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Must Haves for 2010
Can you fathom that we are already midway through February? Perhaps it was the January snow or winter hibernation, but 2010 seems to have hardly started. The dark nights mean catching up on reading, and here’s a great article from the Economist’s “Must Have for 2010” by Beppe Severgini.
What caught our eye for gourmet lovers was his recommendation for “Shorter Menus” – Beppe says “remember when you used to end a morning’s work by going to a restaurant and poring over a 15-page menu? Finito. Restaurateurs have worked out that it just doesn’t make sense: too much stuff to buy and store. In 2010 expect short menus and a piatto del giorno. Or plat du jour, as they used to say when France was blazing the gastronomic trail.”
Other things on the list include:
• Black cars. Silver cars dominated the European roadscape during the 1990s and for most of the 2000s. Black was for government ministers, archbishops, film stars and Russian oligarchs. Brighter hues were for Germans. All of a sudden, from Paris to Palermo, it’s back to black (only Amy Winehouse saw that coming).
• Birkin bag. This was designed for an actress, Jane Birkin, who complained she couldn’t find anything in her handbag. The Hermès number will spread and the designer-fakes industry will cater for those who can’t afford the $5,000 price tag. Why include an ultra-expensive bag among the icons for 2010? Because it shows a trend. A few people will buy a classic item that will, or should, last a lifetime while most will go for cheap chic from Zara, H&M and the rest. The $250 shirt is no more. Why pay that much for a label?
• Prince of Wales check. Designed by Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales for his shooting expeditions on Deeside, it has never been entirely out of fashion. It will be back big time in 2010 as a business-attire option. Bankers blew the cred of pin-stripes and chalk-stripes in the financial crisis of 2008-09.
• Fiat 500 and Ferrari California. Italy produces both of these automotive jewels, at opposite ends of the price spectrum. Both are perfect, sleek-styled classics. Fiat’s takeover of Chrysler will open the doors of America to them.
For the full article, visit “Must Haves in 2010” in the Economist