1970 is quite '60s, in some ways, 1980 still looks very '70s, 1990 is quite '80s and 2000 was a lot like the '90s.  Would anyone agree that it takes more than a year for a decade to develop a character of its own?

Yeah, I'd say the second year (the "1") usually is the changing one, where the influences and styles of the new decade tend to overtake the old one (i.e. 1981 with MTV and the birth of stuff like video games, 1991 with Grunge and the Gulf War).

Although it depends. I think in some circles, the first half of the '70s was a bit like the '60s. Just an updated form, if you know what I mean.

I think the difference between the first half of the '70s and the first half of most decades is that the first half of the '70s saw no earth-shattering pop cultural revolutions, though in many ways it was totally different from the '60s. The only real "pop cultural revolution" was in TV, with the death of silly '60s sitcoms and the rise of the Norman Lear and Mary Tyler Moore type stuff.

IMO, it takes until the '1 year for a decade to gain its culture in a basic way, but until the end of the '2 or beginning of the '3 year for it really to fully take shape.

I think the difference between the first half of the '70s and the first half of most decades is that the first half of the '70s saw no earth-shattering pop cultural revolutions, though in many ways it was totally different from the '60s. The only real "pop cultural revolution" was in TV, with the death of silly '60s sitcoms and the rise of the Norman Lear and Mary Tyler Moore type stuff.

IMO, it takes until the '1 year for a decade to gain its culture in a basic way, but until the end of the '2 or beginning of the '3 year for it really to fully take shape.



Agreed. Pop culture dosen't just change when the clock rolls over from 11:59:59 on December 31st to 12:00:00 on January 1st. It usaully takes at least a year or two for a decade to start to develop its own trends.

I think it goes like this, for the '80s, '90s, '00s:

Year '0': A holdover of the previous decade, with a few signs of things to come
Year '1': The beginning of this year still resembles the just-expired decade, the end of this year is very much typical of its respective decade
Year '2': Very much a part of its respective decade, but with very strong influence from the decade that just ended
Year '3': Completely a part of its respective decade, but not completely free of the previous decade's influence
Year '4': The peak of the respective decade.
Year '5': As typical of the decade as the '4' year, but not as notable.
Year '6': Like the year '5', but with hints of the late part of the decade.
Year '7': The late, teenybopper part of the decade begins.
Year '8': The last year that's fully typical of its respective decade.
Year '9': Very much a part of its respective decade, but is considerably more "modern".

I think it goes like this, for the '80s, '90s, '00s:

Year '0': A holdover of the previous decade, with a few signs of things to come
Year '1': The beginning of this year still resembles the just-expired decade, the end of this year is very much typical of its respective decade
Year '2': Very much a part of its respective decade, but with very strong influence from the decade that just ended
Year '3': Completely a part of its respective decade, but not completely free of the previous decade's influence
Year '4': The peak of the respective decade.
Year '5': As typical of the decade as the '4' year, but not as notable.
Year '6': Like the year '5', but with hints of the late part of the decade.
Year '7': The late, teenybopper part of the decade begins.
Year '8': The last year that's fully typical of its respective decade.
Year '9': Very much a part of its respective decade, but is considerably more "modern".


Also, the '6 year sees some of the big late decade trends (disco, hair metal, teen pop) start their explosion. The '8 year also usually has hints of the beginning of the decade to come. Like 1998 and 1988 definitely were the beginnings of some aspects of the '00s and '90s.

Also, the '6 year sees some of the big late decade trends (disco, hair metal, teen pop) start their explosion. The '8 year also usually has hints of the beginning of the decade to come. Like 1998 and 1988 definitely were the beginnings of some aspects of the '00s and '90s.


I think 1996 was pretty purely mid '90s, in the United States. The same couldn't be said for Europe.

I think 1996 was pretty purely mid '90s, in the United States. The same couldn't be said for Europe.


Yeah...though, in alot of ways, it was definitely the "nadir" of the traditional '90s. I think the whole 1996-early 1997 year is split between the two. The Macarena seems almost like a late '90s thing, and the Spice Girls were around.

Do you guys really believe that trends are started by a year or decade?  A trend starts when something (TV show, clothing, video game, music style)  is introduced and it just happens to take off.  A trend will usually last a couple months to a coulple years.  Now if that trend happens to start in the beginning of a decacde, well that is just coincidence.  It's not like there are designers waiting around for the year 2011 so that they can define a decade with their style.