Aestheticized Consumerism: The Problem With Viral Aesthetics

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As social media preys on our compulsion to have the latest things in fashion, we are not only falling into a consumerism trap, but we are also sacrificing our individual style to conform to these micro labels that we have imposed on ourselves.

As we pre-package the same aesthetic under different labels (i.e., girlboss into that girl), we are constantly categorizing certain elements of style under one umbrella. Ironically enough, women have had to constantly fight to have their identities seen. Society has always boiled us down into specific categories because of our gender, such as the “gamer girl” title. Why is it that we must add the qualifier of “girl” when the title of “gamer” is already an option?

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Just as labels have been cast upon women by society, we have begun to do it to ourselves in the name of fashion. There are Pinterest boards filled with pictures and links that claim to show you what you must purchase to fit within certain aesthetics. Articles that claim to tell you the secrets behind maintaining an aesthetic: “cottage core girls must have earth tones,” “every Y2K baddie needs a pair of low-waisted jeans,” and “how to live out your soft-girl persona.”

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While these labels are not necessarily the problem, it is the way that people are using them that's the issue. Using them as a category, rather than a classification of an element of style, is what cages inspiration and prevents you from exploring other aesthetics. It also feeds into this idea that you cannot live up to an idealized aesthetic if you do not meet all the imaginary markers.

There are many influencers and online style pioneers who do not limit themselves to these categories, but rather use them as inspiration for their style. One user who does this quite often is @Tinyjewishgirl on TikTok. Her outfits have incited controversy because they do not fit into a specific box of style and have been deemed “ugly” by many viewers. However, Tinyjewishgirl, real name Clara Perlmutter, sticks true to her identity and takes pride in her outlandish aesthetic. She uses inspiration from new trends that are key to other aesthetics, such as low-waisted pants from the Y2K aesthetic, or leg warmers from the ballerina core aesthetic that is gaining popularity. However, these elements, when used by her, provide a whole other style that cannot be categorized and labeled. In fact, the only label that one could reasonably provide is something like, “This looks like something tinyjewishgirl would wear!” (which has also happened.)

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Some users have begun tagging their Depop items with #tinyjewishgirl to market to users that are trying to replicate that aesthetic. While this in a way defeats the individual style that Perlmutter seems to pioneer, it can serve to introduce people to more experimental fashion that might lead them to find their own personal style.

The internet will always seem to produce buzzwords that people overuse and obsess over. While micro labels have opened the door in the ways that we talk about fashion, they should be used as a descriptor and not as a certain standard.

Strike Out,

Writer: Isabella Botero

Editor: Noelle Knowlton

Graphic Designer: Camila Denker

Tallahassee