bad” column - even super chic ones.)
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