Barb's TEA Shop's In Out List for 2012: Don't risk falling victim to antediluvian fashions

It's that time again: the new year when we all get a chance to start anew. Every January, we're given the opportunity to set new goals and purge the negativity. It's also a time to get up-to-date on current trends and avoid falling into the rut of following old fashions.

Barb's TEA Shop, presents our second annual In/Out list of (mostly) tea-related trends. In 2011, we traveled to England (London, Winchester and Chawton, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Massillon, Ohio and all over our home state of Michigan to uncover only the latest in fashions, events and happenings for 2012.

We owe much of our inspiration to Wayne State Honor's College, featured in this week's Detroit Free Press, which has a list of their own. In response to "Lake Superior State College's List of Banished Words" (this year's list included "man cave" and "ginormous"), my alma matter came up with a group of words they would like to reintroduce to our everyday lexicon.

(We've provide links to past articles, primarily from Barb's TEA Shop blog and The Detroit Tea Examiner, but there are a few other sources included.)

Barb's TEA Shop's What's In/What's Out List in the World of Tea for 2012

In ..................................................................................Out

Afternoon tea at Kensington Palace................................Valentine's dinner at White Castle, unless you can handle the supercilious looks you'll get from the one percent.

Downton Abbey, Edwardian serial drama on PBS......The execrable Kardashian family drama on E!

The wedding of Kate Middleton & Prince William...........The divorce of Kim Kardashian & erstwhile husband of 72 days, Chris Humphries

Wide brimmed hats and tiaras.......................................Fascinators, unless you are from Whoville, although we applaud fashionistas' Sisyphean efforts to try and bring them back to favor again this year with the ill-fated assistance of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.

Jane Austen novels.......................................................Stephenie Meyers and all vampires who dare transmogrify classic lit again.

Jane Austen tea..................................................... ...... sensational assertions of parlous additives to medicine, by one crime writer, which may have caused of Jane Austen's death.

Irish tea, Irish tearooms and Irish shops.......................waiting for St. Patrick's Day to enjoy. Prolong the Emerald Isle frisson you experience on March 17th and partake in Irish delights throughout the year.

Aprons and pearls (Mrs. Cleaver) .........................Animal prints and fake tans (Snooki) Aprons and pearls don't need to be combined, nor do they necessitate truckling to domesticity, they're just classic accessories that beat out ginormous hoop earrings and orange bronzer.

Penultimate on our list is only "in": Jane Pettigrew's tea talks and books.

Tablescapes...................................................................White Castle outside the castle. A dining experience without a proper setting is downright antediluvian. If one's table doesn't have a theme, a centerpiece, fanciful dishes and an assortment of creatively garnished food, you might as well cook your dinner over an open fire and have your guests eat their turkey legs with their hands.

And, with that, we're off! The new year has started and we wish everyone all good wishes in future tea endeavors.

One last affirmation, just to validate what all you tea enthusiasts already know, in The Detroit News In Out List, published December 30, 2011, tea was "in".

Happy New Year to All!