As everyone races toward email, blackberries, and 24/7 connections, handwritten mail only gets more valuable. Yesterday’s San Jose Mercury News had a quick article talking about just that.

E-mails may get the message across, but it doesn’t have the elegance or eloquence of handwritten correspondence.

“The pendulum is swinging back,” says Marion Gellatly, president of the Association of Image Consultants International and founder of the etiquette firm Powerful Presence. “We’ve gotten to be such a fast-paced society, and it’s all quick this and that. The whole idea of written thank-you notes has gone by the wayside.”

Resentment toward e-mail, coupled with a return to traditional etiquette, could propel this from a trend back to established practice, specifically for the younger generation.

“I think parents are starting to show children what’s proper,” says Jack Tanowitz, owner of JAX Invitations, Cards and Gifts at Santana Row. “And really, it starts from there.”

Handwritten notes are “absolutely coming back into style, especially with thank-you notes,” he adds.