Clean girl. Coquette. Cottagecore. Y2K. Old money.
These are only five of the countless aesthetics created by social media.
Each aesthetic has specific characteristics. The clean girl slicks back her hair into a perfect ponytail, the Y2K girl wears the iconic low–rise jeans of the 2000s, and the coquette girl adorns herself in bows and lace.
The lines separating each style from one another are solid to the point that these aesthetics are no longer trends but instructions, instructions teaching people how their lives should look, and how to fit in. Each style is so perfectly curated that they are like boxes, premade and ready for us to step in. With the growing presence of social media in our lives, we are bombarded with choices and inspiration. “Choose a hobby, choose your music taste, choose a personal aesthetic”, social media demands.
An aesthetic not only refers to one’s clothes but also to one’s lifestyles, habits, and even personalities.
On social media, different aesthetics are easily recognizable. Influencers have pages that are perfectly color coordinated, perfectly filtered, and are paired with perfect music. From going on vacation to having a study session at home, everything is about whether or not it will “look aesthetic”, whether it will match the color scheme on the Instagram feed.
It is an exhausting, never-ending performance, and we are put under constant pressure to fit in. We try to keep up with trends, updating our style and even our personalities.
Although these categories initially began as a way to showcase individuals’ unique personal styles, they have rapidly transformed into a rule book that teenagers and adults have to follow in order to achieve a conventional modern beauty.
Junior Ellen Tse said, “I think a big part of society definitely thinks too much about conforming to one aesthetic to keep up with a certain look.”
How can we find out who we truly are and what we really want if we continue to shove ourselves into these metaphorical boxes? Our individuality is limited, and these trends discourage the discovery and exploration of our own identities. This is the biggest issue. However, it is not hard to understand why some people gravitate towards having an aesthetic. It provides a solid blueprint of how to dress and how to fit in, which can be helpful during overwhelming times. It also provides a sense of control and belonging. On the other hand, feeling constant pressure to “fit in” and live up to a certain aesthetic can lead to burnout.
Senior Shahanny Pinilla said, “I sometimes do feel pressured to fit a certain aesthetic […][and] I have changed my style because of things I have seen online.” When having an aesthetic goes too far, it may not only dictate one’s style but also lead to individuals fully embodying a certain persona or character that goes with the style.
For example, someone embodying the coquette style may act soft spoken and timid, even though their natural state is confident and outgoing. Pinilla said, “Sometimes people worry too much about what others think, and that causes them to not live with authenticity.” Ultimately, it is not a bad thing to have a specific aesthetic. However, it is too much if one lets their “aesthetic” dictate their life and identity. We should be able to formulate our own styles, our own music taste, and our own personality, even if it does not perfectly fit into one of the preexisting aesthetics.
Tse said, “I think experimenting and experiencing different aesthetics can give each one of us our own uniqueness.”
What clothes would you like without the influence of social media? Who would you be?
It is important to consider what choices you would make without the constant desire for social approval, allowing us to realize who we would be if our life was dictated solely by personal preference.