Left in a haze by the rise and fall of rites of passage for teenagers

The concept of the “must have” died off a bit during the worst of the recession. The “must have”, back in the days of disposable income, was a dress, pair of shoes or handbag advertised as such, in a catalogue or by a web retailer.

The phrase lost popularity when everybody went broke. If a purchaser must have money before they can buy a “must have” item, it’s just amazing how that imperative reduces to a conditional: “That’s the sort of dress I’d really like if I didn’t have to pay for essentials like food. Some day, maybe...”

But, at that time, the “must have” concept applied outside of the fashion world, too. One “must have” was a bit like that Lucozade ad on TV. It was the absolute requirement for a fighting, falling, puking, A&E-filling night out following the publication of the Leaving Cert results. For the last few years, the post-Leaving Cert all-night party has been a fixture, with the uploading of pictures of teenagers in extreme disarray and the broadcast of several days’ worth of parental worry.