Must be the money

Written on September 4, 2009 at 12:36 pm by Juliet

I hold my hands up. I watched a bit of Cocktail when it was on TV recently – the film starring a pre-Scientology Tom Cruise. At first I giggled at the sheer eighties-ness of it. The haircuts, the waistlines, the jumpers, the unfeasibly huge glasses. Then I realised it wasn’t just the fashion that seemed outdated. Tom Cruise’s character is obsessed with money and making loads of it. Of course he sees what is important in the end, but from his how to make a million self-help book to trawling down Wall Street, the film screeches the eighties mantra ‘greed is good’. And this is what felt the most out of date.

I am delighted that the noughties is less about greed and more about the good life. We’re not all about to wear hemp and live off the land, but I certainly feel that greed is tempered with moral values. Do you think we’ve changed since the eighties? We certainly see a steady stream of willing volunteers coming through our doors every week. And a recent survey by John Lewis mag, Edition, reveals two-thirds of ladies shun designer clothes and instead discuss helping others.