Rhubarb & custard, strawberry bonbons, and milk bottles: retro candy is in. Candy has been a trend for a while, what with Madonna's album called Hard Candy, and Ralph Lauren's daughter Dylan opening "Dylan's Candy Bar" a candy boutique on Third Avenue in New York.
The candy trends for 2009 are jelly beans, for their irresistible colours and flavors, and retro sweets for the memories. Old fashioned and retro candy continues to comfort the mind and taste buds for those who may be a bit apprehensive about the future.
Over the past few years in London we have seen a crop of old fashioned sweet shops pop up. Hope and Greenwood, in Covent Garden and in East Dulwich and Mrs Kibbles Olde Sweet Shoppe in Soho, and in St Christopher's Place. The sweets are sold by the quarter ounce from rows and rows of shiny glass jars crammed full with such delights as rosy apples, shrimps, jelly babies and flying saucers. It is a childhood dream come true and a delight for those of us who like to colour co-ordinate with sweet candy.
