Fantastimagical, scrupledeedupulous, technocolorific retro rainbows

What was it about those retro-rainbow bits of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s that prompted ensembles like Rod Stewart's little number? Rainbow socks, skinny red pants (jeans or corduroys, I'm not quite sure), soft feathery hair (how pretty). Don't get me wrong, I kind of enjoy that whole cartoony, Schoolhouse Rock style...slightly muted (but slightly bright), dusty colors, lots of lines encasing other lines, and dreamy premise. But I just wonder where this came from, and if we will ever see it again. Well, of course the past decade has pretty much been a throwback to the last 60 years, so I'm sure it will come up. Give it time.



In fact, Rod's pic got me to thinking...how tastes in male "heartthrobs" have changed through the decades!

Let's see...

1900s: Dapper young fellow, keen to explore and enjoy his youth in these exciting modern times
1910s: Another dapper young fellow, strolling through the park one day...and contemplating his upcoming marriage to a proper young society woman, not one of those silly suffragettes
1920s: Boys like me wear stripes, play polo, and go to dances with those flashy flapper women. Look at my intensity. You can bet I ain't flivver!
1930s: People (including female people) wanted heroes to distract them from the devastation of the Great Depression. So why not throw on oversized goggles, take to the sky, and soar into the American imagination?
1940s: Film noir. Cynical men who trudge through wet city streets late at night, smoke on cigars and look like Humphrey Bogart...all while fighting against fascism. Can't get more stylin' than this.
1950s: Say, Ethel, I think you're really swell. May I please escort you to the drug store for an ice cream soda? I hear they've been playing some of that "rock" music there!
1960s: Retro rainbow action! Here are the Monkees...four groovy guys who are fabulously boy-bandtastic. Davy Jones, however, wins as the "heartthrob" (at least, according to my mother). Not sure, but I think he's the pretty-looking one in the middle.
1970s: Also got the inspiration for this one from my mother's vault of celebrity crushes. Neil Diamond, in all his hairy-chested, feather-haired, man-jewelry glory.
1980s: The King of Pop himself. (Okay, this actually makes me sad. Some people made an image of Michael as he may have looked without ever having surgery, and put it next to how he looks now. He had no reason to feel insecure about his looks - he was adorable without having any work done.)
1990s: What could be better than clashety-clash, neon, and a high-top? Put 'em all together, and you get a smart-aleck but lovable Philly transplant living it up in Bel-Air. Hijinks ensue.
early 2000s: Oh, look at those curls. Those boyish pink lips. And the falsetto of gold. The "cool" girls in my junior high mandated that we all had to like Justin Timberlake. And I admit, I did what I was told.

now: I lack the objectivity to look beyond the moment and select the stereotypical upper-2000s "heartthrob". There are just so many looks to choose from. Personally, I'm partial to "geek-chic" guys - a mop of dark hair, intelligently hilarious banter, and quietly a-maz-ing eyes make me melt. But is everyone the same? I don't speak for all women. I only speak to the cliches of the past 100-something years. Here's to the next 100.