The Way We Were

Issue 4 - 2016

Since Scott Dunn started 30 years ago, the
world of travel has seen many changes.
Here’s what was – and is – in vogue

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Issue 4 - 2016

Since Scott Dunn started 30 years ago, the
world of travel has seen many changes.
Here’s what was – and is – in vogue

Destinations

Then

All about being seen with the right people in the right places

Leftover hippies hanging with gap year kids in Bali, India, Phuket

Tuscany and the Dordogne the mighty sirens for British villa holidaymakers

Florida exotic, but Miami still for bronzed oldies

New destinations emerging apace: Ibiza, Sydney, Tokyo

Barcelona six years from Olympic re-invention; Prague still the wrong side of the Iron Curtain

Destinations

Now

Getting away from everywhere – and everyone else – is key. Hello luxury wilderness…

India and Bali now full of smart middle-aged people who have read Eat, Pray, Love

The “new Tuscany” is Croatia

Miami the epitome of arty cool, and Dubai now a winter sun staple

Also Scandinavia. Yes, people now holiday in Sweden. A lot

Weekenders head for hipster hang-outs – Berlin, Copenhagen, Istanbul and more

Interiors

Then

Overstuffed sofas, floral schemes, clashing borders. A riot

Paint effects abound including the time-dishonoured smudge known as “scumbling”

Bathroom has turquoise suite. Bidet = you’ve made it

Oil daubs of local landscapes on wall – “crying boy” if very unlucky

Ski chalets look like cuckoo clocks. Stones on roof de rigueur

Destinations

Now

Florals and chintz chucked, apart from a few stubborn outposts

Room “raw”: bare wood, bare girders, bare bricks – possibly bare people

Bathrooms now huge with infinity curves, rainforest showerhead and multiple unguents

Hotels commissioning edgy art, some of it actually good

Smartest ski chalets now come on like minimal white-box art galleries

Food & Drink

Then

Beaujolais nouveau, chardonnay and piña coladas all the way

Lager volcanically gassy and industrial in taste

Chalet lasagne still a delicacy

New obsessives called “foodies” laud sun-dried tomatoes and a Japanese oddity called “sushi

“Nouvelle cuisine” est arrivée. Never before was so much paid for so little

Full-fat chocolate mousse

Destinations

Now

“Craft” ale, albariño, and quinoa vodka served by mustachioed hipster barmen

You’re no one if you can’t knock up a quick sourdough

It’s all about provenance – diners know how their tuna is caught and what their organic chicken was called

Avocado chocolate mousse

Fashion

Then

Aerobics boom ushers in atrocities: legwarmers, headbands, leotards and more

Holidays mean dressing up – and mountains of matchy designer luggage

Shoulders get huge to create coathanger profile

On ski slopes, Sloane Rangers wear chunky jumpers with sheep motifs, Husky gilets, multi-coloured anoraks and – by night – racy leather trousers

Reviled word “Spandex” eases into vocabulary

Destinations

Now

Hi-tech clothes give you bad news about your heart-rate

Dress-down chic – Lulu Lemon yoga pants, Heidi Klein swimwear and Stella McCartney silk PJ top at dinner

Skiwear now with GPS. Ice-resistant North Face jackets useful for going to bar

Fabrics fit for James Bond – Neoprene, HeatTech, textiles with mythical wicking properties

And let's not forget...

Then

Photographs, taken in rolls of 24 or 36. Each snap matters...

Mighty paperwork required to set off in the tinny comfort of walnut-trim Vauxhall Corsa

“Wish you were here” postcards and one phone call home

Spas hidden in hotel basements – massages hurt, while anyone with a hot stone will be arrested

Hotel key fob weighs a kilo

Madonna, Simply Red and Paul Simon on the Walkman

And let's not forget

Now

Constant updates on holiday status – look everyone, here’s Johnny learning to waterski! Plus Instagrammed hotel pud, selfies galore and GoPro vids

Paperwork easier, hire cheaper, smart cars less spacious but more reliable

Massages in 57 varieties, and mindlessness replaced by mindfulness and beach yoga

Relief as weighty room key becomes super-light swipe card

Spotify Premium straight to your iPhone

Images: Slim Aarons/Getty Images, Getty Images, Corbis, Alamy

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