I for one am betting that the next big thing in the American experience will, however reluctantly, be old old things. I'm betting a culture hung over on newness will learn the value of vintage, durability, and patina - especially patina, the merit badge of age. I know I've been learning it. Patina is usually associated with art, artifacts, and furnishings. But close examination usually reveals what is ersatz and what is real.
Real patina is a thin tarnish, an acceptable layer of grime.
It contributes to the mellow look of having been around. Patina is a refreshing antidote to all the virginal freshness associated with, say, consumer electronics. In a digital age, when experience is endlessly emulated and replicated, the look and feel of the real thing must become more and more precious. Newness had its run in the roaring '90s. Newness, as everybody who bought a Palm Pilot or Nokia cellphone last year knows, doesn't last.