Keep Calm and (fill in the blanks)

Trench coats. Combat boots (think Doc Martens). Bomber/leather jackets. What do they have in common? All commercialised into popular culture/fashion, all originated from the military.

Over the past year, a new fad has joined the club:

Look familiar? 'Keep Calm and Carry On' was an attempt by the British government to raise the morale of the public at the start of World War II (thanks Wikipedia!). It was little used back then, but when a bookshop owner found the poster over 60 years later, the rest is, well, history.

I've lost count of how many parody posters have popped up - so thanks to my good friend Google, let's look at a few, shall we?

 

 

 

I was actually inspired to write this post because I got a 'Keep Calm and Lie Down' pillow yesterday. But it got me thinking, what is it about this poster that speaks so much to us all these years later? Our current obsession with vintage? The current global economic status and state of the world? Our love of being 'postmodern'? Whatever it is, the best advice is really to Keep Calm and Carry On. 

p.s. What is your favourite parody poster? Mine is probably this:

Note: I do not own any of the pictures that I used in this post. Please click on the picture for links. This will apply to all my future posts.