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K
Decades owners Bill Krout and Barry Shulman.
B
efore he was in the nostal-
gia business, Barry Shul-
man had a knack for
collecting kitsch. With cur-
rent market fads for retro fash-
ions, reruns and reunions, his
timing could hardly be better.
His business in Royal Oak,
Decades, which he owns with
partner Bill Krout, is undeniably
a 1990s bonanza. While most re-
tailers found sales unexpectedly
slow for December, Decades
recorded a healthy 27-percent in-
crease from a year ago. Not only
were there increased sales of 3D
cards, lava lamps and Barbie
dolls, but widespread media at-
tention elevated Decades to the
national spotlight.
During the week of Chanukah,
just before Christmas, Decades
was either featured or mentioned
in nearly 200 newspapers around
the country.
Over the last four years,
Decades' sales have increased at
30 percent per year. Mr. Shul-
man, who teaches decorative arts
and design at Wayne State and
Henry Ford Community College,
credits Decades' appeal to under-
standing the baby boomer psyche.
"Most baby boomers grew up
with television, movies and mu-
sic," he said. 'They're attempting
to relive their childhood."
According to Gary Shepherd,
professor of sociology at Oakland
University, the particular nostal-
gia for the 1960s is a reflection of
the inclination to resurrect the
"happy past," a way for many
baby boomers to identify with the
cultural forces that shaped their
attitudes.
"Nostalgia has always been a
distortion of the past," he says.
"The scale of nostalgia has been
created by the sheer number of
baby boomers who look back as a
way to make comparisons to
where they're at now."
The business of nostalgia
seems to be more about con-
sumers' fascination with escapism
and entertainment. Images of
Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and James
Dean have been elevated to a
mythic realm. Lost in the idola-
try, says Dr. Shepherd, is an un-
derstanding of their life and times.
"There's not a lot of critical re-
flection that goes into nostalgia,"
he says. "Problems tend to be
glossed over."
But shoppers, according to Mr.
Shulman, are not looking for so-
cial commentary.
"The appeal is the familiarity
and a 'feel good' feeling," he says.
"People identify with characters
(from) television, movies and car-
toons. A gift of one of these (nos-
talgic) characters is just fun. It's
not like buying a shirt that doesn't
fit."
Eight years ago, according to
Mr. Shulman, the price for nos-
talgia items began to skyrocket.
A Beatles doll that cost 69 cents
in 1964 is selling for $150. Today,
just as at the height of Beatle-
mania, the Fab Four have their
faces on watches, posters, pock-
et calendars and magnets. Since
the Beatles' documentary and An-
thology CDs were released in No-
vember, Decades can barely stay
ahead of the demand for mop-
heads memorabilia.
Other manufacturers of nos-
talgia items — Graceland, Coca-
Cola and the estates of famous
deceased celebrities — regularly
issue new items. At Decades, a
young, swivel-hipped Elvis figure
clutching a microphone is not far
from ....eprints of '60s concert
posters ofJimi Hendrix, the Doors
and Grateful Dead.
Apparently, the oxymoron