So what’s the hottest trend burning up the summer runways? Dressing like grandma and grandpa. Seriously! Forget the 1980s, clothiers from Halston and L.L. Bean to the swimwear company Jantzen (pictured) are ripping off reintroducing ‘heritage lines’ from the 1910s, 1940 and 1950s.

So what’s the reason for the archive-sifting and rejuvenation of yesterday’s long-forgotten products? As usual, it’s all about the economy, says the NY Times.

“We’ve been through a very unsettling time, and it’s when people are discontent with the present that they really start appreciating or having a nostalgia for the past,” said Nigel Hollis, chief global analyst for the market research firm Millward Brown. “Marketers are seeking to tap into that.” A simple (yet brilliant) sales strategy. We don’t know why we didn’t recognize the logic first!

According to Gallup polls taken over the last several years, the public has little confidence in most American institutions – particularly big business – and consumers are not spending. With the knowledge that American consumers “want to be part of things that have longevity,” Neil S. Fiske, chief executive of Eddie Bauer, introduced heritage items last fall. Many designers and brands are doing the same and these old-school lines are selling well above projections.

Keds, for example, recently issued Dapper, a 1920s sneaker design, for the Keds Century Collection. Every month, Keds plans to roll out a “20th Century Decade” limited edition shoe inspired by the history and fashion of that decade. Reviving old favorites has been done before, but never to such an extensive degree. Now especially, people want to believe in the [image of the] American Dream.

What can we assume? Summer 2010 will continue to mimic the summers of 1910, 1945 and 1960 – from bathing suits, to tennis shoes, to cardigans. And, Fall and Winter will follow in Summer’s nostalgic, saddle-shoe clad footsteps.

[NY Times]

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