Source:
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 10-Nov-2022
Tweed, tennis skirt and tradition: Young people dream of being in the world of rich heirs and thus reveal the fears that really plague them.
Actually, the men and women of the Kennedy clan were ripe for the history books. Just what should their lifestyle tell us today? Then came Tiktok . And then a new trend on this platform: #oldmoney. Pearls instead of bling-bling, tennis skirts instead of mini dresses, loafers instead of sneakers, tweed instead of jeans: young people who belong to Generation Z, which usually means those born between 1997 and 2012, put themselves in the world of the old moneyed nobility with their clothing style . They dress as if they have descended from a family dynasty, have inherited vast sums of money and spend their Sundays playing polo.
New old examples of a trend
Jackie Kennedy, Lady Di , Blair Waldorf from the American series “Gossip Girl”: They are the new “old” models of this style. While Jackie O. and Diana were already among the most inspiring women of their time, Blair Waldorf was initially not. If she were a real person, she would probably be celebrating this victory with champagne right now.
Money, parties, shopping, the character Blair Waldorf lives the carefree life in the midst of the New York elite in the series. When Gossip Girl came out in 2007, friend and rival Serena van der Woodsen quickly became the more popular with viewers. Serena is the prettier, more relaxed one on the show, and that infuriates Blair. She is the complete opposite. Pleated skirts, perfectly styled waves under the headband, flawless appearance: Blair loves it classic. Fans of the series never emulated this look—until now. Until this tiktok trend.
On the surface at most, it’s the champagne and polo games that make these Gen Zhave done. More likely that they actually long for the stability and security that this lifestyle suggests. The euro crisis, the refugee movement, terror, climate change, pandemics, the war in Ukraine: the world in which young people grew up has become fragile and the security situation unclear, says generation researcher Rüdiger Maas. The impact of the crises is getting closer, threatening life more and more directly. The trend reflects the innermost fear of many young people: that they will not be able to live the life they have been like for much longer. They flee from change. And the old moneyed nobility is the perfect environment for that. More than anything else, it stands for safety and a it’s always been like that.
What the Queen’s death means for the trend
It’s been a topic in pop culture for a long time: Lana Del Rey is a real connoisseur, singing about diamonds and cashmere in “Old Money”, “Young and Beautiful” and “Money, Power, Glory”. Lorde and Taylor Swift also describe this world in “Tennis Court” and “Champagne Problems”. And the young, feminist German rap is also about money and carelessness – such as in Nina Chuba’s “Wildberry Lillet”. In the song that knocked out “Layla” from number one, she raps about real estate, canapes, and “have, have, have.”
The fact that Queen Elizabeth II died fueled the trend again, says Rüdiger Maas: “Suddenly something that was always there is gone. That’s scary.” The British monarchy in particular represents the reliability that young people are looking for: “No matter how fast the world turns, how modern everything is becoming: everything has always stayed the same here.” This is exactly what distinguishes old money: standstill – not only visually. In crises, people become nostalgic. It’s been like that forever.
But the trend is about something else: convenience. Even in the previous generation, among the millennials, there was always talk of work-life balance. But this generation has also produced some of the richest people in the world with young billionaires like Mark Zuckerberg . And for their livelihood, these people had to slave and hump around the clock, work overtime, and take risks. Work was glorified as life-fulfilling and identity-forming.
Performance isn’t cool anymore
Gen Z saw live that this is not true. That such a life full of work and pressure might make you rich, but not necessarily happy. The role of free time is becoming more important again. More and more young people want to work part-time. Performance isn’t cool anymore.
Prosperity is not something that would be a new wish: every generation wanted that. And that is not reprehensible. But Generation Z is the first who is not willing to sacrifice themselves for it. This clearly distinguishes #oldmoney from New Money, i.e. the nouveau riche who have not inherited their wealth but have worked for it. Theoretically, wealth is accessible to everyone, anyone can try to get it – and therefore it is not as elitist as this old money.
What shoes look like old money ?
Old money versus new money, rich versus nouveau riche, Connecticut versus California: setting oneself apart from the aspiring. The trend constructs a class that boys want to belong to. Which names sound like old money? What hobbies go with the image of old money? What shoes look like old money? On Tiktok there are answers to all of this, with the help of which membership in the upper class is credibly claimed.
“New money shouts, old money whispers” is the motto: whispering is better than shouting. The nouveau riche are often out and about, flaunting their new money with logos, gold chains and cars. Designer bags and sports cars: new money likes to show itself. Old money wrinkled its nose: how tasteless. It’s more reserved, at least at first glance. Understatement is the magic word. But just like flashy New Money, Old Money likes to brag – only they pretend they don’t even know what bragging is.
The brands: Ralph Lauren, Lacoste, Tod’s
The millionaire look of the old rich is based on brands like Ralph Lauren , Lacoste and Tod’s. Fashion without logomania and extravagant details. They are timeless pieces made from quality fabrics and relaxed cuts – preferably in monochromatic and neutral colors such as white, beige, black, navy blue and khaki.
And then there are the details. What length are the stockings? How many buttons does the jacket have? In videos, Tiktokers take outfits apart point by point and explain them. It’s these little things that make style – as if anyone else who hasn’t been so socialized can easily overlook them.
It’s not just about dressing like that, it’s also about behaving like that, imitating the whole lifestyle. The most important thing: Everything must appear effortless, as if elegance were innate. Anyone can wear a pleated skirt. But moving like this, behaving like this, you can only do that if you are actually part of this society. This shows who is just pretending to be a Kennedy ancestor.
All this, this striving to belong, the demarcation, this “you-can’t-sit-with-us” attitude is also successful in current films and series. Gossip Girl got a reboot. And the hit series “Élite” and “Inventing Anna” about the imposter Anna Sorokin, who was recently released from prison, are also about elite circles, about demarcation and better versus worse.
“Young people probably don’t see it that way,” says researcher Rüdiger Maas. But the class construction is also completely commonplace in this generation, which is actually considered to be more tolerant: “If you think about how quickly shitstorms arise, it becomes clear how little other opinions are tolerated there.”
This means that the old-money trend is not unproblematic either. It was and is an elite circle in which there is no place for people of color. Lady Di, Blair Waldorf, the Kennedy clan, these are white, privileged, slim, Protestant women and men who represent this lifestyle. In America, it is not for nothing that old-money-looking people are referred to as WASPs, which means White Anglo-Saxon Protestants – people with European roots who usually have some power and wealth.
Thomas Busch Neckwear 